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Batman: Arkham City is a video game for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Mac, Windows, Wii U, and IOS, and is based on DC Comics' Batman. It is developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Games. It is the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum.

The premise revolves around a large section of Gotham City being walled off and turned into a penal colony called Arkham City.

A prequel to the original game, Batman: Arkham Origins, was released on October 25, 2013. A sequel to Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Knight, was released on June 23, 2015.

Summary

AC

Sionis Industries.

Eighteen months after the chaotic events of Batman: Arkham Asylum, both the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane and Blackgate Prison remain gutted, the former in a massive breakout launched by the inmates, lead by the Joker and the latter due to a mysterious fire, which the Joker hints was caused by him for his plans in Arkham Asylum. The administrator of Arkham, mayoral candidate Quincy Sharp, soon takes advantage of Batman's defeat of the Joker at Arkham and claims the credit himself for bringing the asylum back under control, perhaps saying Batman was working under his orders. This is partially to salvage his image, in tatters after the single worst asylum riot took place at a crucial time when Sharp was trying to convince the people of Gotham City to vote for him.

This is successful, and Sharp is elected mayor of Gotham (though it's actually thanks to Hugo Strange's partnership with Rā's al Ghūl). His first act is to announce ruined Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison both unfit to house criminals, sane or insane. He then undertakes a bold new project: To move all the former inmates of incarceration at both places into a walled-off urban district, Arkham City. This will be a city only for villains, and is made up of Gotham City's most notorious slums, including Crime Alley. To guard the perimeter of Arkham City the mayor does away with Arkham Asylum's old security force and replaces them with professional mercenaries from a private military organization, TYGER (who are subjugated to brainwashing by Strange). Once all the criminals are trapped inside the prison city, they are told they may do as they please, but there is only one rule: Do not try escaping or you'll be shot dead. This is supported by the TYGER mercenary forces, who enforce this policy through the liberal use of their firearms on any escaping denizens of Arkham City. Since the entire population of Arkham is made up of criminals running wild on the streets, Sharp secretly hopes they will destroy each other inside walled confinement instead of committing crimes in Gotham.

With the criminals free to do whatever they want short of escaping, bloody turf wars erupt as various super-villains carve up Arkham City among themselves. A mysterious figure named Dr. Hugo Strange, an Arkham psychiatrist, is placed at the helm of the project by Sharp, but little is known about his objectives or his shadowy past, and rumors soon run rampant that he is up to horrible things behind Arkham City's walls. Those who try and find out too much about Arkham or Strange one by one mysteriously vanish by night, and it is implied most end up inside the city themselves, to be torn apart by the inmates. Batman, wary of Sharp and even more so of Strange, monitors Arkham City for several months, believing that the entire thing has been a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

Plot

"Welcome to Hell, Brucey-boy!"
―The Penguin to Bruce Wayne as the latter enters the prison.

One year after the events of Arkham Asylum, Bruce Wayne is holding a press conference discussing the danger of the Arkham City super-prison, calling it unsafe for the people of Gotham. However, Hugo Strange, the mastermind of Arkham City, is one step ahead and sends TYGER operatives to arrest Bruce as well as the press reporters covering the press conference, and have them all imprisoned within Arkham City.

Strange interrogates Bruce, revealing his knowledge of his secret identity as Batman, and says that, with him out of the way, "Protocol 10" may proceed as planned. Bruce attempts to escape, but is restrained by a TYGER guard and released into Arkham City. On his way inside, he meets Jack Ryder and protects him from multiple guards and inmates before being sent into Arkham City, and is inserted as Azrael watches from the nearby rooftop; however, he is confronted by the Penguin and a group of his thugs and is knocked out. Penguin proceeds to beat Bruce down as revenge for destroying his family, but Bruce manages to fight back, breaking Penguin's hand and breaking his cuffs in the process. After defeating Penguin's thugs, Bruce escapes into the City. He then has Alfred send him a Batsuit. Once dressed for the occasion, Batman programs a stolen TYGER communications chip into his cryptographic sequencer, which enables him to listen in on TYGER's communications.

Doing this, Batman is able to find out that Catwoman has been captured by Two-Face and his gang, who is planning to publicly trial and execute her at the Soloman Wayne Courthouse. Believing that Catwoman could have valuable information on "Protocol 10", Batman resolves to save her. Batman is able to save Catwoman and restrain Two-Face. When Batman asks her about Protocol 10, Catwoman doesn't know what he's talking about, but she believes that Strange could possibly be working with Joker. At that moment, a sniper round aimed at Catwoman is fired into the courthouse and misses her by millimeters. Batman manages to get her out of the way and tells her that it's not safe.

With this, the duo go their separate ways. Setting up a crime scene, Batman is able to determine that the round was fired from a church tower across the street from the courthouse. Entering the church, Batman encounters a group of Joker's thugs led by Harley Quinn, who mentions that the Joker wasn't feeling well before leaving. Evading the thugs, Batman manages to take them all out and rescue a team of security guards, led by Aaron Cash, being held hostage by them. After rescuing the hostages, Batman travels to the top of the church's bell tower, where he finds the sniper rifle hooked up to a remote feed, which he proceeds to hack. Moments later, Joker appears on the TV's inhabiting the small area; it is revealed that his face has become hideously mutilated with deep cuts and scars. Moments later, a series of bombs go off, destroying the tower, though Batman is able to escape just in time. Batman is able to track the remote feed to the Sionis Steel Mill, which is serving as Joker's base of operations. Infiltrating the Steel Mill, Batman is able to rescue Dr. Stacy Baker, who tells Batman that Joker was dying from an illness brought upon by the TITAN formula, and briefly overcomes Mister Hammer, one of the Abramovici Twins who joined up with Joker. Batman then breaks into Joker's office, where he is fooled into thinking Joker is dead when he sees a Joker dummy attached to a flat-lining vitals monitor. The real Joker and Harley then ambush him, knocking him unconscious.

