By Adam Smith on September 26th, 2011 at 9:48 am.
Arkham City is going to be packed full of villains but the place wouldn’t be complete without the Joker. We knew he was going to be there, of course, but this trailer tells us a little bit more about what he’ll be doing. Referring to deadly plans while holding up a twisted carnival mirror to Batman’s unsmiling granite face and cackling like Luke Skywalker’s demented uncle, that’s what he’ll be doing. Nothing much new then, although he is looking more horrible than ever and hopefully now he’s not pulling all the strings (unless he is), he’ll be more chaotic and frightening. Just when I’m feeling extremely happy at the idea of beating up goons and twirling my cape in their faces, the trailer ends with a release date. It’s not the right one though.
It’s hard for me to stay mad for long, in an angry sense at least. I managed to play a little of the game at the Eurogamer Expo this weekend and even though I’ll need to sit down with it from the beginning to make any real judgement, I would describe myself as giddily enthused.
26/09/2011 at 09:57 Jody Macgregor says:
This trailer gives off a vibe of finality you don’t normally get in the Joker’s comic-book appearances. Maybe I’m imagining things because I’ve heard Mark Hamill doesn’t want to do the role any more, but I actually get a sense they might let this play out as an actual ending — the Joker dying and deciding to have one last laugh at Batman’s expense.
It helps that “There’s nothing wrong with you…” made me think he was going to the line from Dark Knight Returns, “…that I can’t fix with my hands.”
26/09/2011 at 14:27 TheTourist314 says:
Yeah, I’d agree that I’d be satisfied if there was an ending to this, though Arkham Asylum almost had an ending to it.
26/09/2011 at 16:01 Tusque D'Ivoire says:
That’s what comics always do. they kill of a side or main character, milk the death for every last little drop of drama, and then bring them back.
I like it though, In the first few previews of Arkham City it seemed like the Joker was tied to a wheelchair (Broken Bat anyone?), but i like how he’s still a main player.
All in all, even though I’m dissapointed that the first game i have ever preordered has just been delayed for a month, I can’t be mad at them. This game seems huge and if they clear out the few kinks in the first game, it will be awesome.
26/09/2011 at 18:37 Aldehyde says:
Coheed and Cambria’s song (Deranged) for the game’s album may also hint to Joker’s death.
Several lines (well, when I say “several”, I mean all of it) in the lyrics hint towards it being Joker singing to Batman.
“Who will be your pretty little enemy?
When I’m gone your world will prove empty
I promise, you will always remember me
The jokes on you, poisoning
While you clean the streets of misfortune
I pick the innocent from my dirty teeth
We’re one and the same… Deranged”
26/09/2011 at 09:57 Sensation says:
I hate to be nit-picky like this, but did it look like batman just outright murdered that first thug to anyone else?
26/09/2011 at 10:00 TheTingler says:
Nope. Not done that move in the first game? Look closely, Batman ties the guy’s feet to a line, which is attached to the railing.
26/09/2011 at 10:30 Johnny Lizard says:
He will be fine as long as he doesn’t hit his head on the way down and die.
26/09/2011 at 10:51 Hidden_7 says:
Or hang there too long. I hear hanging upside down for extended periods isn’t great for you?
26/09/2011 at 11:40 sinister agent says:
Frankly any blow to the head that knocks you out for more than a few seconds is potentially fatal. Hanging upside down for an extended period after a crack in the head like that would be pretty likely to kill you.
But! That’s in the real world. This isn’t set in the real world, so it’s okay. Guilt-free pummellings for all!
26/09/2011 at 12:17 JackShandy says:
Better than the films. Remember in Batman Begins, how batman blows up an entire monastery full of people to avoid killing a single criminal – while that criminal is still inside?
26/09/2011 at 13:52 Shooop says:
He ties the guy’s feet to a grappling line and lets him hang there unconscious.
How he does this so quickly I don’t know, but he’s the goddamn Batman so who are we to question it?
