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.

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.

Ahh… man!!! Gamers, including me, have picked Christian Bale, who played Batman in The Dark Knight, as their number one man to take on the role of Solid Snake in the film adaptation of Metal Gear Solid. However, that doesn’t seem likely.

The grizzled actor has reported to MTV Multiplayer that he hasn’t been approached about being featured in the film adaptation of the very popular video game.

Bale have you been approached about being featured Metal Gear Solid? “No”. Are you a video game fan? “Yes,” he stated. Okay, what games do you play? “That,” he continued.

In the words of the famous Robin – who isn’t in this game, apparently. “Golly Gee Willickers BATMAN!” Today, Eidos revealed that “FreeFlow Combat” trailer for the upcoming title, Batman: Arkham Asylum. The trailer showcases the Dark Knight utilizing the unique FreeFlow combat system to chain together unlimited combos seamlessly and battle with huge groups of The Joker’s henchmen in brutal melee brawls. Batman even takes on the immense Bane character in this action packed trailer.

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.”

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.

At it’s midnight showing The Dark Knight grossed in an estimated $18.5 million, that’s the most ever for midnight showing in a long time. The last movie to hold this record was Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith, which grossed $16.9 million. And the lastest movie to hold this record was Spider-Man 3 which made 59.8 million in it’s opening day and by the looks of things The Dark Knight will be breaking that very soon. While some experts say that this movie is expected to gross $170 million, it may have done that by the time this story is posted.

To see what the NYTimes had to say about the movie check out this review of The Dark Knight.

It may seem like common to get a game with this kind of hype over a movie, The Dark Knight, and with there being many rumors pointing to the game being reality there was still no official word about the game. But, yet still Joystick Radio seems to think that you “may see in the future” something about The Dark Knight video game, but they didn’t say it in that in that order. So keep your eyes peeled because you may see something about a new batman game.

Update 6/21/2008: You guys may want to take a look at this.
The Dark Knight Game Confirmed

If you didn’t know by now, The Dark Knight (movie) will be coming to theaters near you very soon with advertisements for this promising movie popping up almost anywhere. The people over at Microsoft and Domino’s have teamed up for a upcoming giveaway know as "Cards Tell the Tale". An instant win promotion that pits you against The Joker for the chance to win one of two limited-edition The Dark Knight themed Xbox 360 consoles and many other great prizes.

The contest will start 7.7.08, in order to win you’ll need to buy the Limited Edition Gotham City Pizza (50% more pepperoni for $9.99) or The Dark Knight Deal (Gotham City Pizza plus 10-piece wings and a side of bread for $19.99). And here’s the cool part of this deal. You could have a chance to win $10K delivered to your door. Now how cool is that!

While one console is darker than the other it is safe to say that the want appeal is very big no matter which one you can get you hands on.

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The official new poster for The Dark Knight has been uncovered thanks to one for our featured readers. Now we don’t normally talk about movies that don’t relate to gaming but, this is just on movie that we couldn’t pass up. The poster was found on a viral marketing website called WhySoSerious.com. The movie is set from a release in July.