When Batman comes to, he finds himself strapped to a wheelchair, with Joker standing in front of him. Batman accuses Joker of lying and not really being sick, but Joker proves him dead wrong when he shows him his heavily scarred face. Joker also reveals that he's injected Batman with his contaminated blood, and has had samples of it shipped to hospital emergency rooms all over Gotham, intending to poison hundreds to give Batman the motivation to find a cure for him. Batman believes this to be Protocol 10; however, Joker claims that he has never heard of Protocol 10, and proceeds to push Batman out of a window.

Batman takes the SIM card from a cellphone strapped to his chest by Joker and puts it into his cowl in case Joker has information about the cure for him. Joker states that he blackmailed Mr. Freeze to make the cure for him, but he had since lost contact with him. Searching for the coldest area of Arkham City, Batman tracks down Mr. Freeze's location to an abandoned GCPD forensics lab, but upon reaching the facility, learns that Mr. Freeze is not there. After defeating a group of thugs working for Penguin, Batman interrogates one of them, and learns that Penguin has kidnapped Freeze and taken him to the Natural History Museum, which he has turned into his base of operations.

After a few complications, Batman infiltrates the Museum and learns that, against his advice, Commissioner Gordon had sent an undercover team from the 13th Precinct to infiltrate the gangs of Arkham City and Penguin has captured all 10 of them. After Penguin kills one of the cops, Batman vows to take him down. Batman manages to rescue all (except two, who were being personally held by Penguin) of the remaining undercover cops, and locates the captive Freeze. In exchange for Batman promising to return his suit to him, Freeze reluctantly tells Batman that his suit contains an override chip that he created in the event that someone ever managed to use his weapons against him. Batman takes this override chip, then heads to the Iceberg Lounge to confront Penguin and disable his freeze gun (which he had stolen from Freeze earlier.)

Penguin, however, has an ace up his sleeve. He dumps Batman into a hidden chamber beneath the Iceberg Lounge, where it is revealed he is keeping the massive zombie known as Solomon Grundy. Penguin awakens Grundy using electricity and forces him to fight Batman. After a long fight, Batman is eventually able to take down Grundy after disabling the electricity sources keeping Grundy active, then tearing out his heart. Batman then confronts Penguin one final time and beats him down, then has him imprisoned within one of his own display cases.

Batman then returns to Mr. Freeze (who is now fully armored) and demands information on the cure for his and Joker's illness. To his dismay, Freeze states he had indeed been able to manufacture a cure, but it was incomplete - it required a restorative chemical in order for it to be properly stabilized. Studying the data, Batman tells Freeze that he knows of a man who had been exposed to a nearly identical chemical for several centuries: Rā's al Ghūl, the leader of the League of Assassins. Freeze asks Batman to retrieve a sample of Rā's al Ghūl's blood so he can use it to synthesize the cure.

Suddenly, Batman is attacked by a ninja bearing the insignia of Talia al Ghūl's elite guard. Using a blood trail to track the ninja, Batman proceeds to follow her. Along the way, he is ambushed by more assassins, but is saved by Robin. Batman gives Robin a sample of his poisoned blood and tells him to give it to the hospitals in Gotham. Robin reluctantly agrees and leaves Arkham City. Resuming his search for Rā's al Ghūl, Batman tracks the trail of the assassin to the abandoned Wonder City, which is functioning as the headquarters of the League of Assassins.

Unfortunately, Joker's poisoned blood has started to take effect, and Batman is greatly weakened. Estimating that he has only minutes to live, Batman nonetheless forces himself to keep going, his sheer iron will perhaps the only thing keeping him from death. Finally arriving at the Chamber of the Demon, Batman meets Talia and tells her about his condition. Because he seemingly has no other choice, Batman informs Talia that he has finally decided to accept Rā's' offer to replace him as the leader of the League of Assassins. Talia informs him that he would need to take part in a series of tests known as "The Demon Trials". As part of these trials, Batman drinks a sample of the "Blood of the Demon" which boosts his health but doesn't completely cure him.

Batman is inevitably successful in completing the Demon Trials. Afterwards, he confronts Rā's himself, who states that in order to become his successor, Batman simply has to kill him. Batman refuses to kill under any circumstances, prompting Rā's to get himself into fighting shape by jumping into his Lazarus Pit and immersing Batman into a hallucination where he is all powerful.

Batman nearly defeats Rā's, but at the last moment, he takes Talia hostage and tries to force Batman to kill him to save Talia (whom Rā's states is the only woman Batman has ever loved, supposedly). Instead, Batman simply knocks him to the ground via a well placed Batarang and acquires the blood sample he came for. Angrily, Talia runs off after having been used and betrayed by the only two people she loves.

Rā's also reveals that the reason why he's seeking an heir is because his extensive use of the Lazarus Pit has mutated his body and mind. He says that each time he comes out of the Pit, he fears more and more what will come out next. Batman gives Rā's one chance to break his addiction or he'll come back and break it for him. Batman has no time to go after Talia, as he needs to get the blood back to Mr. Freeze. However, on his way back to the GCPD, Batman hears an announcement from Hugo Strange. Strange announces that Mayor Quincy Sharp has been brought into Arkham City and encourages the inmates to "provide him with the welcome he deserves". Batman decides to find Sharp and question him about Hugo Strange. Upon reaching the surface, Batman finds Two-Face's thugs surrounding Sharp with guns. After taking them out, Batman interrogates Sharp about Strange but only learns that Strange had "powerful friends" who helped Sharp win the election at the cost of Sharp "turning a blind eye to Strange's experiments".

