The original game (Arkham Asylum) was a surprise hit. It came from pretty much no where and blew people away with it's dark tone, great story and characters and real feeling of "being Batman".
So now here is the sequel...and it's a disappointment. From a disjointed plot that goes no where, to it's (wrong) bigger = better attitude.
First the good:
They have left the satisfying combat alone, but still added new animations and moves to "open" up the already open or "free flowing" combat.
The voice acting is just as good if not better than the first game.
It's a Batfan's haven. With many obvious and subtle references, back stories and easter eggs to discover.
Now the bad:
A pointless story with multiple strands that have no pay off. Not really a spoiler here as the original trailer makes this it's selling point: Strange knows who Batman really is. This is a HUGE plot point with many interesting connotations, and where does this lead to in the game? No where, nothing is made of this at all. One of the many plots that actually have no reason to be part of the story at all...there are others.
The map is "5 times bigger"...but also 5 times more dull than the original. Once the initial "enjoyment" of the openness subsides you realise the map is pretty "empty". Remove the many...WAY too many Riddler bits and there is nothing going on and no point in the map being "5 times bigger" at all. Exploring is more a chore than an enjoyment. Part of the enjoyment of 'Asylum' was "building Batman", gaining the gadgets and opening the map. Here you have (pretty much) everything from the off and the map is open. No build up, nothing to look forward to.
It's a shorter game than the original. Just as a personal test I did a speed run of both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Bearing in mind I've played through 'Aslyum' many times and know the game inside out, yet only played 'City' once before and know it not as well. Yet it took me 2 hours less to reach the end of 'City' than 'Asylum' when only sticking to the story. "Bigger" map yes, but not a "bigger" game.
The game is mostly filler. From the WAY too many Riddler bits to the multiple villains that have there own separate strands. The game is VERY fragmented and more like a collection of mini games than one complete, overall experience as was Arkham Asylum. It's just padding after padding after padding. Clearly included to fill the gaps of the empty story and pointless "5 times bigger" map.
Still this is not a "bad game". It's still an enjoyable experience. It's just such a disappointment after the genius that was Arkham Asylum and living proof that bigger does not mean "better". Where as 'Asylum' was one, organic game play and story experience. 'City' is more like a patchwork quilt with lots of little pieces stitched together, and you can really see the stitch work here. If they changed the menu selection and added an option to play any of the villain's stories at will, they really could repackage this as a party game collection like Mario Party, etc.
So now here is the sequel...and it's a disappointment. From a disjointed plot that goes no where, to it's (wrong) bigger = better attitude.
First the good:
They have left the satisfying combat alone, but still added new animations and moves to "open" up the already open or "free flowing" combat.
The voice acting is just as good if not better than the first game.
It's a Batfan's haven. With many obvious and subtle references, back stories and easter eggs to discover.
Now the bad:
A pointless story with multiple strands that have no pay off. Not really a spoiler here as the original trailer makes this it's selling point: Strange knows who Batman really is. This is a HUGE plot point with many interesting connotations, and where does this lead to in the game? No where, nothing is made of this at all. One of the many plots that actually have no reason to be part of the story at all...there are others.
The map is "5 times bigger"...but also 5 times more dull than the original. Once the initial "enjoyment" of the openness subsides you realise the map is pretty "empty". Remove the many...WAY too many Riddler bits and there is nothing going on and no point in the map being "5 times bigger" at all. Exploring is more a chore than an enjoyment. Part of the enjoyment of 'Asylum' was "building Batman", gaining the gadgets and opening the map. Here you have (pretty much) everything from the off and the map is open. No build up, nothing to look forward to.
It's a shorter game than the original. Just as a personal test I did a speed run of both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Bearing in mind I've played through 'Aslyum' many times and know the game inside out, yet only played 'City' once before and know it not as well. Yet it took me 2 hours less to reach the end of 'City' than 'Asylum' when only sticking to the story. "Bigger" map yes, but not a "bigger" game.
The game is mostly filler. From the WAY too many Riddler bits to the multiple villains that have there own separate strands. The game is VERY fragmented and more like a collection of mini games than one complete, overall experience as was Arkham Asylum. It's just padding after padding after padding. Clearly included to fill the gaps of the empty story and pointless "5 times bigger" map.
Still this is not a "bad game". It's still an enjoyable experience. It's just such a disappointment after the genius that was Arkham Asylum and living proof that bigger does not mean "better". Where as 'Asylum' was one, organic game play and story experience. 'City' is more like a patchwork quilt with lots of little pieces stitched together, and you can really see the stitch work here. If they changed the menu selection and added an option to play any of the villain's stories at will, they really could repackage this as a party game collection like Mario Party, etc.