Batman committed to Arkham Asylum

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Aug 12, 2008 3:18 pm PT

[UPDATE] Warner Bros., Eidos, and Rocksteady bringing Bioshock-like action game featuring the Joker to PS3, 360, and PC in 2009.

Last week ended with the Associated Press reporting that Pandemic Studios was, at one point, indeed working a game based on the Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight. However, the report said that development had halted prior to the $400 million-grossing film's release, costing Electronic Arts an estimated $100 million in game sales.

Today on its Web site, Game Informer confirmed a new Batman game is in the works--at a publisher other than EA. The September 2008 issue of the Minnesota-based magazine touts Batman: Arkham Asylum, a new Eidos Interactive action title based on the DC Comics which inspired the films. Besides Batman, the game will feature the Joker and "an army" of other supervillains, and will be set in the titular madhouse featured in many Batman comics and graphic novels, including Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.

According to Game Informer, Batman: Arkham Asylum has a "dark and gritty setting reminiscent of Bioshock." Cowritten by Paul Dini, producer of TV's Batman: The Animated Series, the game begins when the Joker breaks out of jail and escapes to Arkham. There, he orchestrates a plan to kill Batman and wreak havoc on Gotham City with the help of unnamed accomplices.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is being developed by Rocksteady Studios, which is currently boasting a Batman-logo countdown clock on its Web site. Though there is no text on the site, its Web page description reads, "Rocksteady Studios is an independent videogame developer based in North London, currently working on our latest FPS title for next-gen platforms." (Emphasis added.) Rocksteady's sole previous effort was 2006's lukewarmly reviewed Urban Chaos: Riot Response for the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox.

[UPDATE] Wednesday morning, Eidos publically announced Batman: Arkham Asylum will ship for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC in 2009. In North America, the game will be co-published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, which is self-publishing the forthcoming Lego Batman. WBIE is the game division of Warner Bros., the movie studio holds the Batman film rights and bankrolled The Dark Knight.

313 Comments

  • MX6_007

    Posted Sep 21, 2009 1:56 am PT

    WOW! that is great looking forward that

  • extremegamer13

    Posted Feb 12, 2009 5:15 am PT

    I love batman more than I love my bro man!!!! I am really lookin foward for this game

  • Jstation3

    Posted Dec 22, 2008 8:43 pm PT

    looks like batman is wearing old snake's suit...looks great tho.

  • crazy666p

    Posted Dec 21, 2008 10:06 am PT

    huuuuuge batman fan, I will buy a PS3, XBOX360 or new PC, I'll do anything to play this game

  • raven28690

    Posted Dec 20, 2008 9:55 pm PT

    wow, those graphics are very nice. interested in hearing what the game play is like though.

  • Licker5121

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 6:05 pm PT

    Everyone,this game is not first person shooter,the only point when it goes first person is when you use gadgets(like the batarang,you guide it towards an enemies face and bammo!)This game looks amazing,I hope they do it proper and there has been at least one good batman game.Batman vengeance,based on the animated series.

  • DravenLaVitt

    Posted Dec 7, 2008 7:33 pm PT

    WOOOO HOOO!!!

  • SortOneR

    Posted Dec 7, 2008 9:42 am PT

    This game looks like its gonna be great! Can't wait till more info is released..

  • romania_bogdan

    Posted Oct 31, 2008 12:59 pm PT

    cool

  • Jazz_Fan

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 5:55 pm PT

    sweet

  • da_fat_joker

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 2:33 pm PT

    image 16 = ridler look carefully

  • MurderBones

    Posted Oct 23, 2008 3:21 am PT

    They got the atmosphere and characters down pat, but if the Urban Chaos creators make it little more than Gotham Manhunt I won't be surprised.

  • shaun_mcwayne

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 12:32 pm PT

    its all good, arkham is a great setting, might make batman seem cruel cos he always send the crims there.

  • Killingspree303

    Posted Sep 29, 2008 10:19 am PT

    Looks sweeeeet!

  • sensei_hEnRY

    Posted Sep 23, 2008 7:58 pm PT

    looks awesome! actually i'm a little bit dissapointed cause Dark Knight wouldn't come into a game. i really love batman begins (EA) and i hope Eidos-Rocksteady will do a same great job on this. I like Eidos-rocksteady's last game, Urban Chaos riot response so i have a big hope on this

  • FFadikt

    Posted Sep 21, 2008 4:37 pm PT

    Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, Lego Batman, The Dark Knight, DC Universe Online, and now this! DC and WB are gonna be rich!

  • Darkreaper_1

    Posted Sep 20, 2008 10:08 am PT

    I thought they would have used The Joker from the Dark Knight film. Looks a hell of a lot better than the current Joker in the screen shots.

  • Alfredo_Sauce

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 6:43 pm PT

    For barJerubsheol, the Batman game is not all in first person. It is also third person as well. True that Batman doesn't use guns but he uses Batarangs and other gadgets. So I'm gonna guess that's were the first person comes in.

  • LegendaryEpoch

    Posted Sep 15, 2008 5:15 pm PT

    Ussually i stay clear superhero games because of the usual systematic problems they have. But hell, this game seems to have some sick detail. might have to keep an eye on this one.

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