Batman: Arkham City - first thoughts

OH MY GOD - forget all games (well until Battlefield 3 gets here), Batman Arkham City is the game of the year so far for me! The eagerly awaited game does not disappoint.  If you loved the first one then go out and get this.


Whether you're male or female it's a great game. In fact if you purchase the Catwoman code from the PS store then it's a game for husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend to enjoy together. Let one be Batman and the other Catwoman.


The map is pretty vast and the scenery is fairly intense. The whole of the city has become a prison fuelled by the antics of the evil Dr Strange. With several of Batman's arch enemies in the city it's a dangerous place to be a bat.    The not so funny Joker has injected Batman with a virus and the cold hearted Mr Freeze is the only one with the cure.  Sounds like fun doesn't it?


Batman scales the highs and dredges the lows of the city landscape, from tall towers and cranes to the sewers underneath in his quest to clean up Arkham.   


As in the first one, the delightful Riddler has left his trophy marks all over the city - this time round though they are much harder to get, whether it's a skill task with your remote batarang,  a memory challenge or a physical quest, they've really thought about the placement of the trophies this time round.  That and the fact that not all of them can be collected by Batman, some are only available to pick up as Catwoman. 


On top of the Riddler trophies there are twelve side missions (not essential to the main game play, but add to the game intensity) which unlock additional upgrades for the Batsuit etc. One is the phone calls from sociopath, Victor Zsasz, answer a ringing street phone then try to locate a second phone somewhere else in the city within a very short time scale (2 minutes). Get there and Victor's hostage is saved, don't and it's murder! It's difficult!


There's so much to do on this game that this short post really doesn't do it enough justice. All I can say is that I spent many hours on it on Friday evening, yesterday and already today and I'm pretty sure I haven't yet scratched the surface of what Gotham and Arkham has awaiting for me as Batman. I aim to regularly up date you on my progress but for now I can only suggest you buy it online now this lovely Sunday evening, or put it on your lunchtime shopping list for tomorrow.  


For now it's over and out and back to the fight!


Watch out for a special Batman: Arkham City prize in the Games Booth 10 days of Christmas competition!