Batman: Arkham City - what we know so far

[JRD]

I posted part of it at another topic but decided to have it all here as a separeted topic to make things easier.

I just found it at Batman Arkham City forums page at a great community site and copy pasted here so nothing here is my w%&k.

Thanks to RedRobin183

Contents

    Release Dates and Censorship
    Standard, Limited and Collector's Edition
    DLC
    Voice Cast
    The Road So Far...
    Characters
    Locations
    Arkham City - Environment and Gameplay
    Gadgets
    FreeFlow Combat
    Predator/Stealth
    Enemies
    Challenges - Riddler Challenges
    Challenges - FreeFlow and Predator
    Achievements and Trophies
    Unconfirmed
    Credits


Release Dates and Censorship

    NA - Oct 18 2011
    AUS - Oct 19 2011
    EU - Oct 21 2011
    The game will be avaliable on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
    The PC version will use Games For Windows LIVE.
    ESRB has rated the game Teen for Alcohol Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Tobacco and Violence.
    BBFC has rated the game 15+ for strong violence.
    Other ratings to be confirmed.


Standard, Limited and Collector's Edition.

    Standard Edition- PC/PS3/360 - Available worldwide
    Limited Edition - PC/PS3/360 - EB Games Australia and New Zealand
    Collector's Edition - PS3/360 - Available worldwide
    The Japanese Collector's Edition will also include: a Batman statue, postcards, a booklet and unspecified DLC
    The Japanese CE statue is a fully painted version of the normal Collector's Edition statue
    ALL movies bundled with the PS3 versions of the game will be Blu-Ray, Xbox 360 versions will contain standard DVD versions.


DLC

    All pre-order bonuses will be avaliable for download after the release of the game.
    The TDKReturns skin in the only skin that has been confirmed as playable in the Story.
    The TDKReturns skin will take damage over the course of the game.
    Known skins are as follows:
        Batman: Beyond
        Batman: Earth One
        Batman: 1970's
        Batman: The Animated Series
        Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
        Batman: Year One
        Robin: Red Robin


Voice Cast

    Batman - Kevin Conroy
    Harley Quinn - Tara Strong
    Hugo Strange - Corey Burton
    Mayor Quincy Sharp - Tom Kane
    Penguin - Nolan North
    Talia al Ghul - Stana Katic
    The Joker - Mark Hamill
    The Riddler - Wally Wingert
    Two-Face - Troy Baker
    Two-Face Thug - Steve Blum


The Road So Far...

Set a year after the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Quincy Sharp has become the Mayor of Gotham City and has erected a new prison known as Arkham City in the slums of Gotham.
Batman must enter he heavily fortified prison district to find out who exactly is running the show and controlling Mayor Sharp.

The game will feature many Batman villains such as the Joker, the Riddler and Penguin as well as ones people may not be familiar with like Solomon Grundy.
Players will be able to use many of Batman's gadgets including the well known Batarangs, the Line Launcher and a new gadget known as the Remote Electrical Charge (REC for short) which acts like a taser shotgun.

Batman will not be alone, he will be assisted by Catwoman throughout the game but the question is, can she be trusted?

Everything at stake. Everyone at risk. No escape.

    The Batman: Arkham City comics are a prequel to the actual game.
    The Batman: Arkham City comics, including the digital chapters, will be collected into one hardcover book and released on October 12th 2011.


Characters

    Batman (Playable)
    Alfred Pennyworth
    Oracle
    Catwoman (Playable) - Catwoman will have gadgets and moves unique to the character
    Robin (Playable, Challenges only) - Robin will have gadgets and moves unique to the character
    Jack Ryder (The Creeper unconfirmed)
    Hugo Strange + TYGER Guards
    The Joker and Harley Quinn + Gang
    Two-Face + Gang
    Penguin + Gang
    The Riddler + Informants
    Mr. Zsasz
    Calendar Man
    Mayor Quincy Sharp
    Poison Ivy
    Abramovici Twins - the Joker and Penguin both have special one armed thugs
    Talia al Ghul
    Solomon Grundy
    Bane
    Black Mask - he will have a 'presence in Arkham City' but it hasn't been confirmed whether he'll actually appear physically or not


