Batman: Arkham City is a 2011 action-adventure video game developed by Rocksteady Studios with a story written by veteran comic book author Paul Dini, Paul Crocker, and Sefton Hill. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to the award winning 2009 video game Batman: Arkham AsylumIt features a main plot and side-missions that develop their own sub-plots. The main storyline revolves around Batman's imprisonment in Arkham City, a sprawling new super-prison five times bigger than the original asylum and enclosing a wide variety of industrial districts, iconic locations and landmarks of the fictional Gotham City. He must now stop mishaps occurring around this chaotic enclosure caused by Gotham's most notorious super criminals.
The game received widespread critical acclaim and is one of the highest-rated video games of 2011 according to review aggregator Metacritic. It was the recipient of several awards including awards for Game of the Year, Action game, Action Adventure game, Adventure game and best original music score.
The game was released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The game was officially announced during the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards and was released worldwide for consoles, beginning in North America on October 18, 2011, with the Microsoft Windows version following on November 22, 2011. A Game of the Year edition is scheduled for release on May 29, 2012 in North America and on September 7, 2012 for the rest of the world. A Wii U version is set to be released in 2012. A spin-off iOS game, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, was developed by NetherRealm Studios and released on December 7, 2011.
Gameplay
The player also has access to a criminal database that tracks several investigations across the city and the forensic puzzles, as well as a communications interception and tracing network. However, Rocksteady's art director David Hego described the new detective mode as an "augmented reality mode", and game director Sefton Hill has also stated that although enemies and evidence can be seen more clearly, the navigational part is toned down as they found that some players completed Arkham Asylum using detective mode almost throughout the entire game. Optional challenges from the Riddler to collect hidden trophies placed around the city are also present, but require additional effort to locate, such as interrogation of men loyal to the Riddler, and the use of nearly all of Batman's gadgets to disable "traps" and barriers placed around them. After a certain number of trophies are found, Batman must go rescue a hostage that the Riddler has captured, which requires him to disable death traps set by the Riddler.
The player controls Batman, making their way around Arkham City to complete mission objectives. In addition to the primary mission, the game introduces secondary missions featuring a number of key characters and their stories. The player can opt to move silently, avoiding inmates and other enemies using a combination of gadgets to sneak up on enemies to incapacitate them. Batman's gliding ability allows players to dive downward and pull themselves back up, enabling the player to traverse the city by air.
Catwoman is also a playable character with her own heist-focused storyline at specific points in the game. Her combat is more acrobatics-oriented and features her claws, whip, and bolas. She has her own version of Detective Mode called "Thief Vision" to locate items for stealing. Dax Ginn revealed at Gamescom that the game has about 40 hours of gameplay with the main campaign lasting 25 hours and 15 hours for the side missions.The game contains 440 Riddler challenges, which make up one of the multiple side missions that players can embark on at any given point in the game. Rather than rely on maps, the player can mark Riddler puzzles as they are found, if the player does not have the necessary equipment to complete them. A portion of the puzzles are also specific to Catwoman, and can only be completed by her.
The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Arkham City include a stereoscopic 3D mode for 3D HDTVs and for 2D HDTVs via Inficolor 3D glasses, while the PC version supports Nvidia 3D Vision which allows an even greater 3D depth due to the Nvidia software and hardware supporting adjustments of such. It uses TriOviz for Games Technology, which is integrated with Unreal Engine 3. All Arkham City gameplay and cinematics have S3D support.
Setting
For more details on the setting, see the Batman: Arkham City comic book.
