Batman: Arkham City 3D Vision Game Review

Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Video Game: Batman: Arkham City
Platform: Microsoft Windows PC, Microsoft XBOX360, Sony PlayStation3
Price: PC: $30, XBOX360: $40, PS3: $40 (Amazon)

Of all the superheroes, Batman is one of the few who does not possess any super-human power. Perhaps that is why so many people cheer for The Great Detective, and why so many gamers seek to wear his utility belt. Although the upcoming movie The Dark Knight Rises depicts the same character played in the Batman: Arkham City video game, both also share 3D special effects that offer a glimpse from behind Batman's cowl. Super-villain Joker always gets the last laugh, and uses dozens of other arch enemies to help make his punch line. In this article, Benchmark Reviews guides you through the criminal masterminds that inhabit Batman: Arkham City in this NVIDIA 3D Vision game review.

This article will discuss strategy and game play tactics, with an emphasis on video quality settings using NVIDIA 3D Vision technology. If you're already an owner of NVIDIA 3D Vision or 3D Vision 2 hardware, then you'll appreciate that we've included 3D screen captures to help illustrate how well Batman: Arkham City looks with the added effects. It's also suggested that you read our NVIDIA 3D-Vision Multimedia Resource Guide to help make the most of this technology and adjust hardware for the best experience. If you're considering the purchase of 3D hardware, we've included some 2D images with 3D counterparts for comparison. This article contains 2D images in JPG file format, and stereoscopic 3D images in JPS file format. All browsers will display JPG images, however 3D-enabled hardware and NVIDIA 3D Vision Photo Viewer or similar software is required to properly view JPS files.

Batman: Perched High Above Arkham City (3D Version)

Batman: Arkham City is a 3d-person action game that adheres to story line previously set forth in Batman: Arkham Asylum, which launched for game consoles and PC back in 2009. Based on an updated Unreal Engine 3 game engine, Batman: Arkham City enjoys DirectX 11 graphics which uses multi-threaded rendering to produce life-like tessellation effects. While gaming console versions of Batman: Arkham City deliver high-definition graphics at either 720p or 1080i, you'll only get the high-quality graphics and special effects on PC. If you're reading this article, you've probably already sorted through hundreds of other reviews and read the wiki page explaining the storyline in-depth. This article gives you a taste of what to expect from Batman: Arkham City, while focusing on visual extras only available to the modern PC.

Catwoman: Criminal Super-Thief or Sweetheart?

The back-story begins eighteen month after Batman: Arkham Asylum, with Bruce Wayne declaring he's joining politics to run for office. Former warden-turned-mayor Quincy Sharp combines the criminal population of Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Penitentiary into a closed community named Arkham City, located north of Gotham City. Mayor Sharp commissions mad-psychiatrist Hugo Strange to control Arkham City, which quickly becomes home to anyone opposing the Mayor, political candidates included. Bruce Wayne soon meets with some old 'friends' when introduced to Arkham City, and quickly makes a few new enemies.

Big Evil Comes in Little Packages (3D Version)

Batman, master detective and expert martial artist, is forced to make unexpected allies in his new home away from the bat cave. While Batman: Arkham City seems to give Batman a new challenge in what seems to be every minute of the game, the mission remains the same: protect life without taking it. This becomes a real challenge when you're criminal opponents are armed with sub-machine guns or take hostages. Batman retains all the gadgets and techniques available to him in Batman: Arkham Asylum, and improves on them with refined attacks and technology.

Dr. Victor Fries: Friend of Foe?

Multitasking skills are a prerequisite for playing Batman: Arkham City, where constant side missions keep players busy juggling priorities. The same is true for mastering combat, which rewards players who score consecutive combo attacks with special finishing moves. Batman: Arkham City blurs the line between friend and foe because everyone offers something to aide in your journey, but it's vitally important to remember why they're all locked up here in the first place. Batman needs all the help he can get, because the whole gang is here fighting each other in a prison turf war. Joker steals the show, and The Crown Prince of Crime barely shares his central role in this story with: Bane, Clayface (Basil Karlo), Deadshot (Floyd Lawton), Hugo Strange, Mr. Freeze (Dr. Victor Fries), Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot), Poison Ivy (Dr. Pamela Isley), Ra's al Ghul, Riddler (Edward Nigma), Solomon Grundy (Cyrus Gold), Two-Face (Harvey Dent), and Victor Zsasz.

Ra's al Ghul: Leads the League of Assassins

Batman: Arkham City makes room for everyone, and throws as many heroes and villians as possible while others such as Scarecrow (Dr. Jonathan Crane) merely get mentioned. Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Quinzel) nags at the Jokers side, Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch) fights to a storybook ending, and there are even brief visits by Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley Jr), Black Mask (Roman Sionis), Hush (Dr. Thomas Elliot), and Killer Croc (Waylon Jones). Batman's support network consists of faithful assistant Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon (former-Batgirl turned Oracle), and Commissioner James W. Gordon. Catwoman (Selina Kyle), Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Robin (Tim Drake), and Talia al Ghul lend a hand when possible, some more than others.

