Batman: Arkham city is at the top of many gamers most wanted list, and is most likely in with a fair shot of the Game of the Year crown, despite being up against some staggering competition, but I don’t think anyone was expecting a 97% score, which puts it 1% ahead of the Batman: Arkham Asylum, in GamesMasters exclusive review of the title.

Issue 244 of the magazine has a massive 12-page review on Rocksteady’s sequel, including an interview with Sefton Hill, the game’s director.

The magazines “GM Loves” and “GM hates” section of the review listed the following about the game:

“GM Loves:

Mega Metropolis:
Gliding, scrapping, creeping, Arkham City is the fairground to rule ‘em all.

Dynamite villains:
Presided over by the scene-stealing Crown Prince of Crime, naturally.

Knockout Ending:
Which, again, has to remain a surprise for you luck lot.

GM Hates:

Sprawling Narrative:
Not necessarily a bad thing; Arkham Asylum is the more considered piece.”

 As the review comes to an end the magazine has this to say:
“Indeed, Batman: Arkham City only real rival is its esteemed forebearer, yet in terms of sheer ambition – the games-in-themselves side quests, infinitely more advanced fighting system – this sequel is immeasurably the superior game.”

The magazine then breaks down its scores for the game, awarding it the following:
Graphics: 97%
Gameplay: 97%
Accessibility: 93%
Lifespan: 96%
Innovation: 93%

Interestingly two other graphical power houses that got reviewed in the magazine, Gears of War 3 and RAGE, scored 93% and 92% respectively in the graphics category, stating in Arkham City’s review that, ” This rivals Gears of War 3 as the most impressive technical achievement on the  system (Xbox 360), though Arkham City’s art design is several leagues above Fenix’s final hurrah”.

The review finishes with Gamesmaster handing out that 97% score to the game, along with the parting words, “Brave, brutal, brilliant – the gold standard by which all future videogames should be judged.”

What does remain to be seen is whether the games will declare this a bogus review. GamesMaster have already been the centre of controversy when they published their review of Batman: Arkham Asylum, with many gamers calling the review fixed in order to gain the exclusive early review for the game. Arkham City has already faced similar criticism when Australia’s Official Playstation Magazine scored the game a stunning 10/10, resulting in many people feeling that the game scored highly in order to get an early review. Dan Staines reviewed the game for the Playstation magazine and posted this blazing response to all who doubted his review.

But despite this row over whether reviews on Batman: Arkham Asylum were legitimate, it ultimately ended up being those same gamers who were quickly agreeing with the people they accused when the game hit their consoles, and so far, with Arkham Asylum’s stunning early reviews, it’s shaping up to be the same story all over again.