During the 2009 Video Game Awards, The Joker took the stage to announced the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham Asylum 2. Boasting itself as “the sequel [that we] didn’t see coming”, Arkham Asylum 2 is being development at Rocksteady Studios, who’s the developer of the first title.

Featuring crime-ridden city streets, the trailers depicts The Joker in a convoluted state – caused by the ending events of Arkham Asylum. The trailer didn’t go into much detail about the game, but it did quarry at the moving of the Asylum. But, other then that, the trailer didn’t reveal anything else.

Remember the news about free downloadable content coming to Batman: Arkham Asylum? Well, it looks like Warner Bros. has something to reveal. Today, Warner Bros. and Eidos revealed the additional downloadable content for Batman: Arkham Asylum entitled the Insane Night Map Pack, which offers players two new Challenge Maps to hone their FreeFlow Combat skills and test their Invisible Predator prowess.

In the Totally Insane FreeFlow Combat map, players’ will be tested to their fullest as scores of escaped lunatics bear down upon Batman as they make their escape through the asylum’s secure records facility. These fast-moving foes will challenge all but the most practiced players, with quick reactions and expert timing needed to fend off wave upon wave of insane inmates, bent on taking down the Dark Knight.

In the Nocturnal Hunter Invisible Predator map, players take on a wholly different approach, practicing their predatory skills to remain in the shadows, utilizing the Arkham watchtowers and Batman’s arsenal of gadgets to gain the upper hand on The Joker’s army of goons patrolling below. The Insane Night Map Pack will available on September 17.

Prepare to take an explosive look at the NVIDIA PhysX technology behind Eidos Inc. and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s critically acclaimed action-adventure video game Batman: Arkham Asylum. Journey deep within the walls of Arkham Asylum and enjoy the hyper-realistic physical and environmental real-time gaming effects in the new “PhysX Trailer” as Batman battles against some of Gotham’s most notorious enemies.

Gee willikers Batman! Today, the highly anticipated, Batman: Arkham Asylum, was awarded a Guinness World Record for the “Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever”. Arkham Asylum broken Guinness World Record in this category by achieving the highest average score of 91.67 from reviews, and reviewers, around the world.

When awarding the development team over at Rocksteady Studios, Gaz Deaves from Guinness World Records states that, “[They] are so pleased to be awarding Batman: Arkham Asylum a Guinness World Record. It is a fantastic new game and due to the reaction of gaming experts we believe it has a well deserved place in the Guinness World Records book.”

He is vengeance. He is the night. He is BATMAN! And now, he’s yours! Coinciding with the launch of the hotly-anticipated and highly-reviewed Batman: Arkham Asylum, retailers across the country will begin letting gamers into Arkham Asylum, and this trailer will definitely help to captivate your readers’ interest as they delve into the madhouse themselves!

In Batman: Arkham Asylum, The Dark Knight is trapped inside the dark and dangerous confines of Arkham Asylum, Gotham City’s asylum for the mentally insane. When the odds are stacked again him, Batman needs all of his gadgets along with his brute strength to fend off The Joker’s minions. This new trailer showcases how the Batarang, Explosive Gel, Grapnel Gun and Line Launcher are used in Batman: Arkham Asylum to fight against an army of inmates.

Gamestop revealed today that North American pre-orders for Batman: Arkham Asylum will receive a code for the “Dem Bones” Challenge Map.

In the challenge map, “Dem Bones”, players will face off against Scarecrow’s army of skeletons. This challenge map will be one of the most challenging maps that the game has to offer, which gives Batman: Arkham Asylum high re-playability. Batman: Arkham Asylum is due out nationwide on August 25, 2009.

In the new Villains Trailer, Eidos Inc. and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment showcase Batman’s most ferocious and infamous fiends, who have trapped Batman inside the dark and dangerous confines of Gotham City’s asylum for the mentally insane –Arkham Asylum!

The video, coupled with a set of detailed images and character profiles, highlights some of the gorgeous and grotesque enemies that Batman will face in Batman: Arkham Asylum; Bane, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Mr. Zsasz, Poison Ivy and of course, the Joker await Batman inside the walls of this expansive and foreboding facility.

A recent blog post by The RAM Raider suggested that Eidos is tampering with the review scores of the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum game, or rather, “artificially hyping up” its forthcoming release. However, Eidos is claiming that there’s no truth to the matter of “tampering with the review scores”.