Considering the myriad of characters featured in the Batman saga, you would think that it would be impossible to come across the same face twice. The game tries to keep it fresh with every encounter, but the large number of gang members and general prison scum appear to share costumes that make many fight scenes seem redundant. This is because prisoners have aligned with super-villains, creating their own competing factions. Expect to fight multiple enemies at once, sometimes as many as two-dozen at once. Learn how to win these fights in the next section of this article...

Batman: Arkham City Gameplay

If you've played Batman: Arkham Asylum there's not much of a learning curve to mastering Batman: Arkham City. Most combat tactics remain essentially unchanged, with improvements made to combos, counters, and gadgets. But if you're new to the series have no fear, because button mashing seems to work well enough for Batman to survive most enemy encounters. For truly effective combat, however, you'll need to avoid repeatedly pressing buttons at random and replace them with carefully timed attacks. By isolating and disabling villains one at a time, you maximize Batman's ability to oppose a greater number of enemies all at once.

Aerial combat is something relatively new to the Batman series. As you progress Batman's combat skill, certain attacks can be made on villains while gliding or dive bombing. This can become especially effective when you're heavily outnumbered, or need to stun multiple enemies all at once to concentrate on one villain.

Safe From Thugs, Not From Guns (3D Version)

Hand-to-hand combat is easy enough to master with practice, but gadgets are something entirely different. For the advanced player, skillfully timing a coordinated gadget attack will not only dispatch villains faster but it will also earn you more points. More points per battle means promoting ranks faster, which allows you to upgrade skills and equipment for Batman, Catwoman, or any downloadable add-on characters you purchase.

Speaking of Guns...

Batman is the world's greatest detective, and besides the Riddler's often-difficult puzzles scattered throughout the city, you can also expect to solve problems while navigating through each mission. Some super-villains in Batman: Arkham City require using special tactics to defeat them, such as Deadeye (above). Expect every super-villain to demand it's own unique combination of moves necessary to inflict damage, which can occasionally be items in the scenery.

Clayface: Invulnerable to Direct Attacks

The storyline offers a lot of flexibility, allowing you to pursue leads on one case while putting the mission on hold, but there are some people who have a date with destiny. To be honest, by the time I finished this game there were still two missions that never started, and many others that waited incomplete. The goal might seem like it's the Joker, but there are countless other characters you must navigate (or negotiate) in order to reach him. It might also seem like Batman does nothing but fight villains, which is mostly true, but behind the cowl he's still a man... a man with needs.

Risk Has Special Rewards

In Batman: Arkham City you'll meet all kinds of people: some are enemies, others are neutral, and some will become friends... friends with benefits. Bruce Wayne may be a millionaire bachelor with plenty of potential love interests, but only one woman has really ever captured his heart: Talia al Ghul, daughter to Ra's al Ghul and League of Assassins heiress. Batman's on-and-off relationship with Talia is put to the test in Arkham City, and the Dark Knight is forced to play his hand at love. There's a happy ending in this game, but you'll have to play it for yourself to see where Talia's settles in with Batman's future.

The Batman Likey :)

The best strategy I can offer for Batman: Arkham City is to play it at your own pace. The game won't push you to end the story on a deadline, and there are lots of side missions to keep you gainfully occupied. Riddler's trophy collection is a challenge worthy of bragging rights, especially considering how I concluded the game with only 40 of 440 collected. Other aspects of the game require patience, since a few super-villains rarely show themselves to Batman, or won't be accessible unless you play as Catwoman.

In the next and final section, I discuss how NVIDIA 3D Vision technology can change the way you play Batman: Arkham City. For those gaming enthusiasts equipped with NVIDIA 3D Vision or similar 3D gaming hardware, Benchmark Reviews offers 2D and 3D comparison images to help entice you into adding realism to your video games...

NVIDIA 3D Vision Special Effects

This section discusses video graphics quality and NVIDIA 3D Vision technology special effects. If you're already an owner of NVIDIA 3D Vision or 3D Vision 2 hardware, then you'll appreciate that we've included 3D screen captures to help illustrate how well Batman: Arkham City looks with the added effects. We also suggest that you read our NVIDIA 3D-Vision Multimedia Resource Guide to help make the most of this technology and adjust hardware for the best experience. If you're considering the purchase of 3D hardware, we've included several 2D images, with 3D counterparts for comparison. This article contains 2D images in JPG file format, and stereoscopic 3D images in JPS file format. All browsers will display JPG images, however 3D-enabled hardware and NVIDIA 3D Vision Photo Viewer or similar software is required to properly view JPS files.

