In Batman Arkham City Lockdown, players take up the mantle of the Caped Crusader, and are called upon to punch, stomp, and batarang their way through multiple levels populated by a respectable range of low-level henchman and well-known villains plucked from the pages of the DC Universe.
In producing this spin-off of the insanely popular Batman: Arkham City for consoles and PC, Warner Bros. and NetherRealm Studios have done an astounding job of capturing the look and mood of Gotham City. The same can be said for the characters, as Batman and all of his adversaries look absolutely amazing. If you’re searching for an app to showcase the graphical oomph of your iPad 2 or iPhone 4S, this is definitely a standout option.
Gamers that have spent any time with Chair Entertainment’s Infinity Blade franchise will find Arkham City Lockdown’s combat system very familiar. Swiping your finger to the left, right, or up commands the Dark Knight to do a combo attack, while tapping the screen makes him dodge and a well-timed downward swipe lets him parry attacks with his cape. The simplicity of the combat system makes it easy to feel like a powerful crime-thrashing machine -- perhaps too easy.
There’s not much variety here, even when you factor in the wide variety of power-ups and weapons earned as perks for progressing through the game. While boss fights with notables such as Solomon Grundy and Two-Face break up the pedantic action to a certain degree, it’s not enough keep things from getting stale as the game progresses on.
The bottom line. Batman Arkham City Lockdown is a beautiful, accessible game that iOS gamers and Batman aficionados will enjoy -- for a while. Unfortunately, the title simply doesn’t offer enough variety to make it the replayable gem it could be.
of 5
iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 3.1.3 or later
Few iOS titles have looked better than this. Easy, accessible gameplay.
Simplistic combat feels repetitive, even when new weapons and gadgets are thrown into the mix.
