Batman: Arkham Asylum was likely my choice for “Game of the Year” in 2009. I loved everything about that game, and must have gotten 100+ hours out of the main storyline, the Riddler’s challenges, the combat rooms, and challenge modes. Honestly, it’s one of those games that seems like it was tailor made for my sensibilities in an action game (ha, glad you liked it though!) and I’ll continue to fire it up for years to come.
So, to say that I’m excited about Batman: Arkham City is something of an understatement. Rocksteady amped up my excitement at least two-fold and made that October 18th release date feel awfully far off today, in particular, by announcing that Catwoman will be a playable character (among other potential characters?) in the game. She won’t be just a skin, nor a mere challenger within the challenge maps, but a playable character in the stories main narrative! Catwoman is my favorite DC anti-hero/villain (do yourself a favor and check out Brubaker & Cooke’s awesome run on the character) so I’m champing at the bit to play her and see what unique mechanics (beyond the fun factor) that she’ll bring to the combat, movement through the city, et al and I’m hoping she’ll be available for challenge maps, free roaming at other points in the game.
Anyhow, here’s a little more from Rocksteady’s announcement from the Gamestop article:
As he began to maneuver the feline fatale around the city Ginn noted that one of Rocksteady’s key priorities around the character was to think on how she would uniquely interact with the city. Obviously Catwoman is a complicated lady who’s not quite a hero but not a villain on the level of a Joker. In the end she’s pretty much out for herself and sees Arkham City as the perfect chance to do what she does best, thieve like there’s no tomorrow. The chaos of Arkham City provides her plenty of opportunities to do that, which tie into her part of the narrative which is very distinct from Batman’s. The team wanted to ensure players wouldn’t feel as though they were controlling Batman with a curvier skin. As a result you can expect decidedly different ways to get around the city, examine the environment, and fight with enemies. Since she lacks a nifty cape and grapple line, Catwoman will take a much more physical approach to getting around that relies on her trusty whip, parkour-like moves, and good old fashioned climbing and jumping. The demo highlighted the nimble and graceful way Catwoman will get around, and teased what appears to be a scoring system for how she moves around. During the demo as Catwoman picked up speed and made her way across rooftops we saw point totals appear at points during her leaping. Ginn noted the points will be awarded based on a players skill for moving through the city.
Please follow the jump for the rest of the article, and be sure to check out the trailer below.
Also, pardon my enthusiasm.
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