Once back at the GCPD lab, Batman gives the blood to Freeze, which he uses to complete the antidote, making two vials. However, at the last moment, Freeze destroys one of the vials and seals the other into a vault, then tries to use the antidote to blackmail Batman into rescuing Nora Fries, whom has been kidnapped by the Joker as collateral to try and force Freeze to make the antidote. They proceed to fight each other over the antidote and Batman defeats Freeze.

However, it is revealed that during the fight, Harley Quinn had broken into Freeze's safe and taken the antidote. Freeze tries to help Batman defeat Joker, hoping that he'll rescue Nora, by giving him an armament of freeze bombs he developed. Unfortunately, on his way to Joker's hideout Vicki Vale's news chopper is shot down by Joker, leaving her caught in a shootout between Joker and Penguin's thugs. Batman easily rescues Vale and moves on, being informed by Joker that the attack was a distraction to buy Harley time to get back to base.

Once inside, Oracle calls and tells Batman that Strange been given approval by the Gotham City Council to initiate Protocol 10. Strange claims that he failed to stop the spread of illegal firearms, which he provided, in the city and that the inmates are preparing an uprising. Using this, Strange has gained permission to activate Protocol 10 in 30 minutes.

Returning to Joker's office, Batman notices that Joker has apparently been completely cured. Batman demands that Joker hand over the cure. Joker refuses, and fights Batman, aided by a large group of henchman, Mister Hammer, and a TITAN-enhanced thug. Batman is able to defeat the others, and advances on Joker. Suddenly, Talia interrupts the fight, and surprisingly offers to give Joker the secret of immortality and make him the new leader of the League of Assassins. Intrigued, Joker agrees, but Talia plants one of Batman's tracking devices onto herself, subtly telling Batman to follow her lead. Meanwhile, across town, Catwoman and Poison Ivy are arguing. Catwoman neglected to water Poison Ivy's plants and now there is only one left which is locked up in Strange's vault, protected by TYGER guards. Catwoman convinces Ivy to allow her to retrieve the plant from the confiscated goods vault.

During the effort to break into the vault, Catwoman overhears Strange's plans to wipe out Arkham, and has apparently killed Batman. Against her better judgement, Catwoman proceeds to rescue Batman with success, but not before destroying the Ivy's plant in a vase as revenge towards Ivy (depending on the player's choice), and after saving Batman, she proceeds to search for Two-Face to exact revenge on him and then plan her escape from Arkham City (as seen completing the main Batman's story). Once outside, Batman realizes that Protocol 10 is actually missile strikes against Arkham. It was a ploy to gather every criminal in Gotham in one place and wipe them out.

Batman orders Oracle and Alfred to remotely hack Wonder Tower and stop Protocol 10 while he goes to rescue Talia from Joker. Instead, Alfred and Oracle cut Batman off from WayneTech telemetry and force him to stop Protocol 10 first. Determining that the Tower is on lockdown, Batman hacks the TYGER Patrol helicopters and eventually finds the Master Control program. With it, he is able to infiltrate Wonder Tower.

Once inside, Strange contacts Batman over the PA system and says that the crime problem was his fault to begin with and his presence created an environment in which the criminal element has spiraled out of control, and there was never any way to truly rid Gotham of crime, until now. Batman proceeds up Wonder Tower and eliminates Strange's personal guards before confronting him in his office. Incapacitating Strange, Batman contacts Oracle and tells her to shut down Wonder Tower. She succeeds, and Protocol 10 is halted.

Rā's al Ghūl suddenly makes an appearance, revealing himself to be the mastermind behind the whole plot. When Strange came to him with Batman's identity, he was so impressed that he offered this one chance to prove his worth and succeed him, which now he has failed, and Rā's stabs him in the back. When Batman asks Rā's about the plan, he states that doing this was the only way to rid crime from Gotham. Batman is disgusted with Rā's, saying that he has become the very thing that he had always fought against. At that moment, Strange activates "Protocol 11" with his dying breath. Suddenly, the tower begins exploding around them - Protocol 11 was a self-destruct sequence. Batman and Rā's jump out of the tower just in time. During the fall, Batman tries to save Rā's. Trying to take advantage of the situation, Rā's attempts to kill both himself and Batman by stabbing the both of them with his sword, but only manages to kill himself.

Once Batman recovers from the fall, he is contacted by Joker, who reveals that he has taken Talia hostage at the Monarch Theatre. Batman heads to the theatre and confronts Joker, demanding that he return Talia. In turn, Joker, while holding Talia at gunpoint, demands that Batman give him the cure. Batman is confused at Joker's statement, as he is apparently healthy and had already stolen the cure. At this point, Talia breaks free from Joker, then stabs him with her sword, seemingly killing him. She then reveals to Batman that she stole the cure from Harley Quinn. However, realizing that it's never simple with the Joker, Batman begins to rethink all the strange occurrences throughout the night; a seemingly dead Joker dummy in a wheelchair, the two versions of the Joker card left in place of the cure, and a healthy Joker looking into a mirror, a normal mirror and not a deceitful one, that reflected a sickly Joker. Connecting them all together, Batman realizes the truth: there were always two Jokers.

Moments later, Talia is killed by the true Joker, who is indeed still very sick. The seemingly dead doppelgänger then reveals himself to be none other than Clayface, who says that he agreed to impersonate Joker because it was "the role of a lifetime". Batman then engages Clayface in a fight, with Batman able to slow Clayface down using the freeze bombs given to him by Mr. Freeze. After completely freezing Clayface, Batman seeming defeats him when he takes Talia's sword and cuts him into pieces. However, Joker detonates explosives on the floor of the theatre, causing it to collapse, and bringing the fight into the room where the very Lazarus Pit that Joker had been looking for was located. After a brutal fight, Batman finally manages to defeat Clayface for good, then retrieves the cure and drinks it, curing himself of the TITAN illness, keeping the other half needed to cure Joker and the rest of Gotham.