“With regards an article posted on RamRaider alleging that Eidos has fixed review scores for Batman: Arkham Asylum, we want to state that no discussions have been held about review scores with any magazines,” said Jon Brooke, Head of UK Marketing, Eidos. “In short there is simply not one shred of truth in this article, except for the title of the game.”

However, back in April the developer stated that it does expect big things from the game. So why would they temper with the review scores?

“We expect Batman Arkham Asylum to not only be the biggest game of the summer but one of the stand-out games of the year,” Brooke told MCV. “It’s as close to perfect as we’ve ever come, it looks amazing, plays beautifully and has a rich twisting storyline with enormous replayability. I’m confident enough to say that it will set a new benchmark for licensed games and it’s going to establish itself as one of our best games ever.”

[Eidos: No truth in Batman review score fixing claim via Video Gamer]

Take an in-depth look into Gotham’s home for the criminally insane!

With the new Inside The Asylum behind the scenes video, Eidos Inc. and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment go deep within the walls of Arkham Asylum to showcase Batman’s most notorious enemies as well as the creators of the Batman: Arkham Asylum videogame.

The all new video features insightful interviews with Game Director Sefton Hill and Lead Narrative Designer Paul Crocker from Rocksteady Studios as well as famed Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Arkham Asylum writer, Paul Dini.

The funny thing is when you take a mad man into the Asylum its like your taking him coming home, and home is the place that he knows best. Revealed as only playable on the PlayStation 3 via this trailer, help the Joker rain supreme throughout Arkham Asylum as a playable character.

Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum – Gotham’s psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City’s most notorious villains who have taken over the asylum.

You don’t have to be crazy to get into Arkham Asylum, but it probably helps – especially when The Joker is in charge. It would seem that Gotham’s worst have set a trap for the Caped Crusader and he’ll have to fight his way out from deep within the facility. Using your wits, your fists and a handy assortment of gadgets, you’ll be taking on the role of Batman on your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or PC.

Using Unreal Engine 3, the graphics look amazing – even if Batman does seem to be wearing a thick coat of Vaseline. The Joker appears to be sufficiently psychotic while the areas you’ll be fighting through are notably dark and foreboding, full of bad guys and puzzles to be solved as you make your way out. Details on the villains you’ll be fighting have been rather light, although we’ve seen evidence of Harley Quinn making an appearance in an updated, very revealing costume. Bane will also be in the game, along with Zsasz and a 15-foot-high Killer Croc to give you all the trouble they can while screenshots and videos have hinted at a certain villain who’s quite fond of scribbling green question marks on the walls. Then, of course, you have the endless, unnamed bad guys you’ll have to punch and kick your way through if you hope to survive.

The combat system is going to be somewhat unique. Your health meter only applies in individual fights and refreshes after combat with a particular enemy ends. Also, as you fight, performing certain maneuvers will earn you health and experience points. You’ll be able to take on many enemies at once, this way – just enough to keep things challenging but without the fun-killing frustration of being overwhelmed by too many enemies at once. Depending on how you interact with some of the characters – not everyone needs to be dealt with by punching them in the face – you can build up your experience points to buy new combos and attacks which give you the choice to play the game the way you want, unlocking new combat possibilities.

This game isn’t just about fighting, though. The developers were careful not to overlook Batman’s wonderful toys, such as x-ray specs, goggles that give you special information about your environment and the classic Batarang. Then you have the grappling hook and the cape you can use to glide through the air as you navigate the twisted asylum and its various dangers by searching for alternative routes and hidden passageways.

“Batman: Arkham Asylum” is looking to be a pretty big hit. We’ve seen some terrible Batman games in the past and it would be easy to simply rehash the recent movies into some rather mediocre gaming experiences, but, so far, it would appear that Rocksteady Studios are flexing their creative muscles to give us something other than a knockoff game. Look for “Batman: Arkham Asylum” this summer.

She’s mad, she’s bad, she’s Harley Quinn. Anyway, yet another Batman: Arkham Asylum trailer has been released this week. However, this one shows off  Harley Quinn’s barely-encased body instead of a killer roid jockey named Bane. 

“In Batman: Arkham Asylum Eidos and Warner Bros. are building a true action adventure game experience worthy of gamers and fans,” said Phil Rogers, CEO of Eidos Interactive. “Players become Batman, like he has never been seen before in a video game, as he fights through intense circumstances in Arkham Asylum utilizing his intuitive detective skills and aggressive melee attacks.”

As we were told many times before, Batman: Arkham Asylum will feature many other characters from within the Batmen universe, and one of those characters within that universe is The Joker’s main sweetie, Harley Quinn.

