E3 2011: Batman: Arkham City (Hands On)

by: Sean - posted: 6/11/2011 3:46:00 PM

Game: Batman: Arkham City
Developer: Rocksteady
Release Window/Date: October 18, 2011.
What's Polished: Visuals, Controls, Story...
What Needs Polished: ...flying around the city could've been a little smoother.

I have a hard time being critical about this game, GNers. Batman: Arkham City looked and played great. The city is huge and full of little Batman references, like the Art Deco cat statue from Batman Returns. Developers said that the combat from Batman: Arkham Asylum influenced the way Batman travels around town, trying to emulate the seamless flow of the combo system into zip-lining and gliding around town, "carving" through the air. 

I don't know that i'd call it carving; if there was a way to cut the zip-line short and glide, I didn't find it. Instead I zip-lined to a point, then had to stop and glide in a direction. The zip-lining and the gliding themselves are well-done, and grappling from the glide was great, but going from glide to grapple felt a little disjointed.

Combat was just as great as B:AA, now with more special moves, and B: AC features an improved detective system that makes the player work a little harder to solve the puzzles.

Batman is on the case October 18th.