Batman: Arkham City

Moby ID: 55403
Xbox 360 Specs
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Description official descriptions

Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum and once again stars the masked superhero Batman as the protagonist. The game takes place a year and a half after the events of the original game. After Joker was stopped from taking over the asylum, the asylum's former warden Quincy Sharp claims the responsibility for having averted disaster and he uses the popularity to become mayor of Gotham City. To suppress crime further, an enormous open-air prison called Arkham City is built. Citizens (as well as journalists in particular) are under strict supervision and the slightest disturbance is sufficient to be transferred to the prison. Sharp is assisted by psychiatrist Hugo Strange and hires the armed forces of the rogue security firm TYGER Security to maintain order. The story for Batman starts when he, as Bruce Wayne, is sent to Arkham City after declaring his opposition to the facility in a press conference. Strange is aware of Wayne's dual identity, but he can escape from the Penguin and gets his gear back through an airdrop from Alfred Pennyworth, which allows him to turn into Batman and fight the facility from the inside. Much of the story also revolves around a strange disease called the Titan formula that has infected Joker, and a secret plan called Protocol 10. Other famous characters from the franchise that make an appearance include Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Rā's al Ghūl, and Clayface.

The game has an open-world environment for Batman to explore with secondary objectives and paths next to the main storyline. Just like the first game, Batman has access to a large amount of melee fighting moves that can be chained into combos and throws, as well as a large arsenal of gadgets used in combat, to solve puzzles, or to travel through the environment. Most situations offer the choice to go head-on, or move more silently by gliding and using stealth. At the start of the game Batman has all the gadgets from the first game, with improved abilities, and new ones become available later on. The improved abilities include the use of the grappling hook while gliding to reach higher areas, the line launcher that can also act as a tightrope with a flipping mechanic to launch another line in a different direction, built-in boost and brake for the Batarang, and the ability to track signals through the cryptographic sequencer. Some of the new gadgets allow Batman to freeze enemies and water with ice grenades, detonate explosive and jam weapons with a disruptor, confuse enemies with smoke, power electrical equipment, and shock enemies with a taser.

Still present from the original game is the Detective mode, a form of augmented reality where evidence and enemies become clearer. It is now used more often for forensic puzzles, for instance, to trace the origin of items. Batman also has access to a criminal database. For the secondary quests, he often has to collect trophies hidden by the Riddler, with 440 challenges in total.

In addition to Batman, the game can also be played as Catwoman for a series of missions in the main campaign. She is enabled by entering a single-use code provided with each new copy of the game for the Xbox 360 and PS3. For the PC it was slip-streamed into the game right away. Catwoman has a different, more acrobatic fighting style with bolas, whips, and claws. The Detective mode is called Thief Vision for her and allows her to steal items. Some secondary puzzles can only be completed as Catwoman. The console versions support a stereoscopic 3D mode.

Spellings

  • Batman: Аркхем Сити - Russian spelling

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Credits (Xbox 360 version)

565 People (542 developers, 23 thanks) · View all

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 93% (based on 52 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.4 out of 5 (based on 88 ratings with 2 reviews)

The Greatest Superhero Game Ever Made!

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.

PlayStation 3 · by John H. (52) · 2019

One of those rare cases where the game's great on any platform.

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.

Xbox 360 · by John H. (52) · 2019

Trivia

Catwoman

As common with AAA games of this time period, purchasers of an unused version receive a one-time activation code to unlock a DLC; in this case Catwoman as playable character. In the PC version, Catwoman is included right away - but the Games for Windows Live package insert still talks about how Catwoman needs to be unlocked with the non-existing Pass Card...

Steam

In October 2013, the Games for Windows Live copy protection was ditched in favor for Steam. Previous owners of the game can activate their game with the old product key and the game is automatically upgraded to the Game of the Year Edition which includes all DLC. However, old save games are not compatible.

Awards

  • GamePro (Germany) / GameStar (Germany)
    • 2011 - #3 Best PC Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
    • 2011 - #3 Console Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
    • 2011 - Best Console Action-Adventure of the Year (Readers' Choice)
    • 2011 - #2 Best PC Action Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
  • GameSpy
    • 2011 – Action Game of the Year
    • 2011 – #1 Top Superhero PC Game (together with Batman: Arkham Asylum)
  • PC Games (Germany)
    • Issue 01/2012 - Best Game in 2011 (Editors' Choice)
    • Issue 01/2012 - #4 Best Game in 2011 (Readers' Choice)
    • Issue 01/2012 - Best Action-Adventure in 2011 (Editors' Choice)

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Sciere.

OnLive added by firefang9212.

Additional contributors: Patrick Bregger, DemonikD.

Game added April 4, 2012. Last modified February 21, 2024.