Batman: Arkham City | What we know so far

When is it coming out?
What villains will be in it?
What changes have been made to the combat system?


Is it still good?


Most likely the newest piece of info was the playable Tim Drake (Robin) version depending on who you pre-order from.


Also, lots of new combat updates, detective mode (now called alternate reality mode) and confirmed gadgets!


Special thanks to arkhamcity.co for their updates!

Skip to content

Batman:

--Batman will be able to counter up to three thugs at once.

--Batman will be able to strike as many as three thugs simultaneously in combat.

--Batman will be able to counter foes using the environment.

--Batman will be able to use his explosive gel, the Batclaw, and a new, unannounced gadget seamlessly in combat. The example shown was Batman vaulting over a thug, spraying explosive gel on him and then detonating it.

--Batman will be able to taunt his enemies, often resulting in some or all of the thugs fleeing.

--Batman will have a new swinging kick, usable from an elevated perch, where he attaches a line to his perch before swinging down into the foe.

--Batman’s combat animations have more than doubled from the last game

--Batman has a new move called the “beat down”, a rapid combination of painful-looking punches and kicks that can take down any foe.

--Batman will be able to use the environment to evade foes in acrobatic ways

--If an enemy is stunned you will be able to bounce off him

--Batman will have a new move, usable from an elevated perch, where he drops down on a thug and knocks them out.

Thugs:

--There will be more thugs in each combat as compared to the previous game, recent reports have the number at 40 thugs at one time.

--Thugs will be more aggressive, and may attack simultaneously

--Thugs have more realistic AI, and may flee

--Thugs will have a much wider variety of weapons

--There will be new armored thugs that can take more damage and block normal attacks

Batman:

--Batman will have many new silent takedowns, confirmed so far are a double silent takedown and a leg choke from above.

--Batman will be able to smash through weak walls with his bare hands for a new takedown

--Batman will be able to screen himself with smoke pellets if enemies spot him

Batman:

--Batman will have all of his gadgets from the previous game from the very start of the new game.

--Batman will have new gadgets, confirmed so far are a broadcast analyzer, smoke pellets and an Ultra Sonic Emitter (USE) used to summon swarms of bats.

--Batman will be able to electrically charge remote-control Batarangs and use them to overload control panels

--Batman will have a new grapple boost that, instead of taking him to the point fired, shoots him there and then rockets him upward, from which point you can glide.

--Batman will be able to transform a glide into a dive bomb for a much more rapid descent. Dive bombing into a group of thugs will push them back.

--Batman will be able to grapple enemies mid-glide

--Batman will be able to remain in a near-perpetual state of flight by gliding, grappling up to a high point, hurling himself off, and repeating.

--Batman will have a new "Spider-Man style" grapple hook.

--Batman will be able to slow down mid-grapple to fire the gun again and go off in a completely different direction.

Arkham City:

--Arkham City will be at least four times the size of Arkham Asylum.

--Arkham City's storyline will take place approximately 80% outdoors, and 20% indoors.

--Batman will be able to climb on more objects, including wires and billboards.

--Lights are highlighted in a detective mode screenshot shown, suggesting they will be interactable in some manner.

--Batman will be able to dive out of windows with a context sensitive use of the evade button.

--Territories will change in both appearance and size as the game progresses.

--There will be many side quests apart from the main story. One of them involves Batman following a string of payphones being called by Victor Zsaz before finally confronting him.

-- Arkham City will feature dynamic music, that directly mirrors and reacts to the actions you chose and undertake whilst playing the game.

--Thugs will have a much wider variety of appearance than in the first game

--Most thugs will be grouped into gangs, each headed by a staple Batman villain. Confirmed so far are Joker, Two-Face, Riddler and Penguin, with many more hinted.

--Gang members and territories will be heavily stylized and individualized based on the gang's leader.

--You can keep track of the gangs in your criminal database

--Thugs not attached to a gang roam the streets

--Riddler thugs have replaced Riddler maps in the new game, and will require interrogation before they will talk

--More complicated crime scenes than in the first game.

--Later in the game some crime scenes will require puzzles to be solved

--Rocksteady claims to be changing Detective Mode to an “augmented reality” mode, although this is not seen yet in the new screens.

The Joker

Harley Quinn

Hugo Strange

Mr. Zsasz

Mr. Freeze (V/A)

The Penguin

Two Face

Poison Ivy (V/A)

Bane*

Solomon Grundy*

The Riddler

Black Mask*

Talia Al Ghul (V/A)

Killer Croc*

Calendar Man

Villains marked with an * have not been officially announced by Rocksteady.

Villains marked with (V/A) were confirmed via voice actor.

SPOILERS

--The story for Arkham City takes place roughly eighteen months after the events of Arkham Asylum. Quincy Sharp, former warden of Arkham Asylum, has taken credit for stopping the Joker, and used that notoriety to become mayor of Gotham City. As neither Arkham nor Blackgate Prison are in any condition to hold inmates, Sharp buys out a large section of Gotham's slums and arms the perimeter with mercenaries from a group called Tyger in order to create "Arkham City". The prisoners are brought into Arkham City and given free rein, told only to not attempt escape. To oversee the city, Sharp uses psychiatrist Hugo Strange who appears to have his own secret plans for the city. Batman maintains a vigil over the city, worried that the situation may get out of hand. Part of the setup for "Arkham City" was contained in plans in a hidden room in Sharp's office in Arkham Asylum.

The events of the game are set in motion when Two-Face, seeking to gain status among the inmates and other villains outside the city, devises a plan to publicly execute Catwoman. Batman decides for both the safety of Gotham and of his past romance with Catwoman that he must stop the execution by entering Arkham City himself.

--Alfred replaces Oracle, who has gone missing

--Jack Ryder has been put into Arkham City due to him becoming to close to the truth on the city while working on an expose. Rocksteady were hesitant to reveal what Ryder had uncovered.

--Your first meeting with Two-Face is early on in the game. You are greeted with him displaying Catwoman tied up side down to a baying crowd of criminals.

Two-Face decides Catwoman's fate with the iconic coin toss. She gets lucky this time.

--The first confrontation with Two-Face results in Batman getting shot in the chest only for Catwoman to slip out of her chains and hit Two-Face into the acid she was about to be chucked into. A flirtatious conversation is then held between Catwoman and Batman only to be interrupted by a sniper dot on Catwoman’s chest. Batman shoves her out of the way and the shot misses.

--Joker has a potentially fatal disease, that seems to have very little do with the overdose of Titan.

--Riddler has a very real and physical presence in the game. Throughout the game he will require you to solve riddles as in AA, as well as navigating trap-strewn chambers and rescuing hostages.

--Your first encounter with The Penguin has you racing to save several police officers held captive inside his "Museum."