Batman: Arkham City is a good game, but Arkham Asylum was better. This one still uses that weird timing-based fight system that is more frustrating than it ought to be, but on the plus side this game uses a more open world model like Infamous or the Assassin’s Creed series. I do still really like this game, but I don’t feel quite as compelled to play through it like I did the last one.

This game takes place inside of Arkham City, which has been closed off to function like a big prison. All the baddies you fought in the Asylum (from the last game) are now on the loose in the city. What’s happened is that Joker has been poisoned and is dying, so you end up having to do a bunch of tasks to help him in order to save others. Along the way, you’ll fight opponents like Mr. Freeze, Penguin, and so on. Personally, I didn’t like the story that much in this one.

Perhaps the biggest difference between this game and the last one is that it’s nowhere near as linear. You had some room to explore in Arkham Asylum, but many areas were not available until you did some other tasks. In this game, you can fly around from rooftop to rooftop over the whole city. Exploration is encouraged, and there are tons of Riddler’s puzzles and hidden things to keep you interested. Much of this is presented as side quests so they are optional, but the added experience points make them working seeking out.

Having a wide open city to explore means you’ll have to take some time to learn the locations. There are bad guys spread in random places all around, including snipers that later appear, so you will have plenty of opportunities to fight. Mission objectives are clearly marked on the map so you can go straight through the main story and bypass all the extras, or take your time to explore and see what other quests can be unlocked. Pretty much every action progresses you toward unlocking content so it’s worth straying from the main quest.

One downside to the open world is that some Riddler’s puzzles and other areas cannot be accessed until you’ve got the right tools for the job. In order to gain more equipment, you’ll need to play through the main quest enough to gain them. There were a couple of puzzles where I wasted a bunch of time failing and reloading the game only to eventually find out (via Google searches) that the puzzle I was on could not be solved because I didn’t have the right tool. You can tag puzzle locations on the map to revisit later, though.

The fighting system in this game sucks. It sucked in the last one, but here it seems worse. Rather than just have fluid controls where Batman punches and kicks when you hit a button, this game using a timing-based system where you need to develop a rhythm based on lightning-fast button flashes on screen and those don’t always seem to work properly. Most fights involve pressing as many buttons as you can, as fast as you can, and hoping for the best. I was able to get though all the fights but it was so chaotic that I never really enjoyed it. I hate games where I fumble with the controls, and this is one that I never quite got down even after more than a dozen hours of gameplay. In contrast, the boss battles require you to use specific things in the environment and to do a lot of dodging while waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

On the plus side, one good part of the fighting system is that you can use all your Batman gadgets during the fight. You can peg people upside the head with a Batarang, or use a grappling hook to pull them in for a clothesline attack. After defeating Mr. Freeze, you’ll get his Freeze attack weapon that encases enemies in ice to hold them at bay for a short while. This is incredibly helpful when caught up in one of the many huge group fights you encounter in the game.

I was really impressed with the graphics in this one, especially with the full screen character animations. The Joker looked incredibly devlish in close-up, and Mark Hamill (yes, Luke Skywalker!) did a great job with his voice. The other character models are quite well done, but most impressive is the city itself. The buildings are all decorated with neon lights and some have graffiti, plus it all takes place at night so everything is dark and foreboding. It definitely has an air of Escape from New York about it with abandoned cars, roving gangs of thugs, and so on. Most buildings can be entered at certain times, and that further expands the size of this already huge world.

If you buy this game used, prepare to be cheated. You will have to buy some DLC’s to add on characters like Catwoman in order to get the full content of the game. It also has some side mission stuff that comes with this extra content. There is no online multiplayer action, but the game company gets you the other way by making you buy the extra stuff. Just think about that if you are comparing prices. If there is only a $10-15 difference, you might as well buy the new copy.

In the end, I really enjoyed played Batman: Arkham City, but I hate the fighting system in it. I found this one less compelling that Arkham Asylum, and after going through the main story quest I wasn’t interested enough to bother going around doing the rest of the side missions.

Recommended: Yes