If you felt Arkham Asylum was lacking in Villains, you will like this game, which has a shit ton more villains; Joker, Strange, Ra's, Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, Bane, Freeze, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Zsasz, Solomon Grundy, Clayface, etc, etc. If you can think of a Batman villain, there's a good chance they're in this game. I actually don't like this though; it's cool to have all of these villains, but half of them could be a villain in their own game, instead they're put in supporting roles, and are not fleshed out in the way they really deserve, Freeze in particular I feel is a bit wasted. You can't talk villains without talking about joker, who not only is the most gripping part of the game for me, but comes with a show stealing performance from Mark Hamill, and I really do mean show stealing. The game's main story with Strange is interesting too, but just less so. That said; it's still a very interesting and engaging story with some really awesome moments. And without spoiling anything, this game's ending is something you will not expect, as is the opening, with I again won't spoil.
If you buy this game new you get the Catwoman missions, I bring this up because the combat in Arkham City is much faster and more free-flowing than in Arkham Asylum, and Catwoman is faster than Batman, so prepare to be amazed by the lightning fast Catwoman combat. Batman in Arkham City still has all his toys from Arkham Asylum, as well as a few new ones to mix things up. He also has some sick new abilities and moves like the ability to dive bomb while gliding to gain altitude, and an unlockable ability allows him to launch into the air like a rocket when grappling, these tricks are useful given the world's size, which makes Arkham island from the last game look kind of pathetic. This open world is also completely packed with little details to really make it feel alive, like overhearing 2 inmates complaining about the weather on the radio, or stumbling across assaults, murder victims and mysterious ringing phones. The game also has enough side quests to keep you busy for hours, in addition to the 10 or so hour story, and of course, Riddler trophies are back, but this time you really have to work for them, good luck with that.
You can, as I said just, play as Catwoman. Something I love is that she doesn't play the same as Batman; in combat she is weaker, taking less hits and dealing less damage, but she's lightning fast, and still able to take down a room of 20 thugs no problem, once the simple but brilliant combat system has been mastered. Her collection of gadgets is vastly smaller than Batman's, but what she has is really cool. and she has a completely different movement system to Batman; climbing up walls, crawling on ceilings. My point is she isn't just a Batman re-skin, she's her own gal, and that is impressive, good job rocksteady. Finally, the boss fights in this game are much more creative, making much better use of Batman's Gadgets and requiring a bit more brain power to beat. The Freeze boss fight really stands out, as he adapts and learns your tactics, forcing you to constantly change your strategy, and introducing new ideas for combat.
Arkham City does exactly what a sequel should do, improve on the original. And with a faster combat system, more gadgets, an expanded list of villains, and expanded world, and the balls to tread places you won't expect with it's story, this game is an improvement on Arkham Asylum. Though I think the villains are a bit to numerous for the game's good, I really like the Hugo Strange story, and I love the Joker story. This game reminds me of Uncharted 2 and Mass Effect 2, sure the first games are good, but shit really gets real in 2, 2 is just better. If it isn't already there, I'm sure you can make one more space on your shelf for Arkham City.
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