Rocksteady shocked players back in 2009 with Batman: Arkham Asylum. For years, the superhero genre had been a dumping ground for horrible licensed games. That’s what made Arkham Asylum so special. It was a licensed superhero game that was absolutely fantastic. Now, Rocksteady has returned with another Batman game. Does it do the Caped Crusader justice or is it just a joke?

For reasons we won’t spoil, Batman finds himself in Arkham City, a large section of Gotham City that now houses Gotham’s most criminally insane. It is here that Batman must unravel the mystery of the mysterious Protocol 10 and what exactly Dr. Hugo Strange has planned for the facility.

Gone is the sometimes-silly plot of mysterious formulas that manage to make men grow into hideously deformed monsters. Instead, a darker and more mature story unfolds on Arkham City. There are a few occasions where the pacing stumbles, but it isn’t enough to detract from the overall story.

Rocksteady manages to inject more character by going further into the psyche of Batman himself. He feels more real and vulnerable thanks to Strange knowing who he really is. This makes Batman feel more human and connectable than in Arkham Asylum.

Villains such as the Joker and Zsasz return in grand fashion. Joker, like Batman, is in a physical state that creates a sense of vulnerability that we have not seen before. We see him genuinely scared for the first time and it is quite a spectacle to behold.

The massive roster of villains that Rocksteady had been teasing seemed too good to be true, and it really was. Despite heavy marketing with plenty of villains, barely any make it into the actual campaign. Some that do actually make it in, such as Harley Quinn and Mr. Freeze are underused and underdeveloped. It is a shame how few of the villains are actually utilized.

Though, this doesn’t stop the game from delivering a solid story with enough twist and turns to keep players guessing till the very end.

Arkham City may seem different at a glance, but playing through will bring a sense of Déjà vu. The city appears big and has plenty of buildings, but it feels like the size of all of Arkham Asylum put ont a single map. Not to say this is a bad thing as the change from an island to a city district is a nice change.

What players will find most shocking is that the campaign isn’t very long. Those who ignore the side quests and go strictly through the campaign will find that it can be completed between 6-7 hours. Completing those side quests will tack on plenty of extra hours, and seeing as there are some really good ones they most certainly aren’t to be missed.

While the city feels pretty dead compared to other open-world titles such as Grand Theft Auto or Assassin’s Creed, there is still plenty to see and do. Random acts of violence, Riddler trophies and missions, Zsasz phone calls, and so much more will devour up time. Plus, once you beat the game, you unlock the New Game + option, allowing the main campaign to be played again with all gadgets unlocked and heightened difficulty.

There is no multiplayer to speak of in the game. Separate challenge missions with leaderboards are unlocked by collecting Riddler trophies in throughout the single-player experience. Here you can take Batman, Catwoman, and Robin (If pre-ordered at select stores) into these different challenges and compete for high scores. This does feel like a lost opportunity for co-operative play, especially since other games, such as Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, had the same type of modes with the added bonus of co-op.

Rocksteady does falter when it comes to designing the missions. While the levels themselves are well built, a lot of the objectives driving the missions are unclear and sometimes won’t even become obvious until after you die. This also leads into the odd-omission of a mini-map on the HUD. It is easy to get lost in certain areas, such as the subway and sewer systems, and having that map would ease some confusion in trying to find the right direction.

Those who played Arkham Asylum will feel right at home with Arkham City. The fundamental gameplay remains mostly unchanged with the developer simply adding a few more bells and whistles. There are new enemy types, gadgets, and flying as well as some sweet new ways to finish enemies like the double takedown.

Probably the biggest change is the new cape system that allows you more ability to fly around rather than just glide. The use of pitching Batman up and down to gain momentum creates a flying system that makes traveling around the city a breeze.

Combat is pretty much unchanged. Square/X is the beat down button and moving the analog stick in the direction of an enemy will have Batman aim his attack at them. Triangle/Y is used for countering enemies when an attack symbol appears above their head. Circle/B uses the cape to stun, meanwhile X/A is used to run and jump. Like in Arkham Asylum, fighting is just as fun and intense.

Predator maps arm enemies with guns and leave Batman with only one choice; a sneaky approach. These are still fun, but can be frustrating if you die and there are only a couple of guards left.

Though, the most frustrating part of the gameplay is easily the camera, which has not been improved upon since the original. In fact, due to the new additions of gameplay the camera is actually worse in tight places. During fights the camera will zoom out to give players a larger view, but it doesn’t always work. The nature of the free-flow combat has the camera moving wildly and it is easy to lose track of enemies that leave the view. They can then throw objects or collect guns leading to some frustrating surprises.

The camera pulling out also leads to a problem with countering. There are some new enemy weapons that require new dodging techniques, but the colours chosen for the counter symbols were poorly picked. When zoomed out and you’re in the heat of the action, some of the symbol colours tend to blend together. Rocksteady really should have picked colours that wouldn’t have blended as well as this is a frequent issue, leading to some annoyance.

Gadgets, which played a big part in Arkham Asylum, make a return with plenty of new additions. Most of the gadgets from Arkham Asylum, aside from a few select ones, are available right from the start. Starting early in the game, tons of new gadgets are heaped on Batman that either help in combat or make traversal around the environment easier.

Detective Mode also returns in Batman: Arkham City as a pretty useful, yet distracting tool. A tap of the button will turn Batman’s cowl into a thermal-sensing and objective seeking device, which comes in handy to help point Batman in the right direction or to scope out enemy positions. The big problem is that you’ll never want to turn it off. It is so useful and the game is so vague about where you need to go that the Detective mode becomes such a necessity.

With the detective mode on you won’t be able to take a look at the beautiful city. Arkham City, while not a huge visual upgrade from Arkham Asylum, is still a pretty good-looking game with the City taking the visual crown. Even in the midst of chaos and destruction, the city manages to catch the eye thanks to some really nice architecture that incorporates some nice nods towards specific villains.

Rocksteady has also thankfully spruced up hit detection and animation. In Arkham Asylum, there would be occasional hit detection problems in the slow-motion finish attacks where Batman’s fist/foot wouldn’t correctly hit his victim, but this has been fixed with Batman now delivering every finishing attack to the right place. Animation in this game is absolutely top-notch especially with Batman and Catwoman as they effortlessly weave and bob between enemies. It is quite a sight to behold.

Models and textures don’t hold up as well especially when viewing characters during interactions. Characters end up looking more like plastic action figures rather than actual people. The wooden and stiff blocking during interactions between Batman and another character still looks as awkward as ever.

At least the game has an amazing cast of actors at its disposal, to help pick up some of the slack. Veterans Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill return to their iconic roles as Batman and the Joker, respectively. They are also joined by stars such as Nolan North, Tara Strong, and Corey Burton among others to help create one of the best voice casts for a video game in recent memory.

Batman: Arkham City is a game that builds upon the success of Arkham Asylum. Though it never reaches the height set by its predecessor due to Rocksteady failing to fix some of the originals shortcomings, Arkham City is still a fantastic game to play. There aren’t that many excellent superhero games making this one a true diamond in the rough that everybody, regardless of being a Batman, should pick up without hesitation.