Arkham has Moved

Former Arkham Asylum warden Quincy Sharp has bought Gotham’s ghetto to make Arkham City after taking credit for stopping the Joker’s siege on Arkham Asylum and becoming mayor of Gotham. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLeBUhHpepY

Arkham City has Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Arleen Sorkin, all returning as voice actors as Batman, the Joker, and Harley Quinn respectively. Let me just say that Kevin Conroy totally makes these games, but Mark Hamill announcing that this will be the last time he voices the Joker is a huge disappointment. The lineup for Arkham City also includes the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Talia al Ghul, Victor Zsasz (hopefully in a bigger role this time), Dr. Strange (seen in the above trailer), and Calendar Man, as well as Catwoman and Two-Face. Yes *pushes up glasses*, Calendar Man’s real name is Julian Gregory Day, although Batman has never really been known for its pun-free content.

Aside from the absurd costume change for Harley Quinn between Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, there are minor differences that have been announced. Batman will get smoke bombs (think Assassin’s Creed 2) and a signal tracer that will help him track signal sources. Detective Mode is being revamped to an augmented reality mode after David Hugo, Rocksteady Art Director, saw players running through the entire game using Detective Mode.

I really like the direction they took Harley’s costume, but only because I thought her duds in Arkham Asylum were borderline gut-wrenching. The art direction in Batman Vengeance was probably my favorite since it paid such a strong homage to the animated series, although I suppose we have grown past that in the age of current-gen graphics. Mr. Freeze always makes the game (NOT THE MOVIE) for me, so I’m looking forward to seeing him in Arkham City. Oh also, if I can’t do this in Arkham City, I’m not buying it.

Batman: Arkham City is slated for release Q3 2011 on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, and if you missed Arkham Asylum for $5 on the holiday Steam Sale for $5, shame on you.

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