CBR had managed to get their hands on a demo for the upcoming Rocksteady game,
Batman: Arkham City. Here's a synopsis of what they reported:
-You track the Clown Prince of Crime down from a fired sniper bullet to a church tower, only to find it full of goons and explosives.
-Batman is able to locate the Joker, using his Cryptographic Sequencer to lock in on a radio signal.
-Getting to his arch-enemy takes an interesting new approach, as "City" doesn't include a mini-map showing locations of current objectives. Instead, players have to rely on a good old-fashioned Bat Signal to point out their destination, giving you opportunity to explore the city as you get there.
-Batman slowly work his way through the mill, eventually learning about Harley Quinn's latest escapade: she's nabbed one of Gotham's EMT's to help patch up Joker, who is in dire health following the conclusion of the events from "Asylum" where he transformed into a hideous. Bane-like beast.
-After defeating the level's standard goons, and prior to facing off with Mr. Hammer, Batman must first engineer a new device that will prove useful during his trip into "Arkham City." It's called the Remote Electrical Charge, or REC. Similar to a stun gun, the gadget comes with various features that make it far better than your typical taser. Not only can Batman utilize it to temporarily stun enemies, but it can also be used on objects within the environment. Fire it at a pool of water, and it'll electrify the entire thing -- and whatever poor sap is standing in it. Hook it up to an elevator or an automatic door in need of turning on and you'll activate it with its temporary power charge.
-Following Mr. Hammer's takedown, Batman finds himself in a face-to-face situation with Harley Quinn. An EKG is playing a high-pitched, continuous beep in the background and Harley is actually in a weakened state, sobbing. As Batman pushes her aside to find out what's going on with the Joker, we discover Batman's maniacal arch-enemy lying there, with a monitor sitting next to him showing no kind of pulse -- along with the word "Deceased," which marks the conclusion of the demo.
Oh. Will the Joker really die in Arkham City? Only way to find out is to play the game when it's released this October. This is certainly some intriguing news though, to say the least.
Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to action-adventure stealth video game Batman: Arkham Asylum, based on DC Comics' Batman, for Onlive, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and Microsoft Windows. It is being developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game was officially announced during the beginning of the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards and is scheduled to be released worldwide the week of October 18, 2011.
The story for Arkham City takes place about one year after the events of Arkham Asylum. Quincy Sharp, former warden of Arkham Asylum, has taken credit for stopping the Joker, and used the notoriety to become mayor of Gotham City. As neither Arkham nor Blackgate Prison are in any condition to detain inmates, Sharp buys out a large section of Gotham's slums and arms the perimeter with private military contractors from a group called Tyger in order to create "Arkham City". The prisoners are brought into Arkham City and are given free rein, as long as they do not attempt escape. To oversee the city, Sharp hires psychiatrist Hugo Strange who appears to have his own secret agenda for the city. Batman and Robin maintain a vigil over the city, worried that the situation may get out of hand. Part of the setup for "Arkham City" was contained in plans in a hidden room in Sharp's office in Arkham Asylum.
The events of the game are set in motion when Two-Face, seeking to gain notoriety among the inmates and other villains outside the city, devises a plan to publicly execute Catwoman. Batman decides for both the safety of Gotham and of his past relationship with Catwoman that he must stop the execution by entering Arkham City. Catwoman takes advantage of the chaos in Arkham City to acquire jewelry, and a few high tech gadgets; much like how Batman receives new tools and upgrades.
A teaser trailer was released that featured Joker being nursed by Harley Quinn from the effects of the Titan formula (and the explosive gel punch from Batman) while Arkham City descends into chaos. The sequel was described by veteran Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy as "really, really dark". While relating the game's dark nature to the animated movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Conroy also said, "It involves a lot of the villains and it goes to that area – it's that dark.
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