The most amazing thing about this game is that it came out only two years after Arkham Asylum. Back before gaming devolved into a competition to see who could offer bigger open worlds and more live service content (not to mention more-realistic horse testicles), developers could make awesome, fun, full-featured games in a quarter of the time – games like this one.

Arkham City isn't a perfect game by any means. My opinion of it is a bit lower than the general consensus. Some indoor areas, like the ice lake, are a hassle to navigate, the bosses are just OK, and the balance between Batman and the secondary protagonist feels uneven. The story also plays more like a series loosely connected events than a cohesive tale.

But the great combat from Arkham Asylum has returned intact, and grappling and gliding around the city is fun and fluid. Plus there's plenty of side missions and bonus content for people who want more after the credits roll.

Look, I understand that it's not realistic for developers to churn out games like this every two years. Burnout is a real risk, and after one or two sequels, sequelitis undoubtedly rears its ugly head. But there has to be a happy medium between the nimble development of eras bygone and the ridiculously long modern dev cycles that often result in games that are simultaneously over- and under-cooked. I hope more developers find the sweet spot soon.