Batman: Arkham Asylum just raised expectations to the stratosphere

By Joe Fourhman | September 13, 2008

Seriously, where did this game come from? Seems like we’ve only known about it for a week and already it looks completely incredible. Please please please let this one have the gameplay to back it up. What do we have to do to get a Batman game that plays like Metal Gear? From the very brief press release:

Published by Eidos Interactive and developed by Rocksteady Studios, Batman: Arkham Asylum boasts an original story featuring iconic DC Comics’ characters Batman, The Joker and Killer Croc amongst others – all completely revisioned by WildStorm.

I don’t get what they mean by WildStorm “revisioning” the characters. WildStorm is owned by DC, and these character designs look pretty classic to me. I mean, there’s Joker in his normal purple suit. It’s not like this is coming out of Heath Ledger movie continuity, or Batman Beyond, or anything like that.

Oh, and there better be more than “Batman, The Joker and Killer Croc” in this game.

Upon entering Arkham Asylum, The Joker greets Batman over a loudspeaker and Batman has no choice but to enter into what can only be an ambush. Batman: Arkham Asylum features brutal combat, giant sized boss battles and deadly experiments all within the notorious island prison.

When did Arkham become an “island prison”? Guess that’s the big revision at work.

Eidos formally announced Batman: Arkham Asylum back in mid-August, coming to PS3, Xbox 360 and PC sometime in 2009.

Great screenshots after the jump. Live up to it, Eidos/Rocksteady.