Batman Arkham City (Photo courtesy of DC comics)They were awesome, iconic, and counted as among my favorite games—Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sonic the Hedgehog for SEGA Genesis, Tomb Raider for the PlayStation, and Halo for the Xbox.
But, it's been eight years since I last held a controller. I don't have a PS3 or an Xbox 360. But that may change because friends have been raving about one game that they say will convince me to get back into gaming—Batman: Arkham City. Friends say the game just sets the bar so high that you feel like you're Bruce Wayne.
It follows Rocksteady Studios' 2009 Batman: Arkham Asylum, a game described as so flawless, the only bad part about it was that it ended. It allowed the player to think like the greatest detective in the world and featured some of the most phenomenal gadgets.
Sequel populated by notorious villains
Last year, Rocksteady Studios released the much anticipated sequel, Arkham City. The plot begins 18 months after the events of the previous game and the former warden of the Asylum becomes mayor of Gotham City. He converts some of the slums into a penitentiary called Arkham Ctiy, where prisoners roam freely in a city-like prison.
The mayor will brook no opposition to Arkham City but Bruce Wayne does. He is then arrested and sent to the city prison. Worse, his secret identity as Batman is revealed to the prisoners. He must protect himself and find a way to get his crime-fighting equipment if he is to survive Arkham City. At the same time, he must deal with twists and turns involving his some of his most notorious foes.
Arkham City is written by comic book writer Paul Dini who also wrote Batman: The Animated Series back in the day. What makes this game special is that the original voices that played the characters in the cartoon reprise their roles. Kevin Conroy still voices
the caped crusader and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker himself!) jumps back into his role as Joker. For more thrills, Batman also faces Harley Quinn, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face and Catwoman, just to name a few.
Game gets a perfect review score of 10
The game has elicited raves! Official PlayStation magazine have it a perfect score of 10, saying it "is not only the best superhero game ever made, it's one of the best games ever made..." The review says that Arkham City "brings the caped crusader's world to life better than any comic, movie or television show before it."
With such a ringing endorsement, how can anyone resist not playing the game?
Have you played this game? Is Batman: Arkham City good enough to convince a fan to buy a PS3 or an Xbox 360?
Or should I just go ahead and buy it and simply throw caution to the wind? Anyway, like the saying goes, "Bahala na si Batman!"