E' inutile girarci troppo attorno, se le votazioni di Batman Arkham City dovessero continuare su questo livello il titolo Rocksteady sarebbe il secondo gioco meglio valutato della storia dei videogiochi sotto Zelda Ocarina di Nintendo. Certo, tra qualche mese quando arriveranno ulteriori recensioni potremmo dire qualcosa con maggior certezza, ma è chiaro come il gioco sia qualitativamente ineccepibile, senza alcuna sbavatura che ne mini pesantemente la qualità complessiva. Vediamo insieme le votazioni e le quotazioni in inglese della critica specializzata mentre a fondo news potete trovare il trailer di lancio ufficiale:
Strategy Informer: 10
Arkham City is stuffed to the edge of the disc with content and replay value (in addition to the gigantic campaign there's an expanded Challenge Mode and New Game Plus), is incredible amounts of fun, is polished to perfection, has had real love poured into every aspect, and most importantly, it makes you feel like Batman.
GamePro: 10
There's a real sense of progression to Arkham City in its gameplay, in its story, in the variety of its missions (the abundance of open world side-quests will keep you busy for a long, long time), and in the evolution of its pointy-eared protagonist, that really deserves to be commended.
Gameblog.fr: 10
Rocksteady delivers a new masterpiece, enhancing the original in almost every way. Batman Arkham City offers a better story, masterfully paced storytelling, more freedom, more surprises, secondary missions and tasks, an intensified combat with new moves... To sum it up, a follow-up that met our expectations, without forgetting the strengths of the original, and growing up to be a spot-on tale of adventure and excitement: a serious candidate for the GOTY title.
1UP: 10
Controlling Batman as he completely terrorizes his victims, whether via the invisible predator gameplay or the brutal combat, is an experience rivaled by few others. From its memorable Bourne Identity-esque opening to its shocking ending, Batman: Arkham City secures its place as my favorite superhero game since Freedom Force.
VideoGamer: 10
It doesn't take the world's greatest detective to spot that this is an expertly crafted adventure, one that maintains a breathtaking pace and invigorating rhythm from beginning to end. Dizzyingly extensive and lovingly detailed, Rocksteady has created an intricate, spirited and unequalled playground worthy of one of the most iconic characters in modern fiction.
Guardian: 10
Stands head and shoulders over its previous efforts. Despite facing stiffer competition than its predecessor, Batman: Arkham City is easily the best Batman video game of all time.
Digital Spy: 10
The richness of the world is helped by the fact that Arkham City is a stunning looking game. This is one of the most detailed, rich and vibrant open worlds ever created, whether you are gliding over its skyline or striding down the broken-down streets. Considering the size of the world, the rich detail of the interiors is incredible, putting many more linear games to shame.
GamesRadar: 10
Batman: Arkham Asylum was the greatest superhero game of all time. The sequel, Batman: Arkham City, is five times bigger and about a billion times better. You do the math.
Giant Bomb: 10
It might not rewrite the book on Batman video games, but when you're building off of such a strong position--and you're only shipping the second game with such similarities, rather than a third or fourth--it's hard to bicker too much about what changes the developers did or didn't make.
Game Informer: 10
This game could be one of the biggest and most enjoyable time sinks of the year. Arkham City not only lives up to the standards set by Arkham Asylum, it bests its predecessor in every way and stands tall as one of Batman's greatest moments.
IGN: 9.5
Batman: Arkham City isn't just better than Batman: Arkham Asylum, it's better than most games on the market.
CVG: 9.5
It's a belief in the character and, most importantly, a belief in itself that has seen the studio deliver one of the greatest Batman interpretations of all time. And you know what? Maybe even one of the best games ever.
GameTrailers: 9.5
Arkham City feels like a logical extension of its predecessor, wholly embracing and expanding upon all the elements that made it great. It most certainly is the definitive Batman game, but to leave it there would be to damn it with faint praise. Simply put, if you admire painstakingly-realized worlds rich with secrets and game mechanics that never cease to surprise you, then you it to yourself to experience Arkham City. Your interest in the source material is irrelevant.
Edge: 9
So if Arkham Asylum was defined by its limits, Arkham City is a careful, considered exercise in stripping those limits away. Its open city lets players be a different kind of Batman to the stealthy predator of Asylum – this is the Batman of dropped smoke pellets and theatrical getaways, the Batman with an ear to the ground for the strong picking on the weak, and the Batman who floats above the city with a gothic majesty.
MetroGame Central: 9
Not just the best superhero game, but one of the greatest action adventures ever made - set in an expansive and engrossing virtual world unlike any other
GameSpot: 9
From the speedy exhilaration of soaring high above the streets to the atmospheric thrill of discovering long-forgotten secrets in the tunnels below Gotham, this is an unforgettable adventure that will keep you coming back to the cape and cowl long after you've seen the credits roll.
Joystiq: 9
Rocksteady has made the greatest Batman game ever crafted, and they've done that before. But breathing life into a staggeringly beautiful world; one which hums not only with opportunity, but ambition? That's a new trick altogether.
IncGamers: 9
No matter what though, what can't be denied is the quality and entertainment-factor of the overall product. Whether you like Batman or not, you'll find much to like here. In the matter of only two games, Rocksteady has managed to create a Batman franchise that provides us with not only the best videogame incarnation of the Caped Crusader, but the best videogame incarnation of any superhero.
Eurogamer: 9
It's a role-playing game in the most literal sense of the phrase, a game in which you're encouraged to give in to the fantasy, and to see what life is like when it's composed of rooftop brawls and zip-line getaways. Animations, traversal mechanics, takedowns: they're all building towards the same thing. In Arkham City, you become Batman.
Destructoid: 8.5
It doesn't quite reach the highs of its predecessor, but Arkham City rarely sinks low. When it's all said and done, you'll be begging for more, but not because there wasn't enough. It is just too damn fun to be The Bat.
Vi ricordiamo che Batman Arkham City uscirà in Europa su PS3 e 360 dal prossimo 21 ottobre.