A scan from a magazine has revealed has revealed, what looks like, a picture of Arkham Asylum’s version Harley Quinn, and man is she hot. But, design wise, they’ve been sticking closer to the dark and grittier comic styles for the Dark Knight and his foes.

“Batman: Arkham Asylum offers players the chance to battle Gotham’s worst villains with Batman’s physical and psychological strength in a graphically distinct and story-driven game,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

“We look forward to working with Eidos on expanding DC Comics’ world-renowned character Batman in the game space with a noticeably different feature set in an incredibly dark interactive environment.”

What villain comes to your mind when you think about Batman? Regularly people pick the The Joker because they can’t forget his smile and the brains behind his coning . But, what happens when Batman catches The Joker, and his plan was to be caught by Batman? Well, my friend, that were this story begins.

The other day we had the chance to view, what is the first, true plot twists in Batman: Arkham Asylum in the form of a trailer, so we have decided that to do our impressions on the trailer, but was it really what we hoped for?

At the beginning of the trailer, we got to test what was the first test of voice acting in Arkham Asylum, a woman on a helicopter radio informing someone that ‘The Joker has been detained and that Batman was on his way to Asylum’, which is the mad house for all the baddies of Gotham.

After that, the trailer goes to the meeting of both Batman and Commissioner James Gordon, which highlights the words from Joker, ‘new security system, how a man supposed to escape from here’, or something like that.

And that’s were it starts to get interesting, when going in through the new steps of detainment using Joker as an example to show Batman, Joker head butt’s one of the guarders and frees himself starting what is a mayor plot twists in the game.

By doing this he turns all of Arkham into his-own-sick-little-play-ground. Now, apparently, Batman is going to have to stop him, but sadly that’s all the trailer had to give about the story, but it did give, what looks like, gameplay. And it looks amazing.

Adding all these things together it looks like Batman: Arkham Asylum can’t disappoint, but really what does one have to say about gameplay, well I can’t going into to details about anything in-game at this point, mainly because we weren’t shown anyway in-game points, but from the out look of it, it looks purely amazing.

Batman is recognized as one of the world greatest detectives and, along with that, he also uses an heroic set of weaponry.

With that said, he uses his weaponry as new factors arrive, like using his bat-a-rang to knock a gun out of an enemies hand, and what kind of Batman game would it be if they didn’t add that in.

According to Danish print mag Game Reactor, Batman: Arkham Asylum will give Batman the use of new gadgets as capabilities increase: not too dissimilar to the mechanics of an RPG.

“As in a role-playing game, Batman will possess an experience system whereby it is possible to open up for new abilities and new gadgets,” says the piece [translated from Danish].

“Batman will need to use a large number of said gadgets as in many of the game’s difficult encounters as he won’t always be the strongest.”

[Arkham Asylum to have RPG elements via VG247]

In the latest issue of the popular video gaming magazine, Game Informer, it has revealed a new Batman game entitled, Batman: Arkham Asylum. The game will be published by Eidos Inteactive and Rocksteady Studios, when you turn on to Rocksteady’s website it is currently sporting a Batman logo with a countdown. Here’s the games description from Game Informer magazine:

“This completely original title explores Gotham City’s darkest location, the infamous Arkham Asylum. But as a routine prison transfer goes wrong, the Joker sets his demented plan into action and Batman comes face to face with an army of his worst enemies. In a dark and gritty setting reminiscent of Bioshock (with a story co-written by Paul Dini), Arkham Asylum is setting the stage for a true-to-character Batman game.”

Is this the new Batman game base off the recently released movie The Dark Knight? Well, it isn’t apparently, it just happens to be that EA has all the rights to the Batman movie base games and this is just another Batman game. But, The Dark Knight fans shouldn’t worry about there not being a game, why you ask? Because there’s fact pointing to there being a video game base off the hit movie. But, until we have official word you’ll just have to wait on this game…

Update:

One of the members of the popular gaming forum NeoGAF has posted the first details for the game from the latest issue of Game Informer.  Here take a look:

