Batman: Arkham City Review

Batman: Arkham City seems to be a game that I somehow missed when it released but when it appears on XboxLive for under $5 it practically screams play me. The gameplay seems to be modeled after the previous title Arkham Asylum (whether this game is an actual improvement, I wouldn’t know because I didn’t play it). There are quite a lot of cool things in this game from the attacks you can pull off with Batman to the use of gadgets and other upgrades. Using these different tools to take out different enemies (who also have their own weapons) makes planning your attacks important and interesting (whether playing stealthy or going in to crack some skulls, surveying the area and planning some moves out doesn’t get boring).

Expect to do a lot of things in this game (a lot more than I actually thought would be in here). First is the fact that there are a lot of villains trying to destroy you and each other (yea, guess we all can’t get along). With all these villains, it makes the game less of an open world and more like a bunch of gyms or dungeons (don’t think GTA, think Pokemon or Zelda). Second, you are going to want to play this again and will probably be doubling back to a few places for Side Quests and Riddler Trophies (there at least 400 of these trophies...really? cannot wait to put that guy through a wall). Side Quests become kind of annoying and distracting than adding to the game but there is a mode where you can play as Catwoman (I haven’t tried any of those missions but seems interesting).

Boss battles are fairly easy once you figure out what needs to be done (thanks help menu). There were times that I was a bit confused (even in the game generally because I guess I have certain expectations when I get to a certain part of the story and surprised when some challenges aren’t just an annoyance but fun) on what course of action I should take (until the light bulb comes on and not only light up but explode because knowing what to do kind of makes you feel dumb for either it not being your first thought or extreme obvious…thanks help menu).

If you ever wanted to know what it is like to be Batman (one that kind of moves a bit stiff like because he is jacked up on steroids that some of his muscles hinder his movement) then play Arkham City (although the number of villains is kind of overkill and almost can be their own stories).  Living vicariously through Batman in this game is awesome and I have only played it for a few hours. Certainly gets two thumbs up from me, if you haven’t played  or think you have want it takes to be the Dark Knight, go get it now.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist Review

Ubisoft has out done themselves with the release of Splinter Cell:Blacklist. Blacklist being the next chapter in the journey of elite operative Sam Fisher. Like many simple story lines, you are basically trying to stop a terrorist group from pulling off various attacks because well who cares. How you go about doing it leaves with

Photo By Ubisoft

you challenging and a various about of options. Dropping from ceilings, snapping necks, and occasionally using the silenced pistol offers all the fun you could imagine in true Splinter Cell fashion. Different from many Splinter Cell installments after you have gathered Intel you can choose to spare or kill your adversary.

The storyline of Blacklist is fairly simple and a bit distracting at time but I could honestly care less about the story when I’m executing creative ways to stealthy eliminate guards and complete my objective. Some cut scenes seem a bit drawn out despite the voice acting being great (yes, the acting is almost better than the story).

The environments Sam is inserted in are well designed and offer various places to explore, hide, and take out guards with ease. With the environments fairly big and there being more areas to explore, players have many options at their fingertips on how they go about playing this game (although I prefer stealthily laying to bed guards some players my enjoy popping all the rounds they can carry into enemies). Despite the number of upgrades that can be earned to make missions easier the game looks to always be interesting and challenging. Some animations in the game are glitched and often leave you exposed or detected when attempting to remain unseen (when grabbing a guard from cover, you may experience the animation hitting the wall you are behind, leave you and the disabled enemy in the open).

There are a few co-op modes and missions to experience like the return of spies vs. mercenaries. The co-op challenges and multiplayer modes offer another level of challenges and fun with a friend (choose your friend wisely because there is a better chance you will get caught if you don’t work together).

Splinter Cell: Blacklist creates a fun game were players can true explore environments and locate new ways to execute tasks (which is exactly what you would want in a stealth game like this). Tweaks to the animations could use some work as some things don’t work as flawlessly as they should. Overall, Blacklist gets an thumb and a half from me for being close to meeting my expectations.