10th Day of Twelve Best Games of 2011: Batman Arkham City

Picture from Batman Arkham Asylum

       Batman Arkham City is noteworthy, if for no other reason that it is a sequel like no other.  The semi-open world Batman Arkham Asylum was the first offering by the wonderful developers at Rocksteady.  Asylum was not only a breath of fresh air for super hero games, but also one of the best Metroid-style games I’ve ever played.  Within that same framework mechanically, Rocksteady offers Batman Arkham City.  But rather than making it yet another Metroid-style design this mechanic is, by and large thrown out.  In favor of the ambitious, open world style that Arkham City brings to the world of Batman.

     Without spoiling anything, Arkham City has one of the best beginnings that I’ve ever experienced in a video game.  Everyone should play the first 20 minutes of Arkham Asylum to show just how cinematic a video game can become.  But it goes farther than cinema, this kind of thing is more impactful than cinema.  Not because, necessarily, of what the player is doing but everything around what the player is doing.  But once this is over most of the innovation fades away.  But not necessarily to the detriment of the whole.

     The story of Arkham City is a comic book story; which is not surprising considering a comic book writer, penned it(Paul Dini).  Even with lots of side-quests. the player has no trouble following the main quest all the way through.  Much like Skyrim, however, the game is constantly arguing with the player about what is truly important.  Which is fine, in an open world design these are perfectly legitimate mechanics.  But unlike Skyrim and unlike Saints Row the Third; not everything in Batman Arkham City is fun or well written.  Many of the villain based side-quests are very vignetted or feel too much like cameo appearances.

   The pace pushes the player along the main path a little; but the sheer distance between quests can make the player wander off track.  Some of the Riddler stuff is a little annoying and sometimes can border on overwrought as far as repetition is concerned.  But these activities are by no means required and while many fans of the Dark Knight will want to finish every one of them.  The average player may only be able to stomach a few.

   The best open world games like Saints Row the Third and Infamous 2 Festival of Blood; players are lead through the main quest from point to point.  The player can wander off if they want.  But the story remains solid enough that the arc is there if the player wants to follow that arc.  Arkham City definitely tries to do this; but the longer the game goes on, the more unraveled things get.  This less focused technique, while it can work and does in this instance.  The relaxed pace can just as easily work against the storyteller or designer as much as working for them.  A small blemish on an otherwise excellent game.  

    Some of the logistics of the world of Batman Arkham City are a little funky.  The fact that this all happens in one night can really feel like a stretch.  Unlike in Arkham Asylum where this was at least plausible.  Especially due to the arbitrary timed main quest that runs through the whole game.  While this might have been good to build tension at first.  It just breaks down into being annoying by the time you realize how it all resolves.