For years people thought that every Batman video game was destined to be a failure. In 2009, the curse was broken when Batman Arkham Asylum hit the shelves and seized the coveted title of “Game of the Year” at many different outlets. With the bar set so high, people wondered if Arkham City would be a sequel worthy of Batman’s name. After many hours of gameplay, I can confidently say that the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Batman Arkham City Story

There comes a point in time when Gotham has more criminals than it can house on Arkham Island. So the people, led by Dr. Hugo Strange, decided to quarantine off a section of Gotham with high walls and send all of its criminals there to fend for themselves; regardless of the crime.

After a short fight and cutscene with Catwoman, the game takes you to Bruce Wayne, who is arrested and thrown into Arkham City. Once you are able to be alone, Alfred drops off your bat suit, utility belt, and a few familiar gadgets from Arkham Asylum. You then set out on a quest to find out what is going on in Arkham City and how you can put an end to it. Along the way you will encounter a majority of Batman’s most infamous enemies, collect hundreds of Riddler’s trophies, and embark on several side quests. There is plenty to do in Arkham City and lots of savory plot twisting, but this game begs to be experienced rather than read about, so I will spare you the spoilers.

Batman Arkham City Gameplay

Those of you who had the privilege of enjoying Arkham Asylum will feel right at home. Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham City retains everything that made you fall in love with the first one and added a lot of improvements to the game mechanics. These improvements include a better use of special combo moves, a sleeker more stylish Cryptographic Sequencer, Catwoman as a fully controllable character with her own moves and gadgets, and mini puzzles that must be solved to get a majority of the hidden Riddler trophies.

But those of you who missed the 2009 Game of the Year will not be lost. The controls are seamless and the combat system will have you flawlessly stringing one hit or counter with the next into incredible combos in no time; especially if you have an Xbox controller to hook up to your PC.