Batman Arkham City Detail Stalk Into Cyberspace

What may they have let slip out into the wonderful world of the interweb? Well the below bullet points.

Story info:

  • Quincy Sharp is now running for mayor.
  • Sharp used the Arkham Asylum incident to help win the election
  • Sharp took credit for getting the Joker situation under control
  • Arkham Asylum and Black Gate Prison are unfit to hold inmates.
  • Quincy Sharp buys off part of the slums and walls it off, creating Arkham City.
  • Sharp contracted a mercenary group named Tyger, getting them to defend the walls of Arkham City
  • Prisoners given one rule: "Don't try to escape"
  • The penalty for breaking that rule is death
  • A year has passed since Arkham Asylum
  • Hugo Strange is in charge of Arkham City.
  • Two-Face is admitted into Arkham City
  • Two-Face plans to execute Catwoman to gain respect of inmates.
  • The overdose of venom may not be what's wrong with the Joker.
  • A lot of the super villains have formed gangs, have control of different areas in the city

Game play info:

  • Rocksteady is going to try for a highly detailed city
  • You are now able to counter two attacks at once.
  • You can place explosive gel on the back of an enemy during a fight
  • Press a button and Batman will taunt enemies
  • Rockstaedy is hoping to use more of the "forensics" angle from the first title, incorporate puzzles in them that will get more complex as you progress
  • All gadgets included in the first game are available from the start.
  • Batman has his smoke bomb.
  • Broadcast analyzer: Mainly used so that Batman can listen to a message from the Joker
  • There are several broadcasts Bats can listen to, including the GCPD dispatch and Gotham FM
  • Because of Oracle being MIA, Alfred is the one in Bruce's ear
  • Interrogations instead of Riddler maps now
  • Optional sidestories for some characters, including Zsasz
  • Gangs roam Arkham City; these are recorded in Batman's criminal database.
  • New costume for Harley
  • Rocksteady not talking about multiplayer/co-op plans yet

While not all that detailed, it is a nice little build up for things to come. I do like the fact that you will get to use all of the gadgets from Batman: Arkham Asylum from the start, but I have a feeling that they will go God of War II/III on you at some point. (Read: Taken away to give you a challenge for the rest of the game) That is just my thought process on that.

This also kind of solidifies my thoughts on co-op with Catwoman a bit too. I'm assuming that you will need to swoop in and save her ass before Two-Face "offs" her. It makes sense that would be how they would try to bring in a co-op for all the cry-baby-whiners who think every game needs co-op.

With all that, let's just sit back and see what else the mighty bat-computer will dole out here soon. (Read: The mighty internet and people not wanting to keep everything exclusive before the magazine's publish date.)