Arkham Asylum was amazing wasn't it? It maxed out the capabilities of consoles and judged everything perfectly. It was so perfectly balanced that to try and improve one area would only diminish another area.
And I guess this is where Arkham City comes in.
First of all, it's an amazing game. But it's essentially the same amazing game from 2009, but two years on. And lacking that suprise at how good that first game turned out to be. And that brilliant Scarecrow sequence.
Certain aspects have been, if not improved, certainly enlarged. But to compensate, other areas feel diminished - the map is bigger but the interiors (where much of the story still takes place) seem smaller. The campaign feels shorter this time round, but it would be about the same length with the added sidequests. There's twice as many Riddler quests, but it feels a bit like overkill as there was a good amount first time.
There are some stunning points in this game - the Mr Freeze battle is rightly recognized as one of the best boss fights ever; the Rā's al Ghūl sequences are imaginitive. But in 2009 I felt wonder, and in 2012 I'm feeling competence.
8.5/10
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