Joker then attempts to jump into the Lazarus Pit to claim immortality once and for all and become the new leader of the League of Assassins. However, much to Joker's dismay, Batman throws the sword into the main generator, causing it to falter and knocking what's left of Clayface into the Pit. The controls and remaining generators go critical as a result as Clayface's body matter contaminates the chemicals of the pit, resulting in an explosion that completely destroys the pit and most of the room.

Now desperate, Joker demands that Batman hand over the cure. Batman pauses for a moment, stating that, because of all the misery he has caused, all the lives he has either ended or ruined, and that no matter how many times he apprehended him, he would just escape and continue to cause more pain and misery; he felt that maybe Joker did deserve to die. Joker desperately tries to take the cure by force, stabbing Batman in the arm. However, he inadvertently causes Batman to drop the vial, shattering it onto the floor. Screaming in horror, Joker tries desperately to drink what is left of the now useless cure from the floor. Batman watches with pity, and states that, despite all the atrocities that Joker has committed, he still would have saved his life. Laughing at the irony of the situation, Joker comments that actually was pretty funny. Seconds later, he finally succumbs to the TITAN poison, and dies with a smile on his face.

A stoic Batman picks up Joker's body and carries him out of Arkham City as the inmates and the other survivors of Protocol 10 watch. Outside, Commissioner Gordon asks Batman what happened once he sees the Joker's corpse but Batman does not reply and merely lays down the Joker's body on the hood of a GCPD car before silently walking away.

Characters

Heroes/Allies

  • Bruce Wayne/Batman
  • Catwoman - Catwoman is controlled differently than Batman. She has her own story, (Roughly 10% of the game) and her own combat moves (uses her whip, bola, and caltrops). Instead of gliding, she uses her whip plus jumping and climbing through the environment. She has her own version of detective mode, which is known as thief mode. Thief mode highlights objects of value. Along with her whip and the bola, Catwoman uses a Caltrop in combat. She can also crawl along ceilings, climb building, etc. with her claws. While some of her missions are optional, she will have to be used on occasion seeing how her story is intertwined with Batman's. The content featuring Catwoman is not available on the disk, you must download it from Xbox Live/PlayStation Store using a code that comes with new copies of the game only (so if you buy a game used, or from Gamefly, you can't get the Catwoman content unless you pay an additional money required). Catwoman also has her own exclusive collection of Riddler trophies to find.
  • Tim Drake/Robin - Playable only as a pre-order bonus from Best Buy. Robin will be available via DLC on November 22 for owners of the game who didn't pre-order from Best Buy. Robin makes a brief appearance in the game, and he has his own exclusive challenge map featuring Black Mask. Robin fights with a bo-staff and many of his gadgets. He has his own navigational system, his own combat combos and he's got an explosives augmentation.
  • Dick Grayson/Nightwing - Like Robin, Dick Grayson as Nightwing is a playable character for all challenge maps. Nightwing appears to be more agile when it comes to his fighting style, as seen in his exclusive new trailer. He also fights using his Nightsticks, which generate a painful electric shock to his enemies. He was released on November 1, 2011.
  • Alfred Pennyworth (Communicates with Batman through comm-link)
  • Commissioner Gordon
  • Talia al Ghūl
  • Gotham City Police Department
  • Jack Ryder
  • Oracle
  • Vicki Vale
  • M.P.T. Aaron Cash
  • M.P.T. William North
  • M.P.T. Eddie Burlow
  • M.P.T. Anne Bishop
  • Michael Lane/Azrael

Villains/Adversaries

Other

Locations

Park Row

Amusement Mile

  • Gotham Casino
  • Gotham City Olympus Nightclub
  • GCR
  • GCPD Building
  • Prawn Shack
  • Gotham Sea Pier
  • Scallop Bar
  • W. White - Gotham Fish Monger's
  • Krank Co. Toys
  • Dini Towers
  • Leslie Thompkins Medical Clinic
  • Poison Ivy's Lair

Industrial District

  • Sionis Industries
  • Steel Mill
  • Joker's Funland
  • Bill's Hotdogs
  • North Gotham Docks
  • Tricorner Naval
  • Zsasz's Hideout
  • Storage Warehouse 5B
  • Otis Flannegan Pest Control

Subway

  • Subway Station
  • Subway Tunnels
  • Subway Terminal
  • Subway Maintenance Access

The Bowery

  • Bank of Gotham
  • Live Nudes
  • Monorail
  • Sal Maroni's Italian Restaurant
  • Cyrus Pinkney's Institute for Natural History (Museum)
  • Iceberg Lounge
  • Shreck's Department Store
  • Jezebel Center
    • Gotham Casino
    • Carnival Toys & Games
    • Gotham Perfumes
    • Glass, Mirrors, Shades
    • Italian Cuisine
  • Subway Station
  • Magic and Props

Steel Mill

  • Waste Exchange
  • Loading Bay
  • Assembly Line
  • Smelting Chamber
  • Cooling Tunnel - B
  • Cooling Tunnel - D
  • Freight Elevator
  • Boiler Room

Museum

Wonder City

  • Collapsed Streets
  • Wonder Tower Foundations
  • Wonder Avenue
    • Grimberg's Occult Store
    • Muftic Barbershop
    • Underhill & Davies Books
    • The Tea Hut
    • Wonder City Jewelry
    • Billingham Butchers
    • Adamson & Stjernberg Drugstore
    • Furniture Store
    • Fruit & Vegetables
    • Cloney Cobblers
    • Wonder City Textile Manufacturing
    • Crazy Clown Toys & Dolls
    • Royal Flush Tobacco
    • Wine & Spirit
  • Secret Corridor
  • Chamber of the Demon
  • Wonder Tower
  • Observation Deck

Outside of Arkham City

Gameplay

Combat

Changes have been made to the combat system as well. Batman can now pull off double and even triple take downs. He can also counter thrown objects by catching them and throwing back, and he can flip over an enemy and attack another in a fluid movement.

