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Batman: Arkham City PC patched, DX11 fixed for some
A new PC patch for Batman: Arkham City corrects debilitating performance issues associated with DirectX 11 -- for the most part. Though some players may now enable advanced graphical effects without penalty, the documentation considers DirectX 11 off-limits for 32-bit versions of Vista and Windows 7 until another patch can be issued. Gotham's unsavory penitentiary has been in need of correctional facilities since its launch on PC, well after the acclaimed console versions. This latest patch addresses a few more errors, including a progress-halting boss glitch and -- our favorite -- "a crash that occurred when selecting 'Press Start' immediately when available at the Title Screen." There should be some kind of punishment for skipping past that lovely title screen music, but that's a bit harsh.
New Arkham City DLC pack lands Dec. 20, takes us to the Batcave
Well, we don't know for sure that the Batcave challenge map included in the next Batman: Arkham City DLC pack isn't the one Adam West and Burt Ward called home, but it seems far more likely that we'll be beating down Gotham's worst in something a little more contemporary. According to this tweet, the pack arrives December 20 and also includes two previously available maps: Iceberg Lounge and Joker's Carnival. No pricing information has yet been revealed, though we feel safe in assuming that the sum total will cost more than nothing and less than a hundred billion dollars.
Batman: Arkham City PC performance issues linked to DX11, patch incoming
Having waited over a month for Warner Bros. and Rocksteady to tidy up the PC code for Batman: Arkham City, players have expressed frustration with severe performance issues encountered in the game. Warner has confirmed that a stuttering framerate is tied to DirectX 11 features, which should be disabled while a patch finds its way to Gotham's cordoned-off criminal depository. Disabling DirectX 11 (under "Settings" in the Games for Windows launcher, and "Configure PC Options" in your Steam library) will drop the game down to DirectX 9. It's not as disfiguring as it sounds, but let's not make excuses for a game launching in such an unsteady state. We'll be sure to let you know when the punitive effects of tesselation and horizon-based ambient occlusion have been eliminated.
Batman gets a big head in this Arkham City Easter egg
Wondering how to take Batman's already Arkham-sized head and make it into something more Gotham-sized? The Rooster Teeth folks have figured it out, releasing a tell-all video (watch out for the F-bomb!) on Batman: Arkham City's "Big Head Mode," which can apparently be applied using the Cryptography Sequencer. The guys warn that the mode is only available in "Normal or higher" difficulties, though it'll also work in New Game Plus mode. Essentially, by holding down both triggers and maneuvering each analog stick in opposite circles of movement, the Big Head mode Easter egg will activate, rendering all forms of Batman and Catwoman (as well as enemies) with enormous noggins and puffy hands. And yes, in case you can't watch the video above just yet, it is absolutely adorable. [Thanks, Geoff.]
WB acknowledges Batman: Arkham City save glitch, asks for user reports
Batman: Arkham City players have been experiencing save data loss on Xbox 360 since the launch of the game. Publisher WB hasn't had anything to say regarding the extremely unfortunate bug until last night, when it published a survey on its official forum asking afflicted users for details. In the survey, WB seeks information about the Xbox 360 model, storage method, and system software used to play Arkham City. If you can overcome the rage from having your save data randomly destroyed, please email support@wbgames with the answers to the questions listed after the break. It might help Rocksteady tune its cryptographic sequencer, which it will then point at a computer to fix the issue. I was using a "phat" Xbox 360, running the latest release of the system software (not a preview), and had only the Catwoman DLC installed when I lost all my progress, in case anyone there happens to be reading.
Batman: Arkham City PC receives mini delay
Batman: Arkham City's official November 18 launch date for PC in North America has been slightly shifted to November 22. Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment also stated the PC version will be available November 23 in Australia, November 24 in France and Benelux, and other European territories beginning November 25. Although WBIE wouldn't confirm, a major South African retailer has stated the game won't launch on PC until December in the region. The PC launch will occur just as the "Robin Bundle Pack" hits the digital distribution circuit.
Batman: Arkham City ships 4.6M in first week, 2M sold
Batman is kind of a big deal, with his latest starring role catapulting Batman: Arkham City to astronomical shipping numbers: an approximate 4.6 million in the first week. LA Times reports that among those shipments, Bats has already slipped into 2 million homes. By most accounts, Batman: Arkham City is earning those numbers, with reviewers (including our own) praising the sequel's densely packed open world and attention to detail, among other things. And if the rest of those shipped copies eventually end up in consumer's homes as well, the game will have already surpassed sales numbers of its predecessor (4.3 million). Not too shabby for a development studio whose only non-Batman game is about being a random police dude!
