A step-up to the original game in various ways, most especially raw gameplay and core combat. Batman: Arkham City runs, punches, and glides with so much more confidence than its predecessor, likely due to working on established grounds with the Batman franchise.

While the core combat is more intuitive, the exploration aspect is much more grand than the original, and even the story itself is considerably a step-up . . . I kinda like the way the original game presented itself more. From the comic book art profile pictures, the greasy stained menu, to the Metroid-like architecture and mapping!

I completely understand Arkham City going towards the open world aspect, and it's still really fun! I just have a weird bias towards the first game. But I can't deny, the boss fights in this game were brilliant. I also love how you start with all the gadgets from the original games, and continue earning new tools throughout on top of that. Great game design, and getting great scores in brawls is always a lot of fun.