Batman also has a few new moves in the game.

Beatdown- performed by pressing X and B (360) or Square and Circle (PS3) that unleashes a flurry of punches and kicks on his opponent. A demonstrated use of this is to take down armored enemies.

Batman also has combat abilities added in addition to the new movement abilities. He can pull off a new move called Dive Bomb, Batman can drop from either a great height, or execute the maneuver mid glide, plummeting towards the ground to either reach his destination quicker, or make a dramatic entrance to a fight. Rocksteady have confirmed that thugs will jump back in fear, and are not forced back by a form of shock-wave generated by Batman's impact.

As well as the Glide kick, Batman can perform and a throat slam by firing his grapple gun at an enemy whilst gliding, which fire Batman into his opponent, slamming them into the ground.

Batman will use the environment against his enemies, thanks to context sensitive animations Batman will slam thugs heads against walls if he is close enough.

You can employ Explosive Gel into combat, executing a quick flip, Batman can spray either the ground or an enemy, and detonate the gel at his leisure for explosive effect.

Batman's attacks can knock thugs into each other, potentially taking multiple enemies out at the same time.

Detective

In Arkham City Detective Vision has been given an overhaul, in Arkham Asylum DV made the environment transparent and enemies illuminated. To combat a frequent problem of players simply leaving the mode on, and severely reducing the visual experience of the game, in Arkham City DV will highlight enemies and interactive objects in more detail and at greater range than before, though the environment will be very hard to distinguish, forcing players to use DV sparsely if they want to navigate effectively.

Detective vision will highlight all characters, weapons and interactive objects in the area.

Gadgets

Batarangs

The standard Batarang remains the same as in Batman: Arkham Asylum. However, the Multi-Batarang option no longer exists. Instead, hitting the Quickfire-Batarang button three times in quick succession will mimic the old Batarang attack from Arkham City's predecessor.

Explosive Gel

Also returns from Arkham Asylum, the gel can be deployed in combat either against the environment, or onto an attacker.

Bat-Claw

As per usual, the Bat Claw can pull thugs towards Batman, who are then promptly finished off with some knockout medicine (in the form of a brutal take down). A new feature is that the Bat-Claw can be used to grab items like Riddler Trophies. In contrast to its predecessor, it can't be upgraded to the Ultra Bat-Claw, though this is not a huge loss as aspects of the environment do not call for such a gadget.

Cryptographic Sequencer

Batman's remote hacking device allows him to not only decode encrypted data stations, it can also listen in on radio broadcasts throughout Arkham City, such as GCPD comms, which may alert him to crimes. In addition, Batman obtains data cards via coercion (beating the crap out of) from a TYGER operative, borrowing from a (deceased) member of Penguin's crew, and even a card that receives calls (sent to voice-mail) from the Joker It is also used to hack into Riddler communications to locate Riddler hostages.

Line Launcher

An improved version to its predecessors' in Batman: Arkham Asylum, able to fire multiple lines, hold a static line across two points, and be utilized for a special drop-kick, for more details please refer to the in-depth description in the Movement section.

Remote Control Batarang

Another returnee from Batman: Arkham Asylum, this new RC Batarang contains new features that enable it to perform a 360 degree turn, boost through the air, and brake. It is also capable of carrying an electrical charge to solve a Riddler challenge, or to access a new area.

Sonic Batarang

Another throwback from Batman: Arkham Asylum, the Sonic Batarang remains the same, though it can be used much more frequently than before.

Reverse Batarang

This special pre-programmed Remote Batarang will loop back on itself and hit an enemy from behind leaving them  dazed and confused while searching for their attacker in the wrong direction. It's perfect for disorienting an enemy so that you can sneak up and take them down during the confusion.

Smoke Pellets

A new addition to Batman's arsenal, allowing him to make a hasty escape if discovered. For more information, please read our Silent Predator section.

Remote Electric Charge

A combination tool and weapon created and used by Batman in Arkham City, the REC fires electronic pulses at enemies to stun them and scare any around their position. The REC can also be used to power electronic generators to access new areas or to stun enemies.

Disruptor

Originally designed to shut down Mr. Freeze's gun, the disruptor can be used to disable guns and detonate mines as well.

Freeze Technology

New to the game, these gadgets are based upon equipment designed by Victor Fries and are used like grenades.

  • Freeze Grenades: These can be used to freeze environmental hazards, create chunks of ice to cross water, and to freeze individual enemies.
  • Cluster Grenades: These are a greater range gadget that afflict multiple enemies or environmental hazards, at the risk of leaving only enemies' feet frozen and still able to attack if close.

Traversal

Arkham City is five times bigger than Arkham Asylum. Because of that, there is a less constrictive feel to the game, and a lot more movement options for Batman has been given.

Gliding has been given a major overhaul in Arkham City, in Asylum, the player was limited to a very simple glide mechanic that allowed the player to slow descent, allowing them to cover more ground whilst airborne, and perform turns in the air. In Arkham City, Batman swoops across the rooftops, and can execute two new moves that allow him to maintain his glide indefinitely.

The first move, the Dive Boost, is very similar to the Dive Bomb, where Batman will pull his cape in and hurtle towards the ground, opening his cape at the last second, and using the newfound boost to make him soar back upwards into the sky. The second move is the Grapple Boost. Batman can fire the grappling gun from the first game in mid-glide, and use the line to pull himself through the city.

