GameFocus E3 Preview: Batman: Arkham City

In 2009, Batman: Arkham Asylum surprised many people and managed to swoop in and take numerous Game of the Year Awards from different publications, including our own. With the follow-up, Batman: Arkham City, scheduled to release later this year, we had the chance to watch a demonstration of the game that showcased a bit of the combat Batman will encounter, the look of Gotham City and of course, the inclusion of Ms Feisty Pants herself, Catwoman.

For starters, Arkham City promises to be a large game and from the demonstration we got, that was an understatement. When the presentation began, we were treated with Batman gliding across the city and the amount of detail was nothing short of incredible. You could see for miles in front of you and every bit of Gotham City was accessible.

Of course, the environment isn’t the only thing that made Arkham Asylum such a great game; it was Batman’s fantastic combat and that is still intact with Arkham City. We were shown to a massive brawl that saw Batman duke it out with over a dozen different thugs that unleashed unleashed by Penguin. The mechanics in play here here was absolutely seamless and vicious for both sides. In the demonstration, the member of RockSteady’s team who was playing the game for us was trying to achieve the highest possible combo, but the best he could muster was an 11-hit combination. This was nice to see since it promises that even the best of brawlers will encounter a challenge when the odds are against them.

But out of all the highlights that are being showcased regarding Batman: Arkham City, it is the inclusion of Catwoman that stands out the most. For some, it may seem like her addition is unnecessary, but from the first moment you see her, its easy to see that her bring thrown into the mix is going to fit in just fine. Sex appeal aside, she moves and acts extremely different from Mr Wayne’s alter ego. Rather than having the Detective View that Batman has, her Thief vision allows her to see items that enemies are carrying or secret areas to explore. Also, she has the ability to crawl on walls and ceilings, which makes it possible to get to areas enemies can’t reach and is impossible for her to be seen.

Her combat is also quite different than Batman; the approach they took in the demo was to have her go the Sam Fisher route, avoiding detection as much as possible. The objective was to steal keys to open a safe and to dispose of each enemy without alerting the others. This was possible thanks to her ability to crawl on the ceiling and using cover to sneak around. When pulled off properly, it was very satisfying watching her take out two foes in one easy and quiet swoop.

Based upon what I saw, Catwoman will be extremely welcomed and her character is so interesting that I hope the writers behind Arkham City do a good job at making her arc as engaging as Batman’s without compromising the Dark Knight’s main plot. Thankfully, Batman: Arkham City is scheduled to arrive in stores this October and to be honest, that day can’t come soon enough.

http://www.gamefocus.ca/previews/9913.html