E3 2011 First Impressions: BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY

***It’s hard to give a full review on a game while at E3 because usually the demos that are available to play give us only around 10-15 minutes of gameplay time. So there will be a series of first impression reviews for the demos that I get to play while I’m here.***

Yeah, that's right I played Batman: Arkham City. Call me crazy, but I spent almost two hours in line to play this game, and I only got to play it for about 15-20 minutes. Ok, so yeah, I am little crazy, who does that! The question is... was it worth the wait? Hell yeah it was! This is one of my most anticipated games of the year, and I had to play it while I was at E3.

I remember two years ago when I came to E3 no one was playing the Batman: Arkham Asylum, I was able to walk up to it, no wait, and start playing. It just shows you how damn popular this game franchise has become.

Batman: Arkham City has everything we loved about the first game and a ton more. Batman can kick ass in several new and different ways. He's learned a few more good moves to help in his efforts of breaking people. It's no surprise that the graphics were incredible, and it was so cool to see some of the new villains. The section of the game I played included Two-Face who had Catwoman tied up and hanging over a pool of acid. Of course Batman comes in to save her, he was doing fine until Two-Face shoots Batman in the head. But don't worry he doesn't die.

I loved Batman: Arkham Asylum, and this is most definitely a step up from the first game we all enjoyed playing. This is just such a huge world that we get to play around in, and there is so much more to do and explore. I like that we aren't confined to an asylum. I only got a little taste of Arkham City, but I'm 100% sold on the game, and I want more. There's a strong possibility that this game could end up being the best of the year. Seriously, the best thing about this game might not even be Batman. I think Catwoman is going to steal the show.

For those of you who are looking forward to this game, your in for some Batman greatness. 

Here's the detailed story synopsis:

The story for Arkham City takes place about one year after the events of Arkham Asylum. Quincy Sharp, former warden of Arkham Asylum, has taken credit for stopping the Joker, and used the notoriety to become mayor of Gotham City. As neither Arkham nor Blackgate Prison are in any condition to detain inmates, Sharp buys out a large section of Gotham's slums and arms the perimeter with private military contractors from a group called Tyger in order to create "Arkham City". The prisoners are brought into Arkham City and are given free rein, as long as they do not attempt escape. To oversee the city, Sharp hires psychiatrist Hugo Strange who appears to have his own secret agenda for the city. Batman maintains a vigil over the city, worried that the situation may get out of hand. Part of the setup for "Arkham City" was contained in plans in a hidden room in Sharp's office in Arkham Asylum.

The events of the game are set in motion when Two-Face, seeking to gain notoriety among the inmates and other villains outside the city, devises a plan to publicly execute Catwoman. Batman decides for both the safety of Gotham and of his past relationship with Catwoman that he must stop the execution by entering Arkham City.

A teaser trailer was released that featured Joker being nursed by Harley Quinn from the effects of the Titan formula while Gotham descends into chaos. The sequel was confirmed by Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy to be "really, really dark". While relating the game's dark nature to the animated movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Conroy also said, "It involves a lot of the villains and it goes to that area – it's that dark."