Read more about Arkham City at: Wikipedia Official Site: DC Comics Batman: Arkham City is a 2011 action-adventure video game developed by Rocksteady Studios. It is the sequel to the 2009 award winning video game Batman: Arkham Asylum, based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The game was released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The game was officially announced during the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards and was released worldwide for consoles, beginning in North America on October 18, 2011, with the Microsoft Windows version following on November 22, 2011. A Wii U version is set to be released in 2012. A spin-off iOS game, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, was developed by NetherRealm Studios and released on December 7, 2011. Arkham City was scripted by veteran comic book author Paul Dini, who also scripted Arkham Asylum. It features a main plot and side-missions that develop their own sub-plots. The main storyline revolves around Batman's imprisonment in Arkham City, a sprawling new super-prison five times bigger than the original asylum and enclosing a wide variety of industrial districts, iconic locations and Gotham City landmarks. He must now stop mishaps occurring around this chaotic enclosure caused by Gotham's most notorious super criminals. The game has received universal critical acclaim and is one of the highest-rated video games of 2011 according to review aggregator Metacritic. Arkham City is an open world action video game that incorporates elements of stealth and predator tactics. The gadgets previously obtained in the first game are present at the start of Arkham City, while others are available later in the game. Most of these gadgets have improved or boast new capabilities; for example, the Cryptographic Sequencer can also track signals, the line launcher now can be deployed as a tightrope and has a feature that allows Batman to flip over and launch another zipline, switching directions. The remote control Batarang now has a built in brake and boost, and the grappling gun can now be used while gliding to boost Batman further up into the air. New gadgets include smoke pellets to confuse armed enemies when spotted by them, the Remote Electrical Charge, a taser gun used to power generators and shock enemies, ice grenades used to freeze enemies and make pathways through water, and a signal disruptor used to jam firearms and detonate enemy explosives. The game incorporates more puzzle elements; the use of Batman's "Detective Mode", which highlights elements such as enemy skeletons and clues on-screen, is used to perform forensic activities such as tracing the origin of a sniper round. The player also has access to a criminal database that tracks several investigations across the city and the forensic puzzles, as well as a communications interception and tracing network. However, Rocksteady's art director David Hego described the new detective mode as an "augmented reality mode", and game director Sefton Hill has also stated that although enemies and evidence can be seen more clearly, the navigational part is toned down as they found that some players completed Arkham Asylum using detective mode almost throughout the entire game. Optional challenges from the Riddler to collect hidden trophies placed around the city are also present, but require additional effort to locate, such as interrogation of men loyal to the Riddler, and the use of nearly all of Batman's gadgets to disable "traps" and barriers placed around them. After a certain number of trophies are found, Batman must go rescue a hostage that the Riddler has captured, which requires him to disable death traps set by the Riddler. |