Arkham City

[JT]

So, I saw this post over at the Arkham Boards and figured I'd copy it here and give credit to the source. Lots of interesting news, plus the Mod says there will be another big announcement next week, which I can't wait for.

Thanks again to the source: community.batmanarkhamcity.com/forums/showthread.php/1163-Batman-Arkham-City-What-We-Know-So-Far

"The * symbol means the line had been added or edited after the creation of the thread.

Arkham City
* The city will be five times the size of Arkham Asylum.
* The city will be explorable right from the beginning.
* Arkham City will be divided into several territories, each owned by a gang, that are individualized based on the gang in charge.
* Arkham City's story will approximately take place 80% outdoors and 20% indoors.

Characters Confirmed
Batman
Catwoman
Robin (Playable, Challenges only)
Jack Ryder
Hugo Strange + TYGER Mercs
* The Joker and Harley Quinn + Gang
* Two-Face + Gang
* Penguin + Gang
* The Riddler + Informants
Mr. Zsasz
Calendar Man
* Poison Ivy
* Alfred Pennyworth
* Abramovici Twins - the Joker and Penguin both have special one armed thugs.

Locations Confirmed
Monarch Theater
Medical Center
Courthouse
Sionis Industries (Joker's Fun House)
* Iceberg Lounge
* Ace Chemical Plants
* GCPD
* Wonder Tower
* Riddler's HQ
* Crime Alley

Multiplayer
Batman: Arkham City will not have any form of Multiplayer. Rocksteady is focusing on delivering a great Single-player experience.

Gameplay
The main story will take 20+ hours to complete.
Players will start the game with all the gadgets from Arkham Asylum.
Smoke pellets have been confirmed.
Arkham City is open to players right from the beginning.
Riddler Challenges will return, this time they will be more complex and will involve using your gadgets.
Players may set the Batsignal as a waypoint.
Detective Vision will return and has been improved.
Batman can interrogate Riddler informants for the locations of Riddler trophies.
* Batman's gliding has been improved, it is his main form of transport in the game.
* Batman will have a new move called the “Grapple boost” where he fires his grapnel gun at an environmental object, grapples to the target, and hurls himself off.
* Batman can perch on more objects such as wires, billboards and gargoyles.
* Batman will have a new Broadcast Analyzer for use in hacking into comms channels.

Combat
Batman can now perform double and triple takedowns.
Catwoman has her own set of moves and takedowns.
* Catwoman's story is only 10% of the game.
One of Batman's new moves is the Dive Bomb.
* Gadgets have been integrated into Combat
* Batman can counter enemies with the environment.
* Batman has a new move named the “Beatdown” which is a rapid combination of punches and kicks performed by rapidly tapping the attack button

Stealth
* Batman can now perform double silent takedowns.
* If a thug is near a thin wall, Batman will be able to smash through it with his hands and knockout the thug.

Enemies
* Each major villain will have their own gang with their own special appearances that reflect their allegiance.
* Enemy AI has been improved and are more alert and responsive.
* Enemies will attack the player simultaneously.
* Thugs will use a massive variety of weapons such as baseball bats, broken bottles and makeshift riot shields.
* There will be far more enemies to fight than there were in Arkham Asylum, although some may flee the scene when Batman arrives.

Extras
Challenge Rooms will return.
The only known Challenge Room is Joker’s Carnival Challenge, a pre-order bonus from Game Stop.
* A Challenge Map featuring Robin (Tim Drake) will be avaliable as a pre-order bonus from Best Buy.

Achievements and Trophies
The only known Achievement/Trophy is 'Acid Bath' which is unlocked by saving Catwoman from Two-Face.

Other
Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill will be returning to voice Batman and the Joker.
Harley Quinn will return voiced by Tara Strong.
The Arkham City comics are a prequel to the actual game.
Alternate Costumes have not been confirmed.
Special Editions have not been confirmed.
The rating has not been confirmed.
* The game will be avaliable on PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and the Wii U."

[X]

Good amount of info, mi amigo. Now, this all seems great and all, but WHERE'S Scarecrow?!?!?

[JT]

LOL info is still coming poochie..I mean X. I hope he's in. It seems alot of people are returning, like Joker, Harley, Ivy, and a few more. Plus Freeze and Talia are confirmed

[JT]

"Robin will be an exclusive pre-order character to play in the game's challenge maps through Best Buy in North America. It's unclear as of now if Robin will be offered separately at a later time.

The Best Buy listing reads:

While supplies last, pre-order the game for an exclusive downloadable Robin character. Robin is a fully playable character in the new and improved challenge mode in Batman: Arkham City. The Tim Drake Robin pack is available exclusively to fans who pre-order the game from Best Buy on Xbox 360, PC and PS3.

Robin comes complete with his own unique gadgets and special moves, and will be playable in all challenge maps in the game, as well as two additional challenge maps that are included with the pack: Black Mask Hideout and Freight Train Escape.

The pack will also contain a bonus Red Robin character skin."

Not a fan of the short hair that makes him look like a teenage Damian, but I AM a fan of a Red Robin skin.

[X]

Ah, you got it up here before I did, JT... Bastard! Yeah, I am NOT a fan of that Robin... Where's the hair, and when has Tim EVER been that pumped up... But I do like the idea of the Red Robin skin, so that's something.

[JT]

The best thing about the RR skin is it would cover the hair (or lack thereof) and make him look more like Tim.

[X]

Exactly what I was thinking when I read about the RR skin. Playing as skin-head Robin would be pretty disturbing to me, so I'll be playing as RR all the time.

[JT]

Black mask was recently confirmed to have a "presence" in Batman: Arkham City

[X]

That's a rather odd way of putting it... I wonder exactly what that means...

[JT]

Well Joker's hideout is Sionis industries, so you'd have to wonder where Black Mask is.

[X]

Dead maybe? Possibly a turncoat? Hopefully Json in disguise?! ;D

[JT]

Don't you even get my hopes up! Lol you know I'd mark out hard for a Red Hood appearance, especially since he's a little more mainstream due to that animated movie.

[JT]

Catwoman Gameplay looks AWESOME.

[falishaann]

I wish we had a like button, I would so like this video, lol.

[X]

I wonder if we can add that +1 button... I'll have to look into it.