Batman: Arkham City video details dark psychology, exploding Robin, most detailed open-world ever

How do these Arkham City videos keep getting more exciting?

Words: David Houghton on August 9, 2011

So we've aquired a brand new Batman: Arkham Asylum video from a recent event in London, and boy, is it a corker. Yes, I know that all Arkham City videos are corkers by nature of being Arkham City videos, but this one is even extra specially corking above ad beyond the usual.

You get Rocksteady's Dax Ginn (real name, not that of a Star Trek character) talking you through a whole raft of footage, explaining how AC will be the most detailed open-world around, how playing as Bats will be completely different from playing as Catwoman and Robin (the former is more slinky, sexy and stealy, the latter is far more explodey), and very excitingly, how much Batman's royally screwed-up head is going to come into play this time around. It sounds like quite a lot. Which is good.

So click Play, and commence geeking out with me immediately.

August 09, 2011

Platforms:

Xbox 360, PC, PS3

22 comments

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SanctusScorpius - August 10, 2011 5:43 p.m.

Looks good, but I still really hate their design for Robin.
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inconceivable - August 10, 2011 3:59 p.m.

So fucking excited for this game.
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accidentprone88 - August 10, 2011 2:45 a.m.

Oh, Christ. This makes it sound like you have to play as Robin in the main campaign. As my favorite Batman is the lone Dark Knight, I really hope this isn't the case. Keep his ass to DLC and pre-order incentives, I say! Otherwise, day one purchase for me and perhaps the only collector's edition I'm seriously considering.
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spencertucksen - August 10, 2011 12:27 a.m.

@Obliquezombie: AA was technically open world, in that you COULD go anywhere you wanted after a certain point in the game. However, this one seems more like RDR/GTA kind of open-world, versus something that is more of an illusion of an open-world experience.
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jackthemenace - August 9, 2011 8:22 p.m.

I like the addition of the Batsignal, but to me the best part is the new combat. The part I hated most about AA was the combat being such a bore sometimes- It was almost almost exactly the same. It never had much difference to it, and just felt like spamming X until I saw some flashy electric bolts, then hitting Y, then spamming X again. I loved the addition of the hanging bat thing, which I forgot the name of, but That was only an "Oh, AWESOME!" moment the first few times, and there weren't many others to unlock. This looks to remedy that. Main problem with this one? The new playable characters are cool, but the only one I REALLY want? Nightwing. It's almost as if the developers DON'T go through GR articles to read all my comments... Oh, and @Plan10? Oblivion. That is all.
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soxknight1127 - August 9, 2011 7:46 p.m.

up till now i heard Robin was just a challenge map character but here it sounds like you will play as him in the main game. i hope so anyway, i'm a tim drake fan
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Darkhawk - August 9, 2011 7:40 p.m.

Just get rid of the friggin' "Visions" already. I don't want to have to play the game entirely in Blue and Red just so I can solve all the puzzles.
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K387 - August 9, 2011 7:37 p.m.

@lordodalming While the moves are more advanced, I remembering running up ridiculous combos in the challenge rooms against the baddies while trying to beat the scores. It wasn't uncommon to run up a combo in the 60's or 70's in some cases if you read the enemies perfectly and had the reflexes of a cat at times. One of the my favorite games where getting 1000G never felt like a chore.
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lordgodalming - August 9, 2011 6:34 p.m.

Holy crap, that fight sequence was a friggin clinic.
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BigLandoz - August 9, 2011 6:23 p.m.

The more I hear about this game, the better it sounds. The Bat signal in the sky is a really nice touch, acting as a guide for the main storyline. The only thing that kinda irks me is the multiple playable characters. I don't mind playing as other characters, but I only want to play as them in small chunks. When I buy "BATMAN: Arkham City", I want to play as The Goddamn Batman.
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V22Dreamcast - August 9, 2011 6:03 p.m.

10-18-11 can't come soon enough. First-Day buy for sure.
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ObliqueZombie - August 9, 2011 5:55 p.m.

I'll be up front with you: I've never played Arkham Asylum. I've never been HEAVY into Batman, but I've always liked him, and with the plethora of games I'm already playing, that game never quite made it to my list. But now, I'm thinking I should change that. What got me was how each character's combat and perception of the world comes from their own personality and methods of dealing with things. I mean, that's pretty Goddamned creative. Plus, with this game being an open-world exploration as opposed to whatever AA was (linear campaign? I'm okay with that, too) is a HUGE change-up in game design. And if we're going into dark psychology, well... that's just sick.
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db1331 - August 9, 2011 5:42 p.m.

It's going to be really hard to wait for this to go on sale.
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Crypto140 - August 9, 2011 5:13 p.m.

Dax made it sound like you play as Catwoman quite often. Probably once you beat the game you can choose who you want to play as and piss around the city.
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codystovall - August 9, 2011 5:07 p.m.

Also, do you think the 28 hidden characters will be in this?
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Hawkman21 - August 9, 2011 5 p.m.

Can't remember the last time I was this hyped up for a game....
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codystovall - August 9, 2011 4:41 p.m.

Will be best game of my 2011 and 2012.
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inkyspot - August 9, 2011 4:32 p.m.

I am amped an my money is ready,
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Vault101 - August 9, 2011 4:24 p.m.

OMG I WANT THIS RIGHT THE HELL NOW.
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Plan10FromOuterSpace - August 9, 2011 4:18 p.m.

This interview is like music to my ears, I normally hate open world games because the worlds you are free to explore are just boring, for example there are about two different locations in Just Cause 2 copied and pasted across the island, meaning I have no motivation to explore. A smaller game world is fine by me if I find it as interesting and engaging as Arkham City looks to be...
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