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Big Batman deals on Steam this weekend, small Batman not on sale
The Steam signal burns in the night sky and Batman answers the call, probably because he isn't wearing his glasses and the clouds make the Steam logo look like a diagonal bat if he squints. Batman: Arkham City is half off ($15) and Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition is 66 percent off ($7) this weekend on Steam, sale ending Monday, May 7. You'd think Bruce would have the money to get Lasik, wouldn't you?
Batman: Arkham City GOTY Edition includes Harley Quinn content, Year One movie [update: Harley Quinn DLC on April 30]
The Harley Quinn-related teases have led to this: today's announcement of a "Game of the Year Edition" re-release of Batman: Arkham City. Coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 May 29, the new version contains the "Harley Quinn's Revenge" expansion, along with the previously released Robin, Catwoman, and Nightwing packs and a set of alternate skins.In addition to all the in-game content (henceforth referred to as "those wonderful toys") the GOTY edition will contain a download of the Batman: Year One animated movie.Update: You don't have to wait until May, or buy the game again, to get the Harley Quinn DLC. It'll be sold separately starting April 30.%Gallery-153840%
Arkham City News teases Harley Quinn DLC
It looks like that unannounced, Harley Quinn-oriented DLC pack for Batman: Arkham City we caught wind of earlier this month has moved one step closer to becoming official. The Arkham City twitter account tweeted the above teaser image of feet and hammer earlier this morning, immediately proceeded by an unattributed quote: "Don't worry. This is all part of of my plan."Very mysterious, but given Harley Quinn's historical propensity for comically large mallets, we think inferring her involvement is justified. Personally, we're keeping our fingers crossed for a collection of Whack-A-Mole minigames staring Ms. Quinzel.
Trophies suggest Batman: Arkham City getting Harley Quinn DLC
Perhaps the extremely curvy chunk of Batman: Arkham City featuring Harley Quinn simply wasn't enough for you, or maybe you just like your DLC with an extra splash of Fran Drescher-esque voice acting? We can't be sure, but you specifically will be happy to hear that 10 PlayStation 3 Trophies were dug up by PS3Trophies.org which reveal a yet-to-be announced DLC pack featuring Ms. Quinn.No other description is given for the content other than "Harley Quinn DLC," nor is release date or pricing info, though Robin is noted in one Trophy as a playable character. Moreover, that Trophy addresses an event known as, "Harley Quinn's Revenge," which sounds to us an awful lot like the potential name for the content. We've reached out to WB for more info, and will keep an eye on the sky for any Bat clues.[Thanks, Josh.]
Arkham City PC patched to fix save file problems
"I just don't get it, Alfred. These test results show significant signs of save file corruption, Achievement problems, and all sorts of issues with Crossfire/SLI configuration and 32-bit memory in the PC version of the game. I've never seen anything like this before!""Surely it can wait until you take a break, sir? I've just made some tea, and I've noticed a hole in your cape that needs patching as well.""Alfred, there's just no time! Wait? Did you say 'patch'? That's it! We'll send out a patch on Steam, available right now. That will fix all of these issues and more!""Very well, sir. The tea will go cold, I gather."
Xbox Live's Deal of the Week is all about the Batman, his boy wonder
Strike fear into the hearts of Xbox Live's ne'er-do-wells this week with a handful of discounted Batman-themed items. Outside of a few Avatar props, select DLC for Batman: Arkham City has also been reduced in price.The Nightwing Bundle Pack and Robin Bundle Pack have both been knocked down to 360 MS Points ($4.50) from their respective usual 560 MS Points ($7) asking price. Each comes with a handful of character skins and exclusive challenge maps, and unlocks each character for play in all of Batman: Arkham City's challenge maps.