The events of Arkham City take place one year after Arkham Asylum. Quincy Sharp, former warden of Arkham Asylum, has taken credit for
stopping the Joker's Asylum takeover, and used the notoriety to become
mayor of Gotham City. Deeming Arkham and Blackgate Penitentiary
no longer suitable to contain the city's criminals and insane, Sharp
has both facilities closed and buys out a large section of Gotham's
slums, converting them into an immense open-air prison named Arkham
City. Gotham City becomes a police state where those with the slightest
trace of a criminal record, and opponents of Sharp's policies, including
reporters, are sent to Arkham City. The facility is placed in the care
of genius psychiatrist Hugo Strange — who is secretly manipulating Sharp — and guarded by a squad of heavily-armed mercenaries hired from a rogue private military firm,
TYGER Security. The inmates are given free rein as long as they do not
attempt to escape. Batman maintains a vigil over the detention city,
concerned that the chaotic situation there will get out of hand.Meanwhile, the Joker is stricken with a potentially fatal disease,
mutated by his consumption of, and subsequent transformation by, the
Titan formula—an unstable steroid serum which has the ability to turn
men into powerful monsters.Plot
At a press conference held by Bruce Wayne to declare his opposition to Arkham City, Wayne is arrested by Hugo Strange's TYGER mercenaries and is himself imprisoned in Arkham City. Strange discloses his knowledge of Wayne's dual identity as Batman before releasing him into the criminal populace. While Strange prepares for the commencement of Protocol 10, Wayne obtains his crime-fighting equipment via airdrop by Alfred Pennyworth, allowing Wayne to become Batman. As Batman, he is first forced to save Catwoman from being executed by Two-Face who hopes to gain respect with her murder. After an assassination attempt on Catwoman by the Joker, Batman tracks the Clown Prince of Crime to his hideout in the Sionis Steelworks, believing he may know the truth behind Protocol 10.Batman learns from Joker's doctor that the unstable properties of the Titan formula are mutating in Joker's blood, gradually eating away at his body and killing him. The Joker captures Batman and performs a blood transfusion on him infecting him with the same fatal disease. Batman is forced to find a cure for himself and Joker, or they will both perish. Batman is informed that Mr. Freeze had been developing a cure but has since been kidnapped by the Penguin.
Batman pursues Penguin to the Cyrus Pinkney National History Institute: defeating his forces, his imprisoned monster Solomon Grundy, and ultimately the Penguin himself, before liberating Mr. Freeze. Freeze tells Batman that he has already developed the cure, but its instability renders it useless. Batman deduces that the restorative properties within the blood of Rā's al Ghūl can complete the cure. Batman tracks one of Rā's al Ghūl's assassins to his lair in Wonder City, leading Batman into a confrontation with Rā's and his daughter Talia — Batman's former lover. With Rā's al Ghūl's blood, Freeze is able to develop a vial of working cure, but it is stolen by Harley Quinn before Batman can use it.
Batman returns to the Joker and finds him to be fully healed. While Batman and Joker fight, Protocol 10 is activated — A scheme to wipe out the entire population of Arkham City, destroying the criminal element of Gotham. The TYGER troops begin mass executions of prisoners, and Strange launches missile strikes from his base in Wonder Tower. A missile hits the steelworks, burying Batman under rubble. Before Joker can take advantage of the situation, Talia arrives and offers him immortality in exchange for sparing Batman's life. After Batman escapes with the help of Catwoman, Batman is convinced to put an end to Protocol 10 before pursuing Talia and Joker.
Batman infiltrates Wonder Tower and disables Protocol 10. Rā's al Ghūl is revealed to be the mastermind behind Arkham City, and mortally wounds Strange for failing to defeat Batman. With his dying breath, Strange activates Protocol 11 - Wonder Tower's self destruction. Batman and Rā's escape and Rā's commits suicide rather than risk capture. Joker contacts Batman, threatening to kill Talia unless Batman comes to the Monarch Theater. As Batman arrives, Joker demands the cure. Talia takes advantage of the Joker's momentary distraction and kills him. Talia then reveals that she has the cure, having intercepted it from Quinn, but she is killed by the real and still dying Joker. The second Joker is revealed to be Clayface, who had been masquerading as the healed Joker at the ailing villain's request.
Batman incapacitates Clayface, but Joker blows up the theater floor, sending Batman plummeting into Wonder City below. Batman destroys Rā's rejuvenating Lazarus Pit before the Joker can use it, and drinks a portion of the antidote. Batman debates curing his foe, but is attacked by the Joker, causing the antidote vial to smash. Batman maintains that in spite of everything Joker has done, he would have saved him. Joker finally succumbs to his illness and dies. Batman carries Joker's body out of Arkham City into the winter dawn.
Development
Concept
Serious development of the game's story and concept started in February 2009, as teams were brought in from Arkham Asylum to Arkham City's development as they completed the work on that game.[42] The concept of expanding the game from the asylum into the city came early on in Arkham Asylum's development; once the team had programmed the Batman to dive and glide between buildings of the asylum, the adaption of this gameplay to the city was considered natural. Arkham Asylum was completed with the sequel in mind in both story and gameplay; as found by several players, a secret room in Arkham Asylum shows plans for Arkham City, purposely included to help link the story between the two games.Sefton Hill, Arkham City's director from Rocksteady Studios, stated that a key goal for the game was to deliver the "'Batman in Gotham' feeling." The sequel was described by Conroy as "really, really dark". While relating the game's dark nature to the animated movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Conroy also said, "It involves a lot of the villains and it goes to that area – it's that dark."Design
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Another means of giving the player the Batman experience was through the larger game world. Arkham City has a virtual footprint five times larger than that of Arkham Asylum, and the navigational aspects were improved to give the player the experience of "the freedom and exhilaration of gliding down alleyways and soaring above the skyline". Though the concepts were compared to an open world game, Hill notes that such freeform nature would not be appropriate for a Batman game, and designed Arkham City to challenge the player to think like Batman to survive in the game.To counterbalance the larger game world, the developers also sought to include more challenges and side missions, while keeping the player alert as to the primary story mission, such that the players constantly are aware of "extreme pressure of the challenges that they face".
