'Batman: Arkham City' - Multiplayer Information

First things first, if you own a PS3 or an Xbox 360 and you have never played the game ‘Batman: Arkham Asylum’, please stop reading, go out and buy it…

NOW!

In a world where games like Halo, Call of Duty, Madden, Uncharted, and Grand Theft Auto set the standard, while laying out the ingredients for all developers to follow, one game stood above the rest – in its own way.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Like so many gamers who have shunned video games based on movies and comic books, I wanted nothing to do with Arkham Asylum when it came out in 2009; however, a friend of mine begged me to try it out. He swore up and down that I would enjoy it. Well, I can honestly say, that was the best advice my friend has ever given me; Batman: Arkham Asylum, next to Uncharted and Grand Theft Auto is one of the best games ever made.

The game went on to win a “Game Of The Year” award on one web site and was the runner up on another. Suffice it to say, Rocksteady Studios decided to make a sequel which will be released later this year. One burning question fans have been dying to find out is whether or not the sequel (“Batman: Arkham City”) would have multiplayer; the answer to this according to game director Sefton Hill is – No. Sefton Hill goes on to detail in an interview with IGN that the reason it was not included was mainly to avoid the meat of the game to not suffer.

How many times have us gamers picked up a game and we find that the single player is cool, there’s multiplayer, but it still feels like it is missing something?

Usually, that feeling of emptiness, that feeling that you just weren’t quiet satisfied – that feeling of “blue-balls” comes from a game that was developed with pleasing everyone in mind; rather, than a game which should have been developed with what it does best first and foremost in mind. When Arkham Asylum and now Arkham City were developed, the developers took into account the things that made the first game important and rather than reinventing the wheel, they simply took what worked before and simply added to it.

Side Note

Despite rave reviews in 2009, when the first Batman (Arkham Asylum) was released, the Dark Knight was still criticized for its lack of multiplayer support.

Being able to hop on-line and play with friends has become imperative in video games these days; however, when Rocksteady Studios made Batman: Arkham Asylum, they did not break the mold – they merely took it and showed everybody how to fully utilize it. Batman: Arkham City looks to be beautifully put together (as you can see by the photos) and if the sequel is anything like the first one, when it comes out, my fiancé better have plenty to keep herself busy, because my ass is going to be glued to that game.

Personal Recommendation

After having played Batman: Arkham Asylum on both systems, the PS3 version is hands down the better one to play it on. I won’t get into the details, but I will say that the fluidity of the character(s) is superior to that on the Xbox 360. This is my take on it of course.

Facts

• Batman: Arkham City will not have multiplayer.
• Catwoman will be introduced into the game.
• Release Date: Fall of 2011
• You will love this game – No Doubt!

 (Images found at IGN.com)