Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, which features the masked superhero Batman as the main character once more. The game is set a year and a half after the first game’s events. After Joker is prevented from assuming control of the institution, the asylum’s former warden Quincy Sharp claims responsibility for averting tragedy and utilizes his popularity to become mayor of Gotham City. Arkham City, a massive open-air jail, is erected to further reduce crime. Citizens (particularly journalists) are subject to rigorous surveillance, and even the slightest disturbance can result in transportation to prison. With the help of psychiatrist Hugo Strange, Sharp hires the armed troops of the renegade security agency TYGER Security to keep the peace. Batman’s story begins when he, as Bruce Wayne, is transported to Arkham City after publicly opposing the institution in a press conference. Strange is aware of Wayne’s secret identity, but he can escape the Penguin and reclaim his gear thanks to an airdrop from Alfred Pennyworth, allowing him to transform into Batman and battle the facility from the inside. Much of the plot centers around a mysterious disease known as the Titan formula, which has infected Joker, and a covert plan known as Protocol 10. Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, R’s al Ghul, and Clayface appear among the other well-known franchise characters.
The game has an open-world area for Batman to explore, as well as supplementary objectives and storylines that run alongside the main storyline. As in the first game, Batman has a vast arsenal of melee fighting moves that can be chained into combos and throws and an extensive array of gadgets used in battle, solving puzzles, and traversing the environment. Most circumstances allow you to go head-on or move more quietly by gliding and using stealth. At the start of the game, Batman has all of the gadgets from the first game, but they have better abilities, and new ones become accessible later. The improved skills include the ability to use the grappling hook while gliding to reach higher areas, the line launcher that can also act as a tightrope with a flipping mechanic to launch another line in a different direction, the Batarang’s built-in boost and brake, and the ability to track signals through the cryptographic sequencer. Some new gadgets allow Batman to deploy ice grenades to freeze foes and water, a disruptor to destroy explosives and jam guns, smoke to confuse adversaries, power electrical devices, and a taser to shock enemies.
The Detective mode, a type of augmented reality in which evidence and enemies become more apparent, is still present in the original game. It is currently more commonly employed in forensic problems, such as tracing the origin of things. Batman has access to a criminal database as well. He frequently has to acquire trophies hidden by the Riddler for supplementary objectives, totaling 440 tasks.
In addition to Batman, a sequence of tasks in the primary campaign can be completed as Catwoman. She can be unlocked by inputting a one-time code issued with each new Xbox 360 and PS3 game copy. It was immediately added to the PC version of the game. Catwoman uses bolas, whips, and claws in a different, more acrobatic fighting style. Thief Vision is her Detective mode, which allows her to steal stuff. Some secondary riddles are only available as Catwoman. The console versions include the stereoscopic 3D capability.
