10 Things We Want From Batman: Arkham City

We couldn’t have asked for much more from Arkham Asylum.  It was the greatest Batman (if not superhero) game to of all time.  In addition to keeping the heart and soul of the character, and staying within the canon of his world, it enabled a gamer to truly become the Dark Knight.

Anticipation is high for Arkham City, and we already know a few things about it (it’s much bigger than its predecessor, Hugo Strange is the big bad this time around, there’ll be less night-vision and no driving of the Batmobile).  But much still remains under wraps.  And in this time of giddy eagerness, here are ten things we’d hope to see in the game’s sequel…

MORE CHALLENGING BOSS FIGHTS

Defeating the Titans was fun the first few times, but after a while, the routine of throwing a batarang and diving aside as they charged started to get that “wash, rinse, repeat” feel.  The Boss fights should be more difficult this time around; they should be smarter, tougher and it’d be great if Batman had to use more than just his batarang to bring them down.  Which brings us to the next point…

GREATER DIVERSITY OF WEAPONS

Aside from a grappling three-pronged hook and some explosive gel, Batman’s arsenal was pretty confined to several different incarnations of the batarang.  How about some smoke bombs?  Or gas pellets?  Or even using something in the environment, like say, a rusty pipe some thug was gonna clock us with to exact some sweet revenge?

MORE DETECTIVE WORK

One of the (many) things that separates Batman from the traditional superhero crowd is his detective skillset.  This was explored in the first game (hunting down Commission Gordon and Warden Sharp, discovering the plot behind the titan compound, etc.), but it’d be fantastic to make those puzzles more challenging.  Maybe even combine some of the Riddler’s riddles into the fabric of the missions. 

MORE VILLAINS

Despite being stuck on the island which houses so many of Batman’s captured foes in the first game, there are dozens more villains from the Batman universe to be explored.  There’s word that Catwoman, Two-Face and the aforementioned Hugo Strange are making appearances, but it’d be great to see cameos from some others like Freeze or Penguin.

MORE SCARECROW

And what I mean by that is not so much more Scarecrow boards as making the Scarecrow challenges even more complicated.  The visually stunning Scarecrow boards of the first game were eye-popping and it almost comes as a bit of a letdown that clearing them involved little more than run and duck.  How about integrating Scarecrow hallucinations into the gameplay?  Imagine duking it out in a street fight and then have some otherworldy visuals break through the scene.

TOUGHER THUGS

The thugs in the first game had their range of difficulty, but it’d be great if some of them were actually as nimble, or (yikes!) even moreso than Batman.  Perhaps some of these guys have their own form of grappling hook that they could follow Batman up above the scene of a crime.  Or even more trippy, perhaps they’re stalking from a vantage point above the concrete, preparing to surprise attack us!

MORE COMBOS

Batman’s broad martial arts background was showcased nicely in the first game.  There were hints of a number of different fighting styles, but more of this couldn’t be a bad thing. 

MORE IN-JOKES/EASTER EGGS

Arkham Asylum is a game that transverses its audience; it’s made for any gamer, but really tips its hat to the diehard fans of the character.  The game was peppered with references to all corners of the Batman universe (everything from Jack Ryder and Cillian Murphy), and it’d be great to see and hear more of that. 

MORE PSYCHOSIS

Arkham Asylum dipped into Batman’s dark and troubled past with its creepy and disturbing morgue scene and revisit to the scene of Thomas and Martha Wayne’s deaths.  Getting to know and understand this character is half the fun of Batman.  Seeing some more insanity, either from the Dark Knight’s past, or in the moment, would be most welcome.

MORE MORE MORE!

Much of the above can be looked at as nitpicking.  There really are no major problems with the first game.  It was so stellar, from its look to its gameplay and more than anything, Arkham Asylum left us wanting more.  More Batman.  More villains.  More missions.  More fighting.  Bring it.  Is it October yet?