Arkham City Strategy Guide

Strategy guides are a bit of a mixed bag, sometimes a game almost needs a guide to be playable to the average gamer, and sometimes a strategy guide is a waste of time for a very simple game. Arkham City is neither of those extremes, but it is definitely a game that warrants a strategy guide. So when I got my hands on BradyGames’ official strategy guide for Arkham City, it was a welcome aid.

Arkham City is a pretty straight-forward game when it comes to the main storyline, but if you are the kind of gamer that wants to explore every side quest and challenge, then you may need a little help. BradyGames’ Arkham City guide provides gamers with everything that they need to tackle all of the side quests, Riddler challenges and even manages to throw quite a bit of cool background information in.

The first thing that is clearly noticeable is the quality of the book itself, the hardcover of the book and the thick pages make this seem like a very sturdy addition to a collection that isn’t likely to just fall apart. There are about 270 pages in the book and most include a ton of great color images of the game and artwork. The text size is appropriate and you shouldn’t find yourself straining your eyes to be able to read most of the directions and strategies.

The guide begins by giving players an overview of the basic controls and strategies on how to best use Batman’s arsenal of gadgets during combat against a variety of enemy types. The guide then flows into character bios of everyone from Batman to Zsaz. Each bio is full of awesome background information and great bio pictures.

Then the real meat of the guide begins, detailed descriptions of how to complete the main story missions follow with tons of pictures, information and a great layout that makes it easy to read. The guide is good at providing spoiler alerts when necessary, something that can be very problematic in a strategy guide, especially if you are using the guide to aid your first playthrough.

After getting the main storyline out of the way, the guide takes gamers through the steps of completing the four Catwoman “episodes” and the side quests for the game. I would have liked to see some more use of the map in the pictures, especially for missions like “Watcher in the Shadows,” since seeing a picture of the general area isn’t as effective when the city is so large. However, adequate written directions are provided so this isn’t too much of an issue.

The guide then shows off all of the Riddler challenge maps (for Batman and for all of the DLC from Nightwing to Robin). It is curious why the guide decided to go to the challenge maps before going to the Riddler secrets that are actually in the game itself. This isn’t a real problem, but the ordering is just a little strange. Either way, the guide gives plenty of information on each of the challenge maps and strategies for how to beat them.

Then the 400 Riddler secrets are all presented based on the area of the map that they reside in. Then the secrets are further broken down into type (ie Trophies, Riddles, Breakable Objects etc), this helps to keep the maps from getting too convoluted and is a nice way to keep the visuals clear and easy to follow. Many of the Riddler secrets are pretty straight-forward however a lot of them aren’t so the guide does a good job of clarifying what needs to be done and not taking up too much space to do that. If even only the hard secrets were given their own page, the guide would drag on and become way too big so BradyGames made the right choice in giving a medium-sized picture and a paragraph for each secret.

After the lengthiest part of the guide by far, BradyGames wraps up the guide with the achievements/trophies list. The list explains what you need to do for all of the achievements or trophies and even adds in some information about how to find certain character “cameos” in the game.

After a brief look at the Arkham City graphic novel, the guide ends with posters of both Harley Quinn and Catwoman. The guide I received, the limited edition, also came with six lithographs of the main villains in the story. Mr. Freeze, the Penguin, Joker, Harley Quinn, Two Face and the Riddler are all shown off on the impressive lithographs. This is a nice bonus for the guide and really shows that BradyGames went out of its way to add in as much content as possible.

This is what a game strategy guide should be; it isn’t just a walkthrough, it isn’t just the knowledge that you need to beat the game. It is a comprehensive look into the universe of the game that adds the style, character and spirit of Batman’s universe to the reading experience. With the amount of background information, awesome visuals and great extras, the guide hits the nail on the head in terms of both authenticity and practicality. The guide is what you need to complete the game and is an experience in and of itself. That is what I look for in a strategy guide and that is what is clearly provided here. BradyGames couldn’t have done a better job with this guide.

Written By: James Pungello