Sequel to 'Batman: Arkham Asylum' Announced

*Originally published on 1/9/10


We still haven't gotten around to buying the original Batman: Arkham Asylum, but I did play the demo released through X-Box Live. It was a rather good game and really did a great job of capturing the spirit of Batman. Sneaking around Arkham and taking out baddies using a variety of gadgets really put you in the Dark Knight's shoes. The fact that Conroy, Hamill, and Sorkin reprised their roles as Batman, The Joker, and Harley Quinn respectively definitely helped, as did the fact that Paul Dini wrote it.

It was announced not too long ago that a sequel was in development. You can see the trailer for the game here. It seems the sequel will move the fight beyond the walls of Arkham and into Gotham city itself. It's a natural follow up really. You couldn't really have another game that takes place in the same place. It wouldn't have any sales incentive.

The trailer says little, while showing a lot. There are visual cues that give you an idea of who might show up on this go around.

One of the major ones is Two-Face. The first game ended with Batman getting a call to stop the schizophrenic villain, so it does make sense. Another big hint is the Uncle Sam-esque posters. While they are lacking faces, Harvey Dent is the natural choice for whose face really does go there.

The camera also pans by the Iceberg lounge, the legitimate front for Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin. It'll be interesting to see how he plays into it. My guess would be that you go to him for information as that is the more common role taken by the arms dealer.

I wouldn't be surprised if villains who were mentioned, such as the Riddler and Catwoman made an appearance in this game as well. There is an easter egg in the game where you come across the body of Ra's al Ghul. When you come back to that room, the body is missing. It would be awesome to see the Demon's head make an appearance, but at the same time, with Joker being the mastermind, I wouldn't want to see him play second fiddle. Even in his weakened condition, Joker's not the type to get played, even by the likes of Ra's al Ghul as the Demon Laughs arc showed us.

It also wouldn't surprise me to see the major baddies from the first game return. Obscure ones like Zsasz may get glossed over, but Poison Ivy and Bane are pretty big names in Batman's rogues gallery. Then again, there are a ton of other big baddies to get to as well so it would make sense for the writers to try and bring in new villains.

Hopefully, the sequel takes into account the flaws from the first game. From what I've read, you don't really get to fight the major villains in the game and mostly fight mooks, which is sad. You fight a couple of the bosses, but hopefully the sequel gives you a chance to really go head to head with these villains. A lot of people weren't pleased with the Titan storyline. While Joker is still worse for wear after the ordeal (it's good that they didn't ignore it completely) hopefully they come up with something a bit more concrete.

Now that the story has moved away from Arkham, it's possible that other members of the Bat-family will play a role. Oracle will most likely remain as your voice over guide, but having Robin and Nightwing at your side would make it interesting. It would also allow multiplayer, a function that the previous game, logically, lacked.

I'm really excited for this game. The cast from the first game is returning and I'm always up for hearing more of Conroy's Batman as well as Hamill's Joker. Sadly, there is no release date as of yet.

The sequel is in a rare position. The first game did have faults that can be improved upon, but the game was also very well received so it has a certain hype to live up to, maybe even more than the first game did. It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out.