The follow-up to the much-lauded Arkham Asylum is set to be released October 18th in the US, followed by an October 24th release in the UK. On the other hand, Rocksteady Studios considered writing a new character in the Batman universe for Arkham City.
Harley Quinn was originally introduced in Batman: The Animated Series in the early 90s before eventually being adopted into the greater DC universe by appearing in the comics. Rocksteady Studios accomplished what other game designers couldn’t by delivering a game that felt distinctly Batman-ey in Arkham Asylum, so it might follow that enough trust was there for the writers to create a brand new character for the bigger and better sequel – Arkham City.
Expectations are quite high, but thankfully the game finds itself, like its predecessor, in the hands of Rocksteady Studios. On a rather sad note, this is supposedly Mark Hamill’s last stint as the Joker. Whether this means the end of the character or the end of Mark Hamill’s voice work is unclear, but it’s sure to cause contention — yes, the vast twitscape that is the internet has given rise to fierce debate over the “best” Joker — should another voice actor take his place.
Even those who aren’t terribly keen on Batman should at least recognize the inherent appeal of going toe-to-toe with an amputee Soviet clown, pummeling him into submission with your manly BatFists™ (picture provided). The game looks to be more expansive than its predecessor; Rocksteady Studios’s Sefton Hill told Gamespot that Arkham City’s total size is “about five times bigger than Arkham Island…but they will also feel the extreme pressure of the challenges that they face.” Hopefully this will help players like me, burdened with that awful marriage of ADD and OCD that results in hours of forsaking the main story in favor of side quests/shiny things, while still embracing the open-world style of play.
[ttjad keyword=”xbox-360″]
