The GameOn Magazine - Free Special Editions Batman: Arkham Special Edition | Page 28

disappearing back into the shadows whilst
the others check the area: these parts are just
so satisfying. Surprisingly, these moments
remain fun all the way through the game
and crop up enough to stop the game from
becoming repetitive, but don’t occur too often
that they become unwelcome and annoying.
Alongside stealth, Batman is also very good
with his fists. The fluid hand-to-hand combat
system of Arkham Asylum returns once more
and has a few new additions to it that
make it feel brand new.
Gadgets are now
better integrated
with the
system and
using

Batarangs, explosives and the Batclaw, is
easier than it has ever been thanks to the
fact that all of these apparatus have hotkeys
assigned so you can take them out and use it
on the fly. The fact that combat consists of a
grand total of four buttons (attack, counter,
stun and jump/evade) is brilliant and allows
new players to take down foes with ease.
Like most games, Arkham City is not perfect
and the enemies you fight are one of the
games very, very few negatives: sometimes
it’s not exactly fair. Enemies with riot shields
and knives do spice it up a bit and require
you to use tactics to win but it can become
frustrating when you’re trying to take down
one enemy but a guard with a massive crate
decides to throw it at you at the same time. I
understand that it’s meant to be fast but a
little breathing time every now and then
would be very welcome in my opinion.
Fans of Arkham Asylum will remember
that the game was semi-open-world:
Arkham Island was there to explore
but it was more one big courtyard
with a few buildings you could
explore. In the sequel, this
has been expanded: Arkham
City is a fully open world
to explore and explore
it you will want to. The
world feels very believable
and lived in and is highly
atmospheric. Debris
blows around the streets,
destruction caused by the
prisoners is everywhere
and shouting in the
distance all contributes

28 • GameOn Magazine

Batman Arkham Special Edition