Batman: Arkham City PC system requirements detected
We may have to wait until the eighteenth of November to get our WASD-lovin' keyboard claws on the PC version of Batman: Arkham City, but the extra weeks have given us ample time to make sure our beefy rigs are up to snuff. Not that we're that worried, mind you: Nvidia has released the minimum and recommended system requirements for the caped crusader's latest romp (after the break), and all told the spec aren't totally outrageous. Maybe we didn't need to spend forty thousand dollars on a replica of Batman: The Animated Series' Batcave supercomputer after all.
Metareview: Batman: Arkham City
The entire gang is back. Developer Rocksteady studios returns to Gotham City, along with Batman scribe Paul Dini, and Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill in what he says will be his "last hurrah" as Joker. And the result is that Batman: Arkham City could very well become Joystiq's top game of 2011, something its predecessor was arguably robbed of in 2009. Coincidentally, Arkham City sees a similar competitive match-up this year, facing new Assassin's Creed and Uncharted entries, whose sequels were the two titles that defeated the dark knight two years ago. At the moment, though, Arkham City is universally acclaimed as one of the best games of the year. Giant Bomb (5/5): "Getting another chance to use Batman's considerable combat talents as you engage in one of the best fighting systems going today is a joy. The city looks terrific, like it's one step away from just bursting into flames as criminals crawl across every single surface doing... whatever it is that criminals do when they're locked in a city-shaped prison." Game Informer (100/100): "The size of the game is daunting. I still have a ways to go to reach 100 percent, but I wouldn't be surprised if I have invested over 60 hours so far. Throw in the new game plus and a dizzying number of combat challenges for both Batman and his feline friend and this game could be one of the biggest and most enjoyable time sinks of the year." IGN (95/100): "Batman: Arkham City isn't perfect, but listing the little things I didn't like gets in the way of all the stuff I adored. The voice acting, the challenges, the amazing opening, the unbelievable ending and the feeling of being the Dark Knight -- these are the things that standout looking back. I've beaten this thing twice and still want to call in sick and chase Riddler Trophies. " Eurogamer (90/100): "If it's lacking something, it's surprise. Arkham City has nothing that beats the first game's brilliant unveilings and fourth-wall mind-tricks (although it has a go at an equivalent) and it can't trump the central, crucial realization that somebody had finally made a Batman game that was enriched by its license rather than subtly crippled by it. Instead, though, you get refinement: better bosses, slicker animation, and more to think about on a second-to-second basis."%Gallery-136482%
Batman: Arkham City swoops to PC on November 18
Warner Bros. has deemed today the day to reveal Batman: Arkham City's delayed PC launch date as November 18, one month to the day after its arrival on consoles. The Games for Windows version was delayed last month via a terse WB announcement, which didn't provide an explanation at the time. We can exclusively reveal why today: Bruce Wayne is exhausted, y'all. He's got a lot going on, between film and TV and video games, and he just needed a few weeks to chill. Okay, that and PC version bug fixes.
Batman: Arkham City review: A world of difference
The 72-year-old lore of the Batman universe is about as immutable as comic book icons come. If Batman: Arkham Asylum was evidence of Rocksteady's comprehension of the franchise, then Arkham City is proof of their understanding of its quiescence. The chiropteran hero hasn't introduced many substantial changes to his modus operandi since his last, incredibly well-received video game outing. The world's greatest detective still spends a fraction of a fraction of his time doing actual detective work, and a vast majority of his time alternating between brutalizing and terrorizing different factions of armed and unarmed goons. Sure, he's got a few new gadgets this time around, but the methods remain the same. What's changed in Rocksteady's second stab at the timeless DC franchise is the world that surrounds Batman -- the titular prison colony Arkham City. Conceived by the foolhardy, the prisoner-run district may not be the largest open world ever explored in a game, but with an ecosystem of sidequests, challenges and secrets that blanket every square inch of the region, it might just be the densest.%Gallery-136482%
Batman: Arkham City copies available early at Times Square TRU event
The Times Square Toys R Us location will hold an event on Monday, October 17, where 500 copies of Batman: Arkham City will be available a day early. The first 100 customers who pre-purchase a copy of the game through the store's "Personal Shopping Department" (starting now, we guess?), will receive a ticket reserving their copy, and can have their game autographed by Jim Lee (co-publisher at DC Entertainment), Kevin Conroy (the voice of Batman) and Sefton Hill (B:AC Game Director from Rocksteady Studios) at the event. The other 400 copies will be available for purchase at the event, which officially starts at 4PM, but who knows when people start lining up? The event will include photo ops with actors dressed up as Batman and Catwoman, and game demos. Obviously, keep your eye on the prize. You could get Batman: Arkham City a day before everyone else, or those with Amazon Prime who longingly stare out the window for any glimpse of the UPS man.
