Think of a great superhero game. No, not a good one — there are plenty of those around — but one as essential as, say, Grand Theft Auto IV or BioShock. You’re struggling, right? That’s because there aren’t any. Or rather there weren’t any until Batman: Arkham Asylum came along.
The Caped Crusader has had something of a dodgy past both on the silver screen and in games. From the ace 1989 Tim Burton gothic epic that grossed over a quarter of a billion dollars domestically to the franchise-murdering Joel Schumacher colour-saturated camp-fest Batman & Robin that barely limped past the $100 million marker, Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting alter-ego haven’t had it easy.
We're about to commit what some geek groups would consider heresy: Maybe the world was better off not having a game based on The Dark Knight, Batman's wildly successful and delightfully dismal summer movie outing from last year. Yes, we saw the movie (four times, thanks, and that's not counting IMAX viewings); yes, we loved it. But what are the chances a rushed-through-development movie tie-in would have actually been good?
Stealth, stalking, and all-out brutality. How Batman is taking back the mantle from the games that stole his schtick.
We had our doubts about Batman: Arkham City. Would it live up to our 2009 Game of the Year? Could it possibly maintain what was so great about Arkham Asylum while making the transition into the genre of the open world game? What about the relatively short development time? Could they possibly make a game as fleshed out and polished in just about a year and a half? As it turns out, yes. Yes they can...
Before you get too upset, you should know that that headline isn’t a spoiler. Not really. The “end” we’re referring to isn’t the end of Arkham City, but of the latest demo we played through earlier this week, which we’re told is set relatively early in the game. When it concluded, however, there was little doubt that Joker – or at least someone who looked an awful lot like him – was deceased..
Did you beat Batman: Arkham City yet? If you didn't, don't read this spoiler-filled preview and also, what the hell is wrong with you?!? Finish that game already! If you did, you must be dying for a follow-up, and we're here to share with you our hands-on with the upcoming epilogue. Read on for our post-game impressions...
Hold on: Another attempt to uncover the mysteries of Atlantis? And we thought Indy put that riddle to bed years ago. No, there’s very little mystery with this one – it’s a Command & Conquer-baiting RTS title with shades of Fracture thrown in for good measure.
Megapublisher Electronic Arts held its GDC 2009 event last week filled with plenty of Battlefield goodness. With two Battlefield titles coming up, not only were we given a first look at their new sequel Battlefield: Bad Company 2, we were also given a little hands-on demo of developer DICE’s upcoming title Battlefield 1943, a strictly multiplayer downloadable FPS based on World War II.
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