With the open game world, Rocksteady included more villains not simply to populate the city, but purposely selected those that would create challenges for the player in the role of Batman. Hugo Strange was selected as a primary antagonist as his power and control help to maintain the lockdown on Arkham City when Batman enters it. Strange is further aware of Batman's identity as Bruce Wayne, making Batman "vulnerable and exposed in a way that he has never been before", according to Hill. Hill noted that Strange is a character many players may not have previously seen in relation to the Batman mythos, but that Strange's backstory and character are detailed throughout the game.Catwoman was also included based on the long history between the character and Batman, though she was given her own agenda running parallel to the events within Arkham City.
The presence of multiplayer had been rumored shortly after the game's official announcement, but was denied by Rocksteady Studios. The developers had considered adding a multiplayer element to the game, but ultimately decided against this. According to Hill, they asked themselves "If we use all of the energy that is required to create multiplayer and instead focus this on the single player, would that deliver a better overall game?", and felt that they could not succeed in this, instead using their efforts to strengthen the single player game.
Variety is added to the city itself, as certain areas are designed around the villains that control that particular territory. Dax Ginn, marketing game manager at Rocksteady Games said, "If you move into Joker's territory, you get a very Joker-ized experience, and all the artwork on the buildings – whether that's graffiti, signage, or whatever it might be – gives you a dense kind of Joker experience. So our art team has really put a lot of effort in making that sort of transition between one turf zone to another – really helping the player feel like they're making a physical transition into another emotional space.To develop the expanded environment of Arkham City and build a "natural urban environment" for Batman, Rocksteady expanded its workforce from 75 to over 100 people.
Marketing
A limited series five-issue monthly comic series, also titled Batman: Arkham City was released on May 11, 2011. The series bridges the plot between Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. It is written by Paul Dini with art by Carlos D'Anda.On August 24, 2011 Arkham City's Facebook and Twitter accounts were "taken over" by the Riddler in a marketing campaign. Cryptic messages were created and signed "#EN" for Edward Nigma, the Riddler's alter ego. A special Xbox 360 console was eventually revealed.Warner Bros. partnered with several retailers and companies globally to provide bonus content as a reward for pre-ordering the game, including: Best Buy, Amazon.com, GameStop, Game, Gamestation, EB Games, Tesco, and Asda. The content was only made available by pre-ordering the game with a specific retailer or purchasing a product such as a NOS beverage to obtain an unlockable code.
Toys "R" Us in New York City, Time Square released 500 copies of Batman: Arkham City on Monday, October 17, a full day before the game officially hit shelves. Only 500 copies of the game were available at the event, and the first 100 customers who pre-order a copy through the store's "Personal Shopping Department" had a chance to get their game autographed by DC Entertainment co-publisher Jim Lee, Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy, and Arkham City game director Sefton Hill. The latter remaining 400 copies of Arkham City could be purchased at the event, although the player is unable to be entered into the contest.
Release
Batman: Arkham City was first officially released in North America on October 18, 2011 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, followed on October 19 by Australia and October 21 by Europe. Australian retailers EB Games and Game broke the official release date two days early, selling the game on October 17.The Windows version had been scheduled for simultaneous release with other versions but in September, 2011 its release was pushed back to November 18 with no explanation given. A Game of the Year edition is scheduled for release on May 29, 2012 in the United States and Canada,and September 7, 2012 in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and other territories on PS3 and Xbox 360.Pre-order bonuses
A variety of alternative suits for Batman were revealed on August 1, 2011 including suit designs worn by the character in The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Earth One, the Bronze Age of Comics, Batman: The Animated Series, and Batman Beyond. The Batman: The Animated Series skin is to be initially only available to GameStop customers in the U.S. with a Power-Up Rewards Membership. A PS3-exclusive Sinestro Corps outfit was revealed in August 2011, that can initially only be unlocked via a unique code obtained with the purchase of the extended cut edition of the Warner Bros. film Green Lantern on Blu-ray from Best Buy.Batman's sidekick Robin (Tim Drake)was announced as a playable character, with his own set of moves and gadgets, allowing him to be used in challenge maps. Additional skins were also made available, including his appearance as seen in Batman: The Animated Series and the Red Robin outfit.The character also comes with two exclusive challenge maps: "Black Mask Hideout" and "Freight Train Escape".Additionally, the "Joker's Carnival" challenge map was announced, set within the Joker's Sionis Steel Mill base where the player is faced with multiple waves of enemies.The pre-order content was considered an "early access opportunity" for purchasers, with Ginn confirming that all of the content would be made available for download after the game's release date.
