Skip to content
James Schumacher / JamesInDigital: Words & Art
James Schumacher / JamesInDigital: Words & Art

Writing, Art, Photography, Media & Commentary

  • Home
  • Art / Photography / Portfolio
    • Photography
      • Oregon Waterfalls
      • Oregon Coast Photos Summer 2010
    • 3D Model & Texture- Gnome
    • Demo Reel – 2008
    • Misc – Photoshop
  • Writing
    • Tribute
    • L.A. Noire Film Reviews
    • Fallout Fan Fiction
  • Gaming Livestream
  • Hire Me / Freelance Services
James Schumacher / JamesInDigital: Words & Art

Writing, Art, Photography, Media & Commentary

Batman Arkham City – Initial Impressions

James Schumacher, October 18, 2011October 18, 2011

Arkham City Impressions

I spent a few hours with Arkham City this evening. I have to say that I can definitely see where all the positive hype is coming from. As I discussed in the preview article, Arkham Asylum was a bit of a surprise.  There wasn’t much to complain about with the first game and from my initial play-time it feels as though they have been able to improve on virtually Catwoman - Arkham Cityeverything somehow. I made the brash decision to go ahead and begin my play-through on hard difficulty, having recently replayed Asylum in Hard mode.  Now, maybe it’s just me but this game feels to have amped up the difficulty.

Arkham City’s world is large and open and you can encounter groups of gangs almost anywhere.  Even the small groups tend call in reinforcements having you fight at a bare minimum a dozen foes at once. When a game gives me free roaming and load of side objectives I tend to forget the main quest for large portions of time. So it is, that after several game-play hours I have managed to complete only 3% of the games main quest.  Within a half hour of playing this game I had already encountered Dr. Strange, Two-Face, Catwoman, The Penguin aka Oswald Cobblepot, Batman Arkham City Two-FaceBane, a mysterious unnamed observer and had the Riddler chirping in my ear.  There have already been mentions of Mr. Freeze amongst bantering Arkham City residents (aka prisoners) as well.

The graphics are excellent, dark and moody and light touches of snow are always good in my book. Combat remains fluid and you have one of you power takes downs fairly quickly along with most of your gadgets. Be careful when roaming freely, there are inmates with firearms not far from your starting point and firearms are death for The Bat nearly instantly on hard difficulty.  Weapon upgrades are done through VR Challenges which all seem to involve advanced versions of Batman’s gliding mechanics. While I successfully completed the first set to upgrade my grapnel, I am having difficulty mastering the dive mechanics for some of the new challenges.Arkham City Batman

The music seems to have taken it up a notch from the first and become even more cinematic feeling to match the visuals.  Everything in general is just expanded in quality including counters and takedowns which can now include multiple bad guys simultaneously. And, I almost forgot to mention, pre-orders should have received a copy of the Catwoman DLC. This should be installed immediately. Catwoman’s combat is not as strong, but increases the acrobatics and speed. It’s really beautiful animation. I can see a lot of hours being “wasted” on this game, but the first play-through is going to need to speed up; we’ve got Uncharted 3, Skyrim and Assassin’s Creed revelations mere weeks away.  So many games and so little time.  Batman Arkham City is definitely recommended.

FLYDIGI Vader 4 Pro Controller Force Adjustment Lever Joystick Hall & Micro Triggers 1000Hz Report Rate Stereo Vibration 800mAh Multi-Platform for PC/TV/NS/Android
4.3 out of 5 stars(65)
$79.99 (as of May 17, 2025 01:44 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
amFilm Tempered Glass Screen Protector Compatible with Nintendo Switch 2 7.9" 2025 (3-Pack) (SWTCH2-7.9")
4.7 out of 5 stars(14889)
$7.99 (as of May 17, 2025 01:44 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy Nintendo Switch - Limited Edition
5.0 out of 5 stars(27)
$99.99 (as of May 17, 2025 01:44 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Roblox Digital Gift Card - 2,000 Robux [Includes Exclusive Virtual Item] [Digital Code]
4.4 out of 5 stars(171465)
$20.00 (as of May 17, 2025 01:44 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
BENGOO G9000 Stereo Gaming Headset for PS4 PC Xbox One PS5 Controller, Noise Cancelling Over Ear Headphones with Mic, LED Light, 7.1 Surround Sound, Soft Memory Earmuffs for Nintendo Xbox Series X|S
4.3 out of 5 stars(109445)
$17.99 (as of May 17, 2025 01:44 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Auto Amazon Links

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailBatman – Arkham City Original Video Game Score Default ThumbnailGame Releases Fall 2011 – Batman Arkham City Default ThumbnailBatman – Arkham City Soundtrack Splinter Cell Trilogy HD Pre-orderGame Releases Fall 2011 – September Dark Souls PS3Game Releases Fall 2011 – October Ace Combat Assault Horizon CoverGame Releases Fall 2011 – October Continued
Action Game Review PC Games PS3 Reviews Video Games Xbox 360 actionArkhambatmanComic BooksconsoleFightinggamingInitial Impressionps3reviewvideogames

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Comment

  1. Pingback: Batman – Arkham City Original Video Game Score

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Amazon Disclosure - James Schumacher / JamesInDigital is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn commission fees by advertising and linking to the following web site: JamesInDigital.com

©2025 James Schumacher / JamesInDigital: Words & Art | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes