Batman is back and in deep trouble, with an entire portion of Gotham City now housing Arkham’s inmates.
Warner Bros. and Rocksteady Studios have officially announced the title and details for the sequel to 2009 hit Batman: Arkham Asylum. Though the inmates were running free in the first game, Batman could take solace in the fact that they were still trapped in one building. In the upcoming Batman: Arkham City, Batman has to face thugs and villains in an entire city district.
The title of Arkham City doesn’t mean that Gotham City has been taken over by criminals. Arkham City is described as a “maximum security ‘home'” for the average thug and criminal mastermind alike set within “the heavily fortified walls of a sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City.” So, basically, it sounds like Rocksteady found a way to create a more open-world Arkham Asylum by popping it in a city district. The rent must be super cheap there.
Warner Bros. says the game introduces a “brand-new story” and an “all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains.” Game Informer revealed that Arkham City will be on the cover (with two variants) of its September 2010 issue, unveiling Catwoman as one of those classic characters. Two-Face and Mr. Freeze, along with a returning Joker, are villains said to be making appearances in the game.
Further details are only whatever we can glean from GI’s two Arkham City covers. One shows a freshly punched Batman and a chained up Catwoman, raising the question of whether Batman will have to save her at some point in the game. The other features Catwoman and Batman back-to-back with what appears to be Catwoman’s whip wrapped around Batman’s arm. Catwoman has always been one of those characters that plays the line between hero and villain, so she may reprise that role in Arkham City.
Batman: Arkham City is currently scheduled for release in Fall 2010
