Batman Arkham City is a phenomenal game. Top to bottom. Combat is zippy and fun, story is absolutely engrossing, and the game just hucks comic book candy fan service content at you in an almost sickening abundance.

Everywhere you turn is a crafted set of side missions and comic book villains for you to deal with in a sprawling shitstorm of the criminal underworld that is Arkham City. The storyline has no business being as good as it is for a Batman video game and yet it's one of the more engaging video game storylines available.

With so much to do and such an inviting environment to play in, Arkham City makes it hard to put the controller down. And its completionist nature makes the collectathon a very fun experience for 100%ers

Arkham Asylum feels dated today in the same way that Mass Effect one feels dated. The level construction is too faux-open for how linear and on-the-rails the game actually is. It makes the user feel like they're fighting against the design. The combat is pretty smooth and would remain so throughout the series, using a knockoff Assassin's Creed 3-Button counter-heavy action style, but much of the game grits at the edges.

That being said, the story is damn fun and the characters are abundant. The Riddler Trophies are still manageable and it's a very fun caped crusade through a deteriorating Arkham Asylum as The Joker commands havoc. It's less worth playing through today, certainly on its own, but it is rewarding in the context of the entire trilogy.