Batman: Arkham Asylum

1 Player Action Game

Publisher: Eidos

Developer: Rocksteady Sudios

Release: 2009

• Clever choice of location moves the game away from an open world Spider-Man clone and more into the dark and gritty realm of The Chronicles of Riddick.
• Packed with Batman’s most dangerous archenemies Arkham Asylum boasts a brand new story reminiscent of the depth and twists of Bioshock.
• Story is written by Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series, Detective Comics).
• Wildstorm is crafting the authentic yet distinct new look for all the key characters.
• Gameplay places just as much focus on Batman’s role as a detective as his combat prowess.
• Game isn’t being rushed to tie in with any TV/Film marketing cycles.
• Game runs on Unreal Engine 3.
• Most of the game is played through an over-the-shoulder perspective.
• You’re going to see and get to fight against all the big super villains. Seen so far. Joker, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Zsasz, Penguin, Riddler, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze and others the magazine doesn’t want to spoil.
• Allies revealed so far are Commissioner Gordon who plays a big role and Barbara Gordon (aka Oracle) who is your radio contact in the game.
• Game opens with the Joker surrendering himself and subsequently taking over Arkham because of some secret the facility holds.
• Magazine teases that this game will be the ultimate Batman experience so the voice cast will reflect that (Think Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill).
• Arkham was chosen as a location because of its limitations including the fact that it’s an island prison. It’s a persistent location so you can visit any location at anytime including Batman’s secret on site Bat Cave etc. Don’t think that just because this is an island prison there will only be small hallways. The developers have taken into account all the construction/destruction of the facility over the years so locals will vary.
• Eidos’ Batman license includes all 70 years of comic book fiction so they’re pulling from all of that.
  • COMBAT:
• Boss Battles won’t necessarily be a series of straight pugilistic fights. Each enemy represents a different side of Batman and not all of them can match his wide skill set. Some battles are focused on combat others will focus on gadgets some are similar to giant Zelda style bosses.
• Combat description in the magazine talks about Batman perched on a high ledge in a wide open room as he watches some of the Joker’s thugs rifle through drawers. Batman switches to investigation mode using a blue tinted visor that among other things lets Batman see his enemies through walls and identifies things like guns and knives. One thug is carrying a machine gun so Batman jumps of the ledge, spreads his cape and kicks him in the face. He then swipes his cape in a large arc to stun his other enemies and then goes to work on them with a stylish blend of punches, kicks, a knee to the face here a behind the back elbow there. Combat has a gymnastic flourish and is accomplished using only three buttons. Attack, Stun and Throw.
• Combat is only one element of the game so the developers didn’t want a bunch of button combos that you’d forget because you’ll be doing other things besides fighting.
• During battle a combo multiplier at the top of the screen will increase with every strike. Once the combo expires a colony of bats will swirl around Batman and then contribute to an experience bar on the left side of the screen. In an RPG like skill tree system players will be able to distribute points where they prefer. Think Combat moves, faster takedowns, or gadget upgrades like the ability to throw multiple batarangs at the same time.
• Gadgets are revealed by collecting items in secret rooms. You’ll need gadgets to survive as there are very tough enemies in the game that you can’t just go head to head with (Think Killer Croc, he’s 10 feet tall in the game and super tough)
• There are sections that involve sneaking but the developers call them Predatory gameplay sections as stealth tends to imply weakness, they prefer to think of it as picking off the weak people or people you wouldn’t last too long in direct fight with from strong positions. The example they give in the article is Batman creating distractions with bodies and victim’s yells and then stalking the guards as they go to inspect.
  • DETECTIVE:
• Developers have come up with a very “sexy” CSI style for forensic puzzles because Batman will always have the very latest gadgets.
• Investigative mode is the centerpiece in Batman’s arsenal. The visor can highlight points of interest and much like the Metroid Prime games will scan items into your database.
• They also mention another forensic gadget, a fingerprint tracker that allow Batman to follow trails of fingerprints.
  • OTHER:
• Magazine hints at the ability to play as the villains in the game. Not sure if this is inserted directly into the game or available as a second playthrough option.
• Magazine lists a few suggested reading items. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, Batman: The Last Arkham, and Arkham Asylum: Living Hell.
  • GRAPHICS:
• Game is very gritty looking. The screens in the mag are all inside Arkham and show case a few hallways, The Riddler’s cell, A sewer etc. Lots of great lighting going on.
• Character redesigns are pretty good for the most part. Joker looks like classic Joker only with Heath Ledger style make up (long drawn on red lipstick etc.) he still has a the bright purple suit and bright green hair. Definitely more sinister looking than say the TAS Joker. Killer Croc is huge and looks more like Jim Lee’s Hush redesign as opposed to some of the more human renditions of him.
• Batman is in the Black and Grey costume. It looks more like armor however his gauntlets in particular look like the ones from TDK. Overall it looks very awesome.
• They show screens of fights and predator segments and all look very interesting and very Batman in scope. Lots of classic poses etc.
• You can control Batarangs from first person mode.