If Batman is feeling tired, or perhaps wants to travel around in a stealthier fashion, he can now use his Grapple Gun to zip up to a helicopter and hang off it, as well as a sneaky way to travel around Arkham City, Batman can also use this elevated position to plan out his next plan of attack, before dropping into the fray.

The Line Launcher from Arkham Asylum makes a return, but the gadget 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, though in Arkham City it will open up a whole new range of movement and strategic possibilities. Rocksteady confirmed that the player is able to fire and travel along the rope line, in the same manner as which they did in Asylum, however this time around the player can swivel the camera around Batman, and at any point during the Line Launcher transportation, execute a flip into the air, following up with a quick second shot from the Line Launcher. Batman can perform this move with 360 degrees of flexibility, and similar to the Grapple Boost, this tactic can be repeated to keep Batman off the ground indefinitely. When traveling down the line, the player can press a button that will slow down time, allowing for easier line launcher shots. Batman can also anchor his line between any two points, and then flip up onto it, balancing in place. Batman can move the distance of the line, using his position to plan an attack. More aggressive players can then choose a target, and swing down using the line, slamming their chosen enemy into the ground.

The Silent Predator missions have returned. In Arkham Asylum Batman could perform many exotic environment based take downs (Such as the Corner Takedown or Ledge Takedown) Arkham City is set to increase the variety of these take downs. Similar to combat, Rocksteady excluded certain gadgets like the Ultra Sonic Emitter, which can summon bats to aid you, and will go into the stealthier aspects of the Dark Knight at a later date.

Batman can burst through thin wooden walls to grab an enemy and choke him unconscious, which in gameplay terms is a combination of Asylum's explosive gel and a standard silent take down.

Batman can now perform double silent take downs, as well as hanging take downs. Batman also has a new smoke bomb gadget, small smoke grenade pellets that distract the enemy and obscures Batman from view just long enough for the Dark Knight to make his escape. To use the smoke bomb, the player must hit the Y or Triangle button when he is spotted by enemies in a button prompt on screen.

Batman can also sabotage his enemies' weapons using the Disruptor, so that when enemies spot and attempt to fire at him, the guns will not fire.

Riddles

Side Missions

Notes

  • Buying the game granted access to the Gotham City Impostors Beta.
  • The song playing during the first official gameplay reveal trailer is "Short Change Hero" by The Heavy.
  • Though Tim Drake is Robin in the game, the Animated Series skin is Dick Grayson rather than the Tim Drake design from the revamped New Batman Adventures.
    • Also his standard skin features a hooded cape, which is more closely linked to Damian Wayne, Tim's successor as Robin, and Bruce Wayne's son.
  • The Scarecrow is the only villain who appeared physically in the first game that did not return in the second game. However a Riddle and an Easter Egg were made for him. He was eventually confirmed as one of the three main villains in Arkham Knight.
  • Thugs have a much wider variety of appearances than in the first game.
  • Most thugs are grouped into gangs, each headed by a staple Batman villain.
  • Gang members and territories are heavily stylized and individualized based on the gang's leader.
  • You can keep track of the gangs in your criminal database.
  • Thugs not attached to a gang roam the streets.
  • Riddler thugs have replaced Riddler maps in the new game, and will require interrogation before they will talk.
  • There are many side quests apart from the main story. One of them involves Batman following a string of pay phones being called by Victor Zsasz before finally confronting him. Another involves Batman teaming up with Bane to track down a chemical contraband.
  • Arkham City features dynamic music, that directly mirrors and reacts to the actions you chose and undertake whilst playing the game.
  • Arkham City is at least five times the size of Arkham Asylum.
  • Arkham City's storyline takes place approximately 80% outdoors, and 20% indoors.
  • One of Arkham City's main quadrants, Amusement Mile, is heavily flooded and damaged. This may be an allusion to the No Man's Land storyline, during which Gotham falls victim to a massive earthquake and is isolated from the outside world. The damage may even be a result of the earthquake in question.
  • The primary storyline of Arkham City is very similar to that of Batman Begins, specifically the story of Rā's al Ghūl manipulating events from behind the scenes to destroy Gotham from within. The game's story is also reminiscent of Batman: No Man's Land.
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    The Arkham City Lockdown tie-in for IOS devices features Deathstroke in an exclusive Boss Fight