Locations

    Monarch Theater
    Church/Medical Center
    Courthouse
    Sionis Industries (Joker's Fun House)
    Iceberg Lounge
    Ace Chemical Plants
    GCPD Building
    Wonder Tower
    Crime Alley
    Park Row
    Confiscated Goods Vault
    Amusement Mile
    The Bowery


Arkham City - Environment and Gameplay

    Batman: Arkham City will not have any form of Multiplayer. Rocksteady is focusing on delivering a great single-player experience.
    The main story will take 20+ hours to complete.
    The HUD (heads-up display) has been improved, including a fade out Gadgets selection menu and a new Combos meter.
    Players will be able to set the Batsignal as a waypoint.
    Arkham City will be five times the size of Arkham Asylum.
    Arkham 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.
    Batman's gliding has been improved, it is his main form of transport in the game.
    Catwoman utilizes her whip to travel around Arkham City.
    Batman will have a new move called the "Grapple Boost" where he fires his grappling gun at an environmental object, grapples to the target then hurls himself off.
    Batman can perch on more objects such as wires, billboards and gargoyles.
    It has been said that players will be able to travel from one side of the city to the other without touching the ground.
    Catwoman is playable, her story is only 10% of the game.
    One of Batman's new moves is the Dive Bomb. In the air, he'll be able to target an NPC and 'dive' at them.
    Gang territories will change in both appearance and size as the game progresses.
    There are many side missions in Arkham City. One of which involves Mr Zsasz and payphones, another in which Batman and Bane team up to track down contraband shipping.
    Arkham City is full of little hints. For example, when entering Crime Alley, a button prompt allows Batman to pay respects to his parents.
    There will not be any drivable vehicles in Arkham City.
    One of Catwoman's first side-missions will involve tracking down prisoners' belongings in Arkham City.


Gadgets

    New gadgets include Smoke Pellets, Broadcast Analyzer and the Remote Electrical Charge.
    Smoke Pellets are thrown to create a distraction, useful when under enemy fire.
    The REC (or Remote Electrical Charge) acts like a taser shotgun.
    Players will start the game with the main gadgets (except Multiple Batarangs and Sonic Batarang) from Arkham Asylum.
    The gadgets returning from Arkham Asylum have been improved (e.g. Remote Control Batarang now has a boost function).
    Gadgets returning include: Batarangs, Batclaw, Cryptographic Sequencer, Explosive Gel and the Line Launcher.
    The Cryptographic Sequencer's only known upgrade is the ability to hack into enemy radio frequencies.
    The Remote Controlled Batarang has a few upgrades including a Boost function, brake and 180 degree turn.
    The Line Launcher has been heavily upgraded since the last time we saw it, Batman is still able to use it to quickly get from one place to another. Arkham City's environment opens up a whole new range of movement and strategic possibilities. The Line Launcher also has a slow-motion function which allows you to change the direction of the Line Launcher and fire again in the new direction.


Detective Vision

    Detective vision will return and has been vastly improved.
    Weapons held by enemies will be highlighted, this includes knives, guns and shields.
    Light sources are highlighted, suggesting they are intractable in some way.
    Detective Vision will highlight enemies and interactive objects in more detail and at greater range than before, though the environment will be very hard to distinguish.
    Detective mode features a surveillance system that allows Batman to eavesdrop on enemies.
    Arkham City will feature a compass system at the top of the screen that directs players where to go, when Detective Mode is activated.
    Being attacked whilst in Detective Mode will cause it short out and Batman's vision will return to normal.
    Catwoman's Thief Vision, her version of Detective Vision, highlights the City in an orange hue, and enemies become bright white.
    Catwoman's Thief Vision will identify items that can be stolen.
    Robin will have "Explosive Vision" which identifies the best ways to avoid or use explosives and how that can be used as an advantage to him or identifying how enemies use them against him.


