While I did enjoy Arkham Asylum's storyline more, I don't think the plot was as bland as you make it out to be. I liked Strange and Two-Face. And you didn't mention him, but in my opinion Arkham City has the best version of Penguin ever. Oh, I also think the "final joke" wasn't really meant to be "ha-ha" funny and Batman was just being ironic, but that may be just me. To each his own, I guess.
You mentioned clayface. Have you just given away the final twist? I'd avoid those sorts of spoilers in the review.
Book me today! I also review weddings, funerals and bar mitzvahs.
What happened to the other review?
Dude they killed (Spoiler). He's dead in this media for good.
"Has there, in the history of gaming, ever been a video game more hyped? More detailed? More picked-apart by legions of fans?"
Yes, it has. It's called Half-Life 2.
To be fair, there's always a chance of having something spoiled when you're reading a review.
Oh hey, this was bumped.
Leave a Comment:
Gameplay? Godly. Everything else? Eh.
Oh, Arkham City. Has there, in the history of gaming, ever been a video game more hyped? More detailed? More picked-apart by legions of fans?
Its gameplay is everything that critics say it is. Like that of Arkham Asylum, only ten times better. Access to gear you've never had before. A bigger, badder environment to run around in. Brand-new combos to unleash upon heaps of henchmen.
And Arkham City itself feels genuinely alive, crawling with ne'er-do-wells of all sorts. Little touches like the Monarch Theater and Ace Chemicals are really appreciated.
But everything, no matter how seemingly perfect, must have its flaws. As a long-time reader of Batman comics, perhaps I am not the best person to judge, but I found most of the characters disappointingly shallow and predictable. Batman? Your typical no-nonsense hero. Joker? A gloating, murderous sociopath with far too little creativity to his taunts. Strange? The creepy mastermind whose only purpose seems to be sitting in some remote control center and doing whatever the hell the plot requires of him (while belting out the usual "All according to plan" speeches). Catwoman? An embarrassing mess of on-my-own-side "Bad Girl" cliches without a hint of originality to her characterization. Perhaps most tellingly of all, Two-Face - quite possibly the single most complex villain in all of Gotham - is reduced to a penny-ante thug whose role could have been replaced by any one of dozens of villains.
The plot was fine, but nothing too special. Yes, including the Big Plot Twist (and I swear to God, I cannot see how the "final joke" is funny in any way, shape, or form). No originality points for resorting to the tired old "It was Clayface all along!" gimmick, either.
Nevertheless, I doubt that these cons will be much deterrent to those that put gameplay first and foremost. No matter how bland the plot or how flat the characterization. there's always the thrill of leaping into a crowd of goons head-first and kicking all their asses one-by-one. And getting to hear Conroy and Hamill again for what just might be the final time is probably motivation enough by itself.