Rocksteady's Sefton Hill shares Arkham recipe
Rocksteady Studios co-founder and game director Sefton Hill shared his recipe for making Arkham games at DICE 2012. Beyond the basic ingredients listed, all you'll need is a major license, a supportive publisher and millions to fund the project.Sefton's Arkham recipe: Make the game instantly fun and accessible. "We believe it's our job to entertain," Hill said, adding that the free-flow combat of Arkham was meant to instantly convey the feeling of being Batman. Deep core mechanics, with a contant, incremental challenge to maintain engagement. "We developed combat by introducing new enemy types ... it keeps giving you more, it keeps challenging you." Complementary Orthogonal Design. Boiled down, it's that systems like navigation, combat and story "all have their own distinct and strong uses." Essentially, he encouraged designing complementary design elements that don't step on each other. Authenticity. "The restraints of the character define the character." Hill said certain elements may seem like a pain the ass, but that one must embrace those constraints. The fact that Batman can't kill anyone was something the team had to maintain at all times. "It stops us from falling back on a lot of game cliches." Takeway: Celebrate and explore the limitations of characters and what makes them unique.So, there you go. Oh, you'll also need an engine. We're sure if you write a really nice letter to the guys at Epic, they'll let you license the Unreal Engine at a good price.
Batman: Arkham City shipped 6 million in 2011
Tucked away in the dark, crowded bowels of Time Warner's financial results statement for fiscal 2011 is news that Rocksteady's blockbuster, bat-centric beat-em-up (that would be Batman: Arkham City) has shipped 6 million units, as of December 31, 2011. Now, "shipped" is a much different statistic than "sold," but it's a strong figure nonetheless.It's difficult to tell how Warner Bros. Interactive did on its own in 2011, since its financial results are lumped in with two other Time Warner subsidiaries, (Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Television), both of which brought in astounding amounts of money with their respective Harry Potter and Big Bang Theory licenses. Overall, Time Warner's "Filmed Entertainment" (tv, movies and gaming) reported revenues of $12.6 billion; a 9 percent year-over-year increase.The statement also mentions Mortal Kombat and "several LEGO titles" as key contributors to the division's successful year.
Arkham action figure line includes Titan Joker, Killer Croc and the Bats
DC Comics is releasing a new line of action figures based on the lead and supporting casts of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, though you'll have to wait a while to get your hands on them. The line is segregated into regular and "deluxe" figures; the five regular figures (Batman, Ra's Al Ghul, Azrael, a Clown Thug and The Penguin) will find their way to comic shops and toy stores this September.Two of the deluxe figures, Mr. Freeze and Killer Croc, will launch this June, while Titan Joker -- everyone's least favorite part of Arkham Asylum -- won't be available until November. %Gallery-145681%
Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Batman: Arkham City
This might sound familiar. In 2009, Joystiq awarded Batman: Arkham Asylum its number three spot in that year's top ten list of games and here we are, two years later, giving that game's sequel the same honor. But it's not the same honor. Referencing the failure to launch of Pandemic's open-world Dark Knight movie tie-in game, I identified Rocksteady's success as one primarily of scale: "Instead of building an open-world Gotham City, they built an intimate (and immediately captivating) Arkham Asylum, as full of history and lore as you'd expect the comic book icon to be." Of course, Batman: Arkham City is an open-world game.
Steam has that game you didn't buy during the Holiday Sale on sale again
The final day of the Steam Holiday Sale has embraced us, our families and the sad pile of change left in our gift funds. Today is "Encore Day," where Steam offers the biggest deals of the entire sale one more time, including Skyrim at 33 percent off, Bastion at 66 percent off, Batman: Arkham City at 50 percent off, and tons more. This is really a very clever strategy. Face it -- you've been haunted by that one game you resisted buying over the past week; that one time you said, "No, Steam, this is my money!" has been burned into your psyche as you imagine the joy you could have had at a reasonable price during these cold winter months. And now it's back. You have a second chance to own that game. Go. Go, and be at peace with your Steam Sale. You are forgiven.