  • During the game, various characters will reference the TV Drama series Lost ("Joker: [...] Imagine your favorite show. You've been through it all. The ups, the downs, the crazy coincidences. And then, BANG! They tell you what it's all about. Would you be happy? Does it make sense? How come it all ended in a church?" "Thug: Wait—did they ever explain what the island was?"). Paul Dini, one of the creators of the game, had previously worked on Lost.
    • Ironically, Mark Hamill, the voice actor for the Joker, would later work with another project made by Lost showrunner J.J. Abrams: Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens.
  • Some thugs mention villains that don't appear in the game such as Crazy Quilt, Ratcatcher and Scarecrow.
  • Characters in the game mention previous events, such as Talia referencing a past relationship with Batman.
  • While using the Cryptographic Sequencer, a voice can be heard at three locations each of which gives a different code through numbers:
    • Find the coordinates X700.00, Y490.00 on the Sequencer to intercept a radio frequency that contains the following repeating numbers: 9, 23, 9, 12, 12, 18, 5, 20, 21, 18, 14, 2, 1, 20, 13, 1, 14. The cypher is a simple 123 = abc etc. The message is decoded as "I WILL RETURN BATMAN".
    • Find the coordinates X500.00, Y900.00 on the Sequencer to intercept a radio frequency that contains the following repeating numbers: 5, 15, 9, 7, 21, 18, 18, 14, 3, 5, 24, 15, 12, 7, 22, 3, 10, 5, 15, 9, 22, 3, 8, 25, 26, 15, 16, 25, 10, 15, 17, 25. The cypher is 123456=cbazyx, with the other letters continuing in reverse order. The message is decoded as "YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME".
    • Find the coordinates X200.00, Y500.00 on the Sequencer to intercept a radio frequency that contains the following repeating numbers: 3, 20, 26, 18, 26, 16, 24, 1, 11, 4, 24, 9, 3, 8, 5, 2, 12, 18, 6, 16, 7, 11, 3, 10, 17, 5, 13, 4, 21, 8. Decoding this message is more complicated. First, match each number to its corresponding letter in the alphabet (A=1, B=2, C=3, etc.). This gives the sequence: C T Z R Z P X A K D X I C H E B L R F P G K C J Q E M D U H. Using an Atbash cipher, A is substituted for Z, Y for B, X for C, and so on. This gives the sequence: X G A I A K C Z P W C R X S V Y O I U K T P X Q J V N W F S. Finally, a Vigenere ciphere is used. A keyword is needed to solve the cipher, and the keyword for the code is "SCARECROW". Once decoded, it reads: "Fear will tear Gotham City to shreds."
  • Some inmates joke that there will be a sequel saying 'What's next? Arkham County? Arkham State... Arkham World!?'.
  • In an interview with Vicki Vale and Quincy Sharp, Creeper and Huntress are mentioned, which means that the characters exist in the Arkham world.[1] Also, Joker says in the Joker's Carnival Challenge Map upon seeing Robin, "Didn't I kill you already? No? Well there's always time, right?" hinting towards the fact that Jason Todd does exist in the Arkham world.
  • Holly Robinson has also been confirmed to exist in the Arkham world in an interview with Strange and Catwoman.[2]
  • Arnold Wesker is mentioned having a police officer hostage, while listening to GCPD Dispatch on the Cryptographic Sequencer. This confirms that Wesker is still a criminal, even after being apparently cured of his insanity at Arkham Asylum.
  • Batman: Arkham City challenge maps, The Iceberg Lounge and Joker's Carnival as well as a brand new map featured primarily in the Batcave will be available as DLC pack December 20.
  • The painting in front of Two-Face's wall safe in the opening scene of the game, is visually reminiscent of the classic image of Batman holding a dead Jason Todd in his arms, as well as the end of the game where Batman carries The Joker out of Arkham City.
VGAJoker

Real title or simply a joke from The Joker ?

  • During the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, the Joker won for "Best Character of the Year". During his acceptance speech, the Joker held up a file folder named: "Batman: Arkham World Script". Upon realization of what he was holding, The Joker said with a smile "Whoops, spoilers". It was later confirmed to be just a bit of fun and not a real announcement.
  • Accolades.
  • Spike Video Games Awards 2011.
    • Character of the Year - The Joker
    • Best Xbox 360 Game
    • Best Action Adventure Game
    • Best Adapted Video Game
  • It was announced on April 1, 2012, that DLC called "Harley's Revenge". The Harley Quinn's Revenge mission sends players back into Arkham City to face their final challenge as they interchange between playing as both Batman and Robin. Gamers must utilize each of the characters' unique combat and investigative skills to uncover Harley's vengeful plan and shut the gates on the urban mega-prison forever. In addition to experiencing a new storyline, fans can explore new environments and face-off against Harley's all new gang of thugs. The final chapter in Batman: Arkham City that adds more than two hours of original gameplay to the critically-acclaimed interactive title. Harley Quinn's Revenge will be available May 29 (PSN) and May 30 (Xbox Live)
  • Injustice: Gods Among Us features a reference to Arkham City, possibly suggesting that both games take place in the same continuity. In the Arkham Asylum stage there are two transitions to the different parts of the stages, with one of them being the Scarecrow injecting his fear toxin into the character and brutally attacking them at massive size, and the other being Killer Croc, the Penguin, Two-Face, and The Riddler attacking the character. In the same stage, Hugo Strange can be seen in the background. Also the Arkham City designs of Batman, Catwoman, Joker, and Harley appear as DLC alternate costumes for the respective characters, which were available when pre-ordering Injustice at Wal-Mart, except for Harley's which can be unlocked when obtaining any Joker character card in the iOS version of Injustce.
  • LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes also makes a minor reference to Arkham City. In the cutscene before the fourth level "Asylum Assignment", Vicki Vale says that she is relieved to know that the mayor's plan to let the villains roam free in a walled-off part of the city got put on hold, and then comments on how it would've never ended well.

Voice Actors

Crew

  • Collette Sunderman - Casting and Voice Director

Development History

Arkham City was scripted by veteran comic book author Paul Dini, who also scripted Arkham Asylum. It 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 Gotham City landmarks. He must now stop mishaps occurring around this chaotic enclosure caused by Gotham's most notorious super criminals. The game has received universal critical acclaim and was the highest rated video game of 2011.

Retail Editions

Collectors Edition

ArkhamCity Collectors

Arkham City: Collectors Edition

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 Dark Knight Returns skin and the Penguin-themed "Iceberg Lounge" challenge map. 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 1970's Batman skin DLC. The Catwoman-themed steelbook includes the Catwoman DLC, the code for the Gotham City Impostors Beta come its release, and the Earth One Batman skin DLC. Two other steelbook editions were released featuring the likenesses of Two-Face and The Penguin. 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.

Game of the Year Edition

The Game of the Year Edition was released on May 29, 2012. It includes a full copy of the game as well as all DLC that has been released.

ACGOTY

It also contains the newest and final DLC, Harley Quinn's Revenge, which sends gamers back into Arkham City for their final challenge. Players switch between playing as Batman and Robin as they fight Harley and her new gang of thugs.