In an age when developers give game consoles priority over PC, it's becoming difficult to find games that show off the stunning visual effects and lifelike quality possible from modern graphics cards. Fortunately Batman: Arkham City is a game that does amazingly well on both platforms, making it possible to reduce quality settings to levels acceptable to gaming consoles like the PS3 and XBOX360, while at the same time making it possible to cripple the most advanced graphics card on the planet by offering extremely demanding NVIDIA 32x CSAA and full PhysX capability. Also available to PC users (with NVIDIA graphics) is FXAA, a shader based image filter that achieves similar results to MSAA yet requires less memory and processing power.

Armed and Armored Thugs (3D Version)

Gamers should ideally adjust settings to keep video frame rates above 35 FPS, because anything below this level causes choppy scenes and may lead to Batman's untimely demise or a failed attempt at glide challenges. I'm speaking from experience here, so either use NVIDIA's GPU analyzer for Batman: Arkham City to detects your graphics hardware and compare it to the developer's recommended GPU specification before playing the game, or run the performance test in-game (Options -> Benchmark). NVIDIA suggests the following settings with their GeForce GTX products:

For gamers equipped with NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, expect to use similar settings with your graphics hardware. After several benchmark tests performance remained similar between normal and stereoscopic settings, dispelling the old myth that 3D effects reduce frame rate performance by half.

Penguin's Iceberg Lounge (3D Version)

Batman: Arkham City offers varying levels of PhysX effects, each with its own set of hardware requirements. You can turn PhysX off, or enable 'Normal levels which introduce GPU-accelerated PhysX elements such as Debris Particles, Volumetric Smoke, and Destructible Environments into the game, while the 'High' setting adds real-time cloth and paper simulation. Particles exist everywhere in real life, and this PhysX effect is seen in many aspects of game to add back that same sense of realism. For PC gamers who are enthusiastic about graphics quality, don't skimp on PhysX. DirectX 11 makes it possible to enjoy many of these effects, and PhysX helps bring them to life in the game.

Killing The Undead Can Be Tricky (3D Version)

If your computer runs on Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows 7, then it's possible to enjoy DirectX 11 special effects. Tessellation is one particular effect that makes an enormous difference on how the player sees Batman: Arkham City. By using displacement mapping and mesh smoothing effects in Batman: Arkham City, objects transform from boxy flat-triangle surfaces to truly unique and uneven textures. Instead of having a wall with ledge and window artwork drawn on, tessellation ads true depth to the ledge and raised trim around the window. Tessellation quite simply makes objects with uneven surfaces appear real, instead of flat panels with simulated shadows and depth.

Little Known Fact: Sharks Eat Bats (3D Version)

Even with an adjustable difficulty setting, Batman: Arkham City is quite challenging. I played a portion of the game in standard 2D mode, and then switched to stereoscopic NVIDIA 3D Vision to play through the remainder of the game. Without a doubt, it was much easier to play in 3D. Navigating combat movements became more natural, and gliding through the city gave buildings and the street level a whole new perspective. Since there are so many special effects built into the game waiting to be unlocked with capable hardware, you'll be surprised at how well they transform this comic-based video game into something much more believable.

Someone Needed a Cat Nap

Its impressive how much Batman: Arkham City has improved over Batman: Arkham Asylum, delivering a fresh story with unique character involvement that removes any sense of this being a sequel series. Players must learn to master Batman as well as Catwoman, with each having access to areas in the city the other does not. Catwoman's presence is considerably less complicated, but because you're given the choice to pursue treasures or assist Batman, her role in the game determines how far you progress in the main story. Batman: Arkham City is a collection of missions, challenges, and puzzles, all added onto a primary story that requires participation and cooperation from both Batman and Catwoman.

Playing at my own pace and working on side missions as they were presented, I was able to reach the games conclusion in thirty hours with only 27 of 54 achievements earned and 55% of the game complete. Some achievements will be out of reach for most players, as they may require Robin and Nightwing premium add-on campaign bundles that can be purchased separately for $7 each via Steam. Other achievements, such as collecting all of the Riddler's Trophies, require some very keen puzzle-solving skills (or you can seek the help of a walk-through guide). Once you've reached the story's conclusion in Batman: Arkham City you'll be rewarded with "New Game Plus", which gives Batman every gadget available but reconfigures the enemies for more lethal combat. Needless to say, difficult challenges and lengthy replay value help yield a hefty return on your investment.

Batman is based on the comic book series, but with the help of DirectX 11 tessellation effects his character appears much more lifelike. All of the motions, movements, and attacks use natural physics models based on NVIDIA PhysX technology, and help give Batman: Arkham City a level of realism you would normally experience in a computer animated movie. DirectX 11 and PhysX special effects already go way beyond what gaming consoles can offer, but the stereoscopic effects of NVIDIA 3D Vision technology really make this game come to life. If you're a player wanting to experience a game to its fullest, you'll play Batman: Arkham City in 3D.

Benchmark Reviews invites you to leave constructive feedback below, or ask questions in our Discussion Forum.

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