Retail editions
In the United Kingdom, the Robin Edition was announced for sale exclusively through the retailers Game and Gamestation, containing the game and all of the Robin pre-order content including the playable character, skins and challenge maps. A series of "Steelbook Edition" versions of the game were also made available, featuring the standard game with a metallic case. The Joker-themed Steelbook includes the "Joker's Carnival" challenge map, the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood on DVD (Blu-ray for PS3), and the Silver Age Batman skin DLC. Three other villain-themed steelbook cases were also offered, featuring the likenesses of Two-Face and the Penguin.A fourth steelbook featuring Catwoman was released, containing the Batman: Earth One alternative skin for Batman.The Collector's Edition contains a Batman statue by Kotobukiya, a collectible art book, Batman: Arkham City – The Album from WaterTower Music, the animated film Batman: Gotham Knight, the The Dark Knight Returns skin and the Penguin-themed "Iceberg Lounge" challenge map. In July 2011, the Microsoft Windows version of the game was revealed to use Games for Windows – Live (GFWL) to access online services. Confusion concerning the use of GFWL was raised when a distributor was told by Warner Bros. that the title did not use the Live system, but the use of GFWL was confirmed in late August.
A Game of the Year edition was announced on April 23, 2012, containing the game, and all of the released downloadable content (DLC). A free download of the animated movie Batman: Year One is also included with versions released in the United States and Canada.
On October 25, 2011, a Batman themed Xbox 360 console bundle was released, containing the game, a DVD of Batman: Gotham Knight, a DVD of the Green Lantern film, the Green Lantern video game tie-in Rise of the Manhunters, and a 250GB Xbox 360 console. Additionally, a bundle containing these items and a Kinect controller was also released.
Downloadable content
New purchases of the game for Xbox 360 and PS3 are provided with a unique code that unlocks the Catwoman DLC that enables a series of missions in the story campaign that can be played as Catwoman, with weapons and moves unique to the character. Although the missions were presented as part of the main game, on October 13, 2011, Warner Bros. announced that it would be restricted to new purchases. Users can also purchase the content separately. It was later announced that pre-owned copies purchased from GameStop would also contain the necessary unlock code. The PC version of the game includes the DLC, requiring no downloads or additional installs to access.A Warner Bros. rep confirmed that playing as Catwoman would not be required to complete the game. The Catwoman DLC also contains two alternate skins for the character: her appearances from The Animated Series and Batman: The Long Halloween.Additional DLC packs are also available or scheduled for release. The Nightwing pack, released on November 1, 2011, includes Batman's ally Nightwing as a playable character for the game's challenge maps, an Animated Series alternative skin for the character, and two additional challenge maps: "Wayne Manor" and "Main Hall". The Robin pack was released on November 22, 2011, and contains the Robin pre-order content: the playable character, "Animated Series" and "Red Robin" skins and "Black Mask" and "Freight Train" challenge maps. A Skins pack containing all of the alternate Batman pre-order skins was released on December 6, 2011.Another pack was announced for release on December 20, 2011, containing the pre-order "Iceberg Lounge" and "Joker's Carnival" challenge maps, and a completely new challenge map: "Batcave". On December 19, 2011, a new Batman skin was released—based on the character's outfit from Batman Incorporated—to download for free on all platforms.
On October 23, 2011, an official map app was made available to purchase on the iOS App Store that contains maps for all areas of the game, the locations of in-game collectibles, and the solutions to the Riddler's riddles.
On April 23, 2012, "Harley Quinn's Revenge", a story based campaign expansion was announced for release on May 29, 2012, for the PS3 and May 30, 2012, for the Xbox 360, with a PC version announced for an unspecified date. The campaign features a new story, new areas, new enemies, and both Batman and Robin as playable characters. The story takes place several weeks after the events of Arkham City. The mega prison has since been evacuated, but Quinn returns and sets up in Joker's former base. The game follows Robin's search for Batman, who has gone missing in the city while hunting Quinn. On the same day, it was announced that all of the released DLC, including "Harley Quinn's Revenge", would be made available as part of the Arkham City Game of the Year edition