Free Batman: Arkham City skin, unlock code offered as a 'thank you,' new DLC for sale
Rocksteady is giving us all a free Batman Inc.-style Batman skin for Arkham City, as a "thank you all for your incredible support before, during and after the game's release," according to a statement from director Sefton Hill. With that costume, you'll be all set to travel the world and recruit some international Batmen, although, of course, you won't actually be doing that. The costume will be offered as a free download tomorrow on Xbox Live, PC, and PS3. The world has opened up for us in other ways, however. Along with this announcement, Hill shared a code that will allow you to use any downloadable skin in the campaign without having to complete it first. At the main menu, after choosing your save slot, press left, left, down, down, left, left, right, up, up, down. Then all the costumes you've bought or otherwise acquired will be available. Old school! If you really feel like buying stuff, you have a couple of options there, as well. The "Arkham Bundle" collects the Nightwing Bundle Pack, Robin Bundle Pack, and the Arkham City Skins Pack for 1200 MSP ($15); there's also a Challenge Map Pack including the new Batcave map, the Joker's Carnival, and the Iceberg Lounge, for 240 MSP ($3). Both are due today. [Thanks, Nick!]
12 Days of Joyswag: Batman: Arkham City game, controller, shirt
Another year, another 12 days of holiday giveaways! Starting today and running through Christmas Day, we're doing the one thing that makes us feel truly alive: giving. Specifically, we're giving you fine folks some of the swag we've managed to collect in our cluttered home offices. And the good will and merriment doesn't stop here! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for even more chances to win! To kick things off, we're assembling a Batman: Arkham City prize worthy of three wise men but, instead of going to a bunch of bookworms, it's going to one of you. You'll get a copy of Batman: Arkham City for your Xbox 360, a Power A Batman: Arkham City controller for your hands, and a Batman: Arkham City t-shirt for your curiously unclothed torso. How do you win a prize of this magnitude? Head past the break for the answers to all life's questions.
WB Montreal focusing on great DC Comics games, 'forget the movies'
The most successful games based on DC Comics properties, like, say, the two recent Batman games, aren't based on movies. Unsurprisingly, then, Warner Bros. sees no particular reason to cross-promote with DC games. Warner Bros. Montreal executive producer Reid Schneider told Canadian Business that WB isn't pushing the studio to tie into movies. "No, we're not going in that direction," Schneider said. "It's really about make the game what it needs to be and forget the movies." In fact, it's avoiding movie deadlines, he said, that helps the games become great. "If you look at the similarities between [Batman: Arkham Asylum and Neversoft's 1998 Spider-Man game], they weren't based on movies per se," Schneider said. "They were just taking that really rich fiction from the comic books and exploring the characters. It's not about hitting the movie date or some arbitrary date-it was giving the game the time it needs to be successful and really just concentrating on the quality of it." It's been successful enough that the games are getting their own tie-ins.
Laundry day: Batman Arkham City 'Skins Pack' DLC available
Batman's costume gets torn up pretty severely over the course of Batman: Arkham City. We can only imagine how filthy it gets, and what Batman smells like by the end. So do him a solid and replace it with the fresh new ones in the Arkham City Skins Pack, newly available on Xbox Live, PSN, and Games for Windows this week. The $5 pack collects all the previously retailer-exclusive (and NOS energy drink-exclusive) alternate looks for the Dark Knight, including 1970s, Year One, The Dark Knight Returns (aka Fatman), Earth One, Batman Beyond, Sinestro Corps, and the delightfully incongruous Animated Series skin.%Gallery-141267%
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.
Robin DLC Boy Wanders into Arkham City today
If Robin's brief appearance in Batman: Arkham City -- in which Batman yells at him for showing up and then dismisses him on an errand -- isn't enough for you, you'll be able to put the Boy Wonder through his paces in his own DLC, out today on PS3 and Xbox 360, with the PC version presumably available alongside the game this week. The Robin Bundle pack costs 560 Microsoft Points ($6.99) and contains two new challenge maps and two "alternative" Robin skins. Don't worry, Batman will be equally impatient with all of them.
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.]