New Batman: Arkham City villain found in Qore
Batman: Arkham City's character roster is starting to get a little crowded! The new episode of Qore, added to PSN last night, offers a look at yet another villain that will stalk the locked-down streets of Gotham. YouTube user MrKQGaming captured the relevant segment of Qore, which you'll have to watch closely to catch the new villain (amongst all those other villains). We've got a screencap after the break, just for those of you daring enough to see the villain's identity before the game launches later this month.
Achievements reveal playable Nightwing in Batman: Arkham City
More Achievements for Batman: Arkham City have swooped dramatically out of a dark corner, this time for DLC. Two achievements make reference to a "Nightwing Bundle Pack," featuring a playable version of Nightwing (the original Robin, Dick Grayson, all grown up). The (unofficial) reveal of Nightwing brings the playable cast to four, including Batman, Robin, and Catwoman, with Robin and Nightwing exclusive to downloadable content. If you're concerned about too many characters crowding out your brooding time as Batman, you can always ... just not get the DLC. [Image: DC Comics]
Catwoman's Sins in Batman: Arkham City
So, why Catwoman? I know it's something nice and extra for the fans, and in the context of Batman: Arkham City's story, I'm all for Catwoman, but why? Why include just about every Batman character ever this time around? Dax Ginn, marketing game manager for Rocksteady, told me that players nowadays don't always want to be the good guy. "It's not always fun being the righteous arm of justice, so we wanted to explore what it was like to be a criminal within Arkham City, as well. Catwoman became a great option to explore that." But maybe it's simpler than that. "We kind of look around at other games," Ginn said, "and it's obvious that some players like breaking the rules."%Gallery-135245%
Batman: Arkham City PC delayed until November
Batman: Arkham City for PC has been delayed until November, Warner Bros. announced this morning. This will not affect the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, which are still scheduled to burst from the shadows and pummel the rogues of Gotham on October 18. No reason was given for the delay ... but if your theory has publisher WBIE and Ubisoft conspiring to diminish potential piracy with 11th hour delays, who are we to argue? Meanwhile, place your bets on the arrival time of that Assassin's Creed: Revelations PC delay.
OnLive Labor Day sale includes $0.99 Batman: Arkham Asylum
If you've yet to play Batman: Arkham Asylum, or if you've wanted to try OnLive, today might be the day to pull the trigger. Having reached 45,000 "Likes" on Facebook, the service is now offering the game at the criminally insane price of $0.99 as part of its Labor Day Sale. Simply enter the code "99cents" at checkout and Arkham Asylum is yours. Act fast though, the batty offer is only available today. Additionally, having reached its goal, OnLive will now donate $1 to Child's Play for any more "Likes" received for the rest of the day. Now, if you haven't played Arkham Asylum and you've been itching to try out OnLive, try to remember this day, because it's all down hill from here.
Batman: Arkham City achievements leaked
Holy leakin' 'chievos, Batman! We may have to wait until October 18 for The Dark Knight clean up the mean streets of Gotham in Batman: Arkham City, but you can check out a list of the cloak and cowl's forthcoming accomplishments after the break.
Batman: Arkham City supports Games for Windows Live
For Batman, capturing criminals and maintaining safe, clean streets in Gotham is its own reward. For those of us lacking giant inheritances and cavernous basements, the incentive to do good just for the sake of being good isn't really enough. We need something we can hold; something we can point to and say, "I did that, here's my proof." Achievements! It was just our roundabout way of saying Batman: Arkham City will support Games for Windows Live on PC, according to a Warner Bros. rep speaking to VG 247 today. We assume, just like its predecessor, the game will also be sold through Steam, though there has yet to be a games page created for it. We've contacted Warner Bros. for clarification. Achievements and DRM for Arkham City will be handled by Microsoft's platform.
The Xbox 360 PAX deserves, but not the one it needs: Custom Batman: Arkham City console
One lucky PAX attendee will be able to walk away with the custom console above. Warner Bros isn't saying much on how you can win this custom Batman: Arkham City Xbox 360 at Seattle's to-do, though the Facebook page announcing the promotion does offer hope to those who aren't Seattle-bound: Xbox will apparently be giving away the same console at an unspecified later time. Feel free to glide on into our gallery below to drool over the thing. On one side, Batman; on the other, Joker. Way in the back, envious that they can't win this thing for themselves: the Joystiq staff. %Gallery-131727%
