Review Preview: Batman Arkham City

In typical RasterMasterGames fashion this review will take on five major topics: Gameplay, Plot, Audio (OST and Voice Acting), Replay Value, and overall design.

First up is the plot. Now, personally I consider myself a Batman fan but I can't say that I've ever really read many of the comics. Now, I've read a few such as The Long Halloween and The Dark Knight Returns, which got an awesome skin in this game by the way, but I can't say that I've read a lot. Most of my exposure to Batman has come through the Animated Series and the most recent movies (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight). Batman comics, series, and movies are typically known for having a pretty good plot (Batman and Robin as well as Batman Forever are nice exceptions from this statement IMO). Batman: Arkham City has taken this expectancy of a good plot to a new level. I am going to outright state that the plot to Batman: Arkham City is fucking outstanding. It takes many characters from the Batman universe and sticks true to their character while also adding a bit of their own touch. The cast of characters is vast and goes from mainstay villains such as Joker to more minor villains such as Calender Man (yes that's right, Calender Man is in the game).

I am going to try and make this brief summary as spoiler free as possible. Basically the plot of the game is that Hugo Strange is running this large superprison known as Arkham City that is basically a large chunk of Gotham that was made into the new Arkham. Strange actually knows who Batman is (spoiler: it's Bruce Wayne!) and Batman ends up deep involved with what is going on inside the prison including finding out what's going on with his sick arch nemesis Joker as well as trying to stop Strange and his mysterious plan known as Protocol Ten. Now there is also a side story that revolves around Catwoman if you buy the game new or if you get the DLC for around 10 bucks.

Now it's time to give the plot an overall score. I would have to say that this is one of the best story driven games on the market right now and I would have to give it a...

Read the full review next week to find out my scores, thoughts, and overall FINAL JUDGMENT!