FreeFlow Combat

    The FreeFlow combat system returns from Arkham Asylum.
    FreeFlow in Arkham City has been improved.
    Players can now perform double and triple takedowns.
    Batman can counter enemies with the environment.
    New move named the "Beatdown" which is a rapid combination of punches and kicks performed by rapidly tapping the attack button.
    Objects thrown by enemies can be caught and thrown back.


Predator/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.
    Batman will be able to perform a knockout smash during a silent takedown. The move knocks out the enemy instantly but alerts nearby enemies.


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, explosives 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.
    Enemies will still respawn even after the completion of the game.
    Gang members aren't restricted to their territories.
    Thugs who are not in gangs wander the streets.
    Arkham City will feature Elite enemies such as Tyger Guards. They will carry jammers that disable Batman's Detective Mode.


Challenges - Riddler Challenges

    After completing all of the Riddler Challenges, Batman and the Riddler will have a face to face confrontation.
    Batman can interrogate Riddler informants for the locations of Riddler trophies.
    Riddler Challenges will return, they will be more complex and will involve the use of gadgets.


Challenges - FreeFlow and Predator

    The Joker's Carnival is avaliable as a pre-order bonus from GameStop and avaliable with the Limited Edition.
    The two Challenge maps bundled with the Robin pre-order bonus: 'Black Mask Hideout' and 'Freight Train Escape'
    All playable characters can be used on any map.
    The Iceberg Lounge Challenge map is avaliable with the Collector's Edition.
    Robin will have moves and gadgets unique to the character.


Achievements and Trophies

    Acid Bath (10G) - unlocked by saving Catwoman from Two-Face.
    Save Hostages (10G) - unlocked by saving hostages in the church.


Unconfirmed
The information below has not been confirmed by Rocksteady, the following are pure speculation.

    A demo has not been confirmed, stop asking
    The Batcave has not been confirmed.
    Commissioner Gordon has not been confirmed.
    Robin appearing in the story has not been confirmed, at the moment he's restricted to the Challenges.
    Maurice LaMarche voicing Mr. Freeze has not been confirmed.
    Wade Williams voicing Black Mask has not been confirmed.
    Killer Croc has not been confirmed.
    Hush has not been confirmed.
    The High Frequency Sonic Emitter gadget (summons bats like in Batman Begins) has not been confirmed.


Credits
Thank you to those who have helped in making this thread what it is, bat-cookies for all of you

    360
    BatCatForever
    Dark_Traveler
    TheBatFan
    RiderExpert
    RedRobin
    Cantfeelmyeggs
    lbrun7288
    NerdyJordy
    LongLiveBats
    Sheebo17

[RedRaven]

After reading through all that the only thing I can remember is Mark Hamill as The Joker! Nice to see he is still about and working.

[JRD]

Well you didn't play the game so names and places won't be familiar anyway... but if you ever watched any of the first three movies on the Star Wars trilogy then you know MH  8)

He disappeared after the movies but I heard he's doing great as the voice of Joker in the animated series and now in the game. If you ever play it of get a chance to hear Joker in this game you'll see he's done an outstanding job  :-X

[RedRaven]

I read tons of comics as a kid and out of all the DC comics Batman has to be the best so know a lot of the characters from there. Harley Quinn is my favourite from the animated stuff, a very funny baddie. Good to see she is in the game too.


Will have to check the game out.

[Binnatics]

AAAaaaaaaaaaaarrrggghh

Batman Arkham City is postponed until somewhere in november :D :D :D

Unfair, unfair, unfair!!!! For Xbox and PS3 it will still come out octobre the 21st, but only the PC version is postponed. >:((

[Art Blade]

The best known expressions to any PC gamer: Delayed. Postponed. Later.  :-()

[JRD]

Damn it!  :D

Well, it gives me time to go on with JC2... I`m enjoying this game but it did`t hook me... yet!  ::)