Armored Edition

Arkham City: Armored Edition

Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition is the Wii U version of Batman: Arkham City. Containing all of the content from Batman: Arkham City, including all available downloadable content, and introduces Battle Armored Tech (B.A.T.) Mode and the new Armored Suits for both Batman and Catwoman. Fans can become the Dark Knight like never before with the upgraded battle suit that gives players an additional power-up by allowing them to build kinetic energy during combat. When activated, players enter B.A.T. mode and dole out more damage than previously possible.

The Wii U GamePad provides instant access to the wrist-mounted Batcomputer throughout the game, allowing players to use the touch screen to seamlessly select objectives, choose their gadget, track forensic evidence, upgrade their gear, detonate explosive gel, and more, all while remaining immersed in the action. Additionally, all gadgets have been reimagined to utilize the power of the GamePad, offering an unprecedented level of accuracy when using the Batarang and scanning for clues.

The game was released November 30, 2012.

Soundtrack

The Batman: Arkham City – Original Video Game Score was released on October 18, 2011, by WaterTower Music. The album features 19 songs written for the game. Ron Fish and Nick Arundel, composers for Batman: Arkham Asylum, returned to write music for Arkham City.

Track Listing

  • Main Theme
  • Sorry, Boys
  • A Monument To Your Failure
  • Have You Got My Location
  • This Court Is Now In Session
  • It Was The Joker
  • I Think You Should Do As He Says
  • Refusal Will Not Be Tolerated
  • Wham. Gotcha!
  • Let's Hear Him Squeal
  • I Know What You Guys Are Thinking
  • It's Initiation Time
  • What's He Doing Here?
  • How Does It Feel, Pig?
  • Call Him Off
  • You Should Have Listened To My Warning
  • You Need To Think This Through
  • Bring Her Back To Me
  • It's Not Even Breakfast

Sequel

See: Batman: Arkham Knight
  • There are many factors in the game that alluded to a sequel to Arkham City before Arkham Knight was even announced, they are as follows:
    • Harley's positive Pregnancy Test, though this seems to be a red herring since in Harley Quinn's Revenge we see several other pregnancy test and all are shown as negative. It could be that the baby was a stillbirth or miscarraige or the previous reading was simply false.
    • At the end of the credits, Harley can be heard singing to her baby, promising that she will kill "the whole damn world".
    • Batman commenting he will go after Hush tomorrow.
    • Hush is shown to escape Arkham City after altering his face to look like Bruce Wayne's.
    • Canisters of Scarecrow's fear gas in Hush's hideout.
    • Two-Face winning the gang war in the wake of Joker's death and Penguin's imprisonment, thus gaining control of the criminal underworld.
    • Azrael comments to Batman that, after saving Arkham City, events would be set in motion that would lead to the possible down fall of Gotham & Batman himself. Azrael then promises Batman that they would meet again.
    • There are Scarecrow thugs carrying out Crane's bidding during the Protocol 10 Sequence all over Amusement Mile.[3][4]
    • The strange communications on the Cryptographic Sequencer, translating intoI WILL RETURN BATMAN, YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME, FEAR WILL TEAR GOTHAM CITY TO SHREDS. The last of which can only be decoded once you enter the passcode, SCARECROW.
    • Falcone's shipment to Scarecrow seen on Scarecrow's boat.
    • During the game's finale, when the Lazarus Pit is exploding, Batman is knocked unconscious with the cure in his left hand. When we wakes up it is in his right hand. Possibly meaning someone took or switched it while he was unconscious (It is possible this is the result of a continuity error).
    • Scarecrow's Fear Gas tanks can also be found in the city.[5]
    • Calendar Man's escape from his cell.
      • If the player goes to Calendar Man's cell as Catwoman, the two will engage in a brief conversation in which Calendar Man hints that Catwoman might be expecting something from her father & that it may involve the Falcones. This may indicate that the next game may be based off The Long Halloween, in which Catwoman belives that that she is the illegitimate daughter of Carmine Falcone.
    • Poison Ivy stating to Catwoman that she will have revenge on humanity.
    • Scarface disappearing from his display case, presumably taken by the Ventriloquist. However, he is revealed in Harley Quinn's Revenge to have been stolen by Harley and dressed up like the Joker, a substitute for the child she never had.
    • Arnold Wesker is revealed to still be active, having taken a hostage as confirmed on the GCPD dispatch.
    • Bane vows to kill both Batman and Catwoman.
    • Deadshot vowing revenge on Batman for stopping him.
    • Rā's al Ghūl's body disappearing from on top of the gate into the city, whilst his sword remains at the end of the game. Ra's al Ghul eventually gets revived in the Shadow War Most Wanted Mission in Arkham Knight.
    • Talia's body vanishes during Batman's battle with Clayface.
    • Abramovici Twins teaming up.
    • Prometheus' record is found in the GCPD, passing the Arkham exams, as well as newspaper articles telling of two criminals gunned down in front of their son by police.
    • Peyton Riley is revealed to be the active Ventriloquist.
    • In Harley Quinn's Revenge several posters of Cadmus can be seen in Harley's secret base, all of which are located right next to a Joker model, possible hinting that Cadmus could be involved in the character returning.
    • When Robin enters the secret base for the first time, Vicki Vale can be heard on the radio asking Gordon where the Joker's body is. However, it is revealed to have been cremated in Batman: Arkham Unhinged.

Gallery

Brchest There is an image gallery for

Videos

External links

References

Arkham Series
Arkham Origins:   Batman: Arkham Origins  • Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
Arkham Asylum:   The Road to Arkham  • Batman: Arkham Asylum
Arkham City:   Arkham City (comic)  • Batman: Arkham City  • Batman: Arkham Unhinged
Arkham Knight:   • Batman: Arkham Knight
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