Rocksteady is being fairly careful with details on their big sequel to the award winning Batman: Arkham Asylum, but what we have learnt is looking promising…well…most of it.
Studio founder Sefton Hill has destroyed rumours and hopes that Arkhum City will feature playable vehicles, like the car/tank every human being DANGEROUSLY wants; the Batmobile. So midnight neon chases through the poisoned streets is out of the question then? Bum.
While this is going to be a bit of a disappointment for many (including myself), there is plenty more to look forward to from Arkham City. First up, is that the city is roughly 5 times the size of Arkham Asylum, and to make things even sweeter, Hill tells OPM that “every nook and cranny has a story” and that they are even more interested in the detail this time around. Arkham Asylum was praised for its attention to little things (anyone remember that prison cell where the walls were covered with numbers?), and the subtle references to the Batman universe.
Another interesting addition is the way Batman can now navigate; we will get to use a grapple boost function (on the regular grapple gun) which lets you fling yourself high into the air so you can unfurl the cape and glide in whatever direction you want, AND we will be able to do a new, high speed dive!!!!! Hill teases that “you’ll be able to move across the city without touching the ground” with some practice. So basically Batman is about to get a whole lot more badass, two words: can’t wait.
The point-to-point zip line gun now lets you shoot out a second line whilst moving along the first one, you can now slide under obstacles, dive THROUGH windows and over railings (I can’t stop grinning). Enemies will display much more diverse reactions than the previous game, which will no doubt bolster the fantasy of being the super-hench caped crusader. Catwoman and Two-Face are confirmed to have roles in the story, and the Riddler is set to tax (or try at least lol) our brains once again with side quests plastered all over the thug infested streets.
Speaking of which, the popular detective mode from Arkham Asylum will be making a return, with more depth and complexity to each puzzle. With Arkham City due out sometime late next year, I suspect that this is gonna build up a ton of hype before it finally comes out…and to be honest I think it will absolutely deserve it. There’s a lot of pressure on Rocksteady to deliver a top notch experience, but from what we’ve seen, they’re way ahead of us.
Excited? Hit us up in the comments section and tell us why (or why not).