In one word…yes.
I think you will be hard-pressed to find a better Batman game, and dare I say, a better superhero game anywhere. I’m trying to think and I’m honestly drawing a blank. Superman, Spiderman, Wolverine…they all fail to come up to the lofty standards that the Rocksteady crew has put forth in this game. There are tons of walk-throughs and tidbits you can find around the web so I won’t waste too much time there. I’ll just break it down into pros and cons and let you do the math.
Likes:
- Gadgets
- Winning
- Side Missions
- Combat
- Voice Acting
- Catwoman
The gadgets are just as great this time around as they were for Arkham Asylum. In fact, you start off with most of the gadgets in tact. You’ve got the cryptographic sequencer, explosive gel, the batclaw, smoke pellets, and of course batarang. You get more as the game progresses and most of the items are actually upgradeable.
All of those gadgets make for an awesome experience playing the Dark Knight. The gadgets with the fight system really make you feel great when beating up the baddies.
Completing side missions also offer perks by giving you access to better weapons. You can play straight through the game without them, but you have a better time with a couple of extra goodies.
The Voice acting is top notch and reminds me of the good ole Batman Cartoon days. This is because many of the voice actors from then are present in this game as well. Kevin Conroy is back as Batman and Mark Hamill is doing the Joker.
Lastly, Catwoman is hot.
Dislikes:
- Detective Mode
- Riddler Trophies
It was hard to find anything to complain about with this game since there were so many things that were spot on. However, I did get weary of Detective Mode. It was annoying having to use it as often as we did. This was mostly because I’m convinced it was tearing up my eye site. The colors are all crazy and its cool for the first hour or so, then gets really annoying the rest of the time. I just wish it didn’t change the color of the world. It would be great if Detective Mode just helped you find clues and highlighted weapons. Or it may have been better to toggle different Modes in Detective Mode so that you weren’t stuck with the weird colors all the time.
The Riddler Trophies, while fun, are annoying. Most of the city is painted with question marks. It can be a little overwhelming and quite frankly is the only thing that doesn’t feel right in this universe. I could see the Riddler hacking in from time to time or as more subplots, but really just hiding gems all around the city? I felt like the Rocksteady crew could have changed the direction a little bit there rather than just adding more trophies.
Overall:
Overall, this game is stunning. They completely nailed the sequel which is really hard to do with movies and, in my opinion, even harder to do with games. Batman is even cooler, the enemies are cooler, the stage is bigger, the fighting is better, and the story line is top notch. Other than the annoying Riddler Trophies and needing Detective Mode on all the time this game is definitely worth springing for if you like super hero games.
