Batman: Arkham City

The Good
As I previously stated with my review of the PS3 version of the game, Batman: Arkham City is a masterclass in game design and all-round sense of fun and escapism through the eyes of Batman. The gameplay's spectacular and very creative for the players and developers alike. Are there any flaws in the game? Not really, but the Xbox 360's D-Pad does make things a little awkward.

Everything that made the PS3 version great carries over perfectly here.

The Bad
Like I said before: the D-Pad on the 360's controller has always been rather clunky to me (everything else about the controller is fine) and this can make the process of selecting gadgets for Batman unintentionally jerky if you're in a frenzy trying to escape the baddies in stealth mode.

The Bottom Line
It's Batman mixed with God of War, Grand Theft Auto, The Legend of Zelda and Castlevania.

The Good
Batman's one of pop-culture's defining superheroes, if not THE defining superhero ever; and this video game delivers on the character's legacy ten-fold. It's got fantastic gameplay, an equally well-written story supported by top-tier voice-acting and a very fine orchestral score to top it all off. And it's Batman's first real foray into one of gaming's greatest areas: open-world adventuring where you're the world's greatest superhero 24/7.

Need I really say any more? This game's the finest one that was released in 2011 and it's still fantastic on every level (literally and figuratively in terms of gameplay) and it's Batman's greatest outing since The Dark Knight movie. You fight all the classics in Batman's rogue-gallery: Two-Face, Clay-Face, Poison Ivy (via Catwoman), Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, Solomon Grundy, Ra's al Ghul, the Joker, The Riddler, Bane and Hugo Strange. They're all varied in their skills and phases in boss battles adding to the incredible diversity already present in the game's open-world of Arkham City.

This is gaming's equivalent of The Godfather Part II and The Empire Strikes Back: a sequel that builds on top of the original work and goes places we never knew we wanted in the first place, and making an unforgettable experience out of it.

The Bad
Batman's weakness to bullets (on any of the game's difficulties) is a bit tedious but it does help you learn from your mistakes when engaging in stealth battles against thugs.

The Bottom Line
Imagine a Batman game having the impact of God of War and the scale of Grand Theft Auto, mixed with The Legend of Zelda and Castlevania. It's a comic book dream come to life.