Gotham City is being overrun by thugs and gangsters, its citizens frightened and unwilling to move. It’s time for you to don your Batman outfit and put Arkham City into a lockdown.

In Batman Arkham City Lockdown, you play as the Masked Crusader, swooping down and dealing blows to Gotham City’s evilest villains. Here in Gotham City, evil doesn’t sleep, so you need to make sure you once and for all make these guys say good night.

The game contains different areas in which you must complete each stage before going on to the big boss of the area. You’ll quickly discover that each stage is pretty much the same with the same baddies to defeat (but sometimes, a stage will have more baddies to defeat than the previous stage that you played).

As you begin to play the game, you’ll be able to play a short tutorial in which you learn all the moves required in order to defeat the baddies. It’s a very helpful tutorial; however, the game sometimes didn’t register a move that I used, causing me to repeatedly swipe my finger in the same direction and whatnot. Maybe it was just my iPad, but I have yet to know.

You’ll defeat baddies in a row before you complete a stage and keep in mind that if you die at any time during that stage, you must restart all over. Yes, no save button, which stinks. I want my save button! Or at least, let me respawn when I last died. I’ve had those times where I’d die at the last baddie and I’d have to restart all over. My, that was certainly not a pleasant feeling.

The cool thing is that you can purchase gadgets in the store with the points you earn (you earn 1000 points every time you level up) and even upgrade your armor and weapons, making Batman as strong as you can possibly make him to be. There are also different Batsuits to be unlocked so that you may play as Batman with different looks.

It should be noted that timing is essential in this game. You can deflect attacks (which counts towards your mission XPs), but right when the baddie is beginning his attack. I have had many a time where I tried to deflect too early and end up getting hit in return. In addition, dodging is essential as well, especially when the baddies go into rage mode. When they go into rage mode, there’s nothing you can do and you can only wait it out by dodging. But when you dodge those attacks is crucial because you must dodge right before they try to punch or shoot you (a gun?!). Needless to say, I somewhat failed at that as well.

Besides the game being insanely dark (it’s Batman and Gotham City, what was I expecting?), the graphics were pretty good! I like the detail they put into the game and how the characters (the main ones) look pretty darn close to their film counterparts. I wonder, though, if the graphics would look different for each Batsuit you don. I know Batman will look different - perhaps the game will match up to that (I have yet to unlock those suits).

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. Though, I would really appreciate it if there were a save button along the way. It can be quite frustrating getting to the last baddie only to die and have to restart. But I suppose that’s life, right?

Interested in wanting to know more or to purchase the game? Click here.