Arkham Mayhem — A Reunion Story!
Arkham City has racked up rave reviews from nearly everyone in the gaming community. As a gamer that considers himself a hardcore player, I regained a sense of love for gaming from the moment I pressed START to play Arkham Asylum, the direct predecessor of A.C. (not Atlantic City, although Batman probably could find some crime to clean UP and OUT there too).
Once you escorted The Joker into the Asylum, any fan of the Batman series became fully ensnared by the drama delivered efficiently by a parallel story. The witty wordplay between bitter, sweet rivals…the proverbial unstoppable force meeting an immovable force…the almost cliché time and time again capture and escape…all made quite vivid utilizing excellent graphics, classic voices, and dynamic gameplay. Any true gamer will find areas of improvement in virtually any game. So in A.A. (not alcoholics anonymous but watch out for a Bat in disguise…forget the pink elephants), there was a definite lack of boss battles and subsequent imagination fleshing out the existing ones in my opinion.
Arkham City, on the other glove, does not pull any punches! Bang! Thwap! Zoom!
Right out of the gate (literally), the player is ensnared by the “Batman” complex. Growing up a fan of the Bat, many of us probably shared similar awe and amazement for a “human” superhero that seemed to be more thrilling and intriguing than many other inked up figures of imagination.
– MILD SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT YET PLAYED OR HEARD A FRIEND TALK ENDLESSLY OF HOW COOL THIS GAME IS –
You play the infamous Bruce Wayne that rarely ever gets to shine as himself. This simple switch up dramatically took Batman games across all platforms into a new direction. It may sound overrated but the first scene queued me up to fill in those iconic boots. Bruce Wayne is now the one with the cuffs on and heading into prison. He takes a few licks from his fellow prisoners as a 1%-er but he just keeps on ticking because his character M.O. is pure and considerate of the 99%. — TIME RELATED REFERENCE FOR FUTURE READERS TO INQUIRE –
Tie! Zip! Run! or Glide…there is so much to do in this game that replay value was also enhanced. I completed the initial pass through the game and ventured into Story Plus mode. When I played A.A., I took my time and completed the game with 100% on the first try with ease. A.C. offers much more screwballs for the Bat…haha (maybe I should look into fulfilling the Riddler role in the next Batman flick). Speaking of the E. Nigma, the Riddler has hidden seemingly endless trophies, traps and tricks to keep Batman on the prowl.
One of the best features of the game is the counter system. Whether you battle one foe or a plethora of Arkham riff-raff, you have the power to block, dodge, and attack with the best of them…
With such big boots to fill, the developers (DC Comics, Rocksteady, and WB Games) united to definitely grapple one right out of the Gotham Park.
Thanks guys for returning a hardcore gamer in the working world back to the world of gaming…haha! Sniff Sniff…
Now, the search continues for the next great game. In-game villains hint at “Arkham World” being the next game in this hit Batman game series. I would love to be a part of that potential game’s development. In the meantime, please read my other article on this very game posted on my affiliate site, Shut Your Pi Hole.
