VIDEO GAMES: Arkham City immediate impressions.

So yesterday on a bit of an impulse I rushed to Gamestop and purchased Arkham City. I never got a chance to play Arkham Asylum not out of a lack of interest but out of a lack of time. I had obviously seen plenty of gameplay videos, awesome trailers and damn near perfect reviews for Arkham City but I still wasn't quite sure what to expect. What I've experienced so far is one of the most incredible feelings of badassery (yup just made that up) that a game has ever given me. A mission I was on last night required me to take out 5 guys with guns in a room. They were all randomly patrolling and linked up with heartbeat monitors so they would know when one of their comrades was incapacitated. As I sat in the rafters waiting for one to split from the pack I couldn't help but feel like the boogey man. It was so satisfying to listen to them talk about the mysterious Batman, some of them terrified and some of them chomping at the bit to knock my face in. Finally one of the guys made a wrong turn and ended up alone in a corner. I silently glided down from the ceiling, landed behind him, and without a sound knocked him out cold. Before the others even realized what happened I had grappled back up to the ceiling to continue stalking my prey. They quickly discovered the body and their moods changed from "calm" to "nervous." You know how awesome it feels to be the thing that these guys are terrified of? They began patrolling once more, this time keeping in a tighter formation. Eventually one more split from the pack for just a moment but that's all I needed. The trend continued until only one petrified bad guy remained whom I interrogated for information before smacking his head against the wall.

I am not good at the games that require you to be stealthy which is very much a part of Arkham City. But I'm starting to get a hang of it and I'm realizing that the thrill in these Batman games comes not from fighting 10 crones at once but at instilling fear into each and every one of them as you lurk in the shadows, waiting to strike. I'm pumped to continue exploring Arkham City until my life gets completely taken over on 11-11-11 by Skyrim. My recommendation? Go buy it...like right now.