26/09/2011 at 14:41 JKjoker says:
in AA you could kill goons directly by throwing them out of platforms during mass battles or indirectly by knocking them into hazardous areas, he didnt even made a comment when you looked at the bodies, maybe he grew up and accepted you just cant save everyone
26/09/2011 at 16:03 Tusque D'Ivoire says:
Well, Bruce Wayne is not as prone to self-commentary as say the Dick Grayson Batman, he’ll be brooding silently and cry in the rain a few times in the days after the game.
26/09/2011 at 09:57 TheTingler says:
According to Sefton Hill talking to Eurogamer, we’ll be getting it “a couple of weeks” afterwards. I’m holding him to that.
Also, if you freeze at the moment where Joker raises his foot – Talia al Ghul is standing behind him.
26/09/2011 at 09:58 coldvvvave says:
Um, did Batman just drop a thug off the rooftop? Isn’t that a lethal takedown?
26/09/2011 at 10:18 BooleanBob says:
A silent takedown is always the most – uh, wait.
26/09/2011 at 10:48 Hidden_7 says:
“A fall from this height won’t kill me”
“I’m counting on it.”
26/09/2011 at 11:14 Switch625 says:
Looks like there was some sort of cord attached to the thug.
A bat-bungee, if you will.
26/09/2011 at 14:33 Nova says:
@Switch625
I see. Batman is in the entertainment business now.
26/09/2011 at 10:00 Justoffscreen says:
Gonna wait for a mod to make Harley not look like a hooker.
26/09/2011 at 10:11 Baka says:
Like, expecting that mod from the Internet?
26/09/2011 at 10:27 Frankie The Patrician[PF] says:
you will get a nude mod more likely :)
26/09/2011 at 10:53 DevilSShadoW says:
I sense a deep disappointment in your future.
26/09/2011 at 11:31 Cyberpope says:
at least catwomans classy though right guys?
26/09/2011 at 14:06 mjig says:
Waiting for a mod that replaces Harley with her original VA :(
I don’t know why they got a new one.
26/09/2011 at 16:26 DrGonzo says:
Same here. It’s not so much the new Harley is bad, it’s just the one in Arkham Asylum was perfect, looks like they’ve changed her for the sake of changing her.
26/09/2011 at 19:31 Asurmen says:
It’s the same voice actor.
26/09/2011 at 10:35 Flocraft says:
I’m glad Harley’s new VA doesn’t sound so different from the original, after finally getting to hear it.
26/09/2011 at 11:43 sinister agent says:
Fast cuts and generic metal. When will this plague end?
Still, as long as the face-kicking and stalking is still lots of fun, I’m quite looking forward to this. Although if they’re going for a dramatic route, I hope they’ve hired better writers.
26/09/2011 at 11:49 Kaldor says:
Batman is dumb. And so is the Joker. The Nolan films are somwhere between “meh” and “…good…”. The Batman games are dumb brawlers. They’re solid and fleshed-out examples of videogames though.
26/09/2011 at 12:01 Jazz42 says:
Hmm
I found the first Nolan film to be rather good till the last 3rd.
I thought the Dark Knight was…well it wasn’t my cup of tea to put it lightly.
I also feel that the first Arkham games was like Assassin’s Creed 1. Proof of concept, which as a metroidvania game it did pretty well. However I expect much more from this game..less of the punching more of the actual, you know, detective stuff. Oh and no indoor gargoyles -_-
26/09/2011 at 12:32 Tusque D'Ivoire says:
You don’t really seem to like videogames ;)
26/09/2011 at 16:29 DrGonzo says:
The latest Batman game was a modern Metroidvania. It certainly wasn’t ‘dumb’ but it wasn’t particularly mentally challenging either. I’m not even sure what your point about that is actually. Mars bars aren’t ‘clever’ either but they still taste great.
The Nolan films were excellent. As far as action films go I can’t think of a better modern one than Dark Knight. Though as some one else said, the last part is guff. And Two Face was awful, a criminal under use of such a good actor.
26/09/2011 at 19:45 Vandelay says:
Personally think that Nolan is one of the finest directors of this generation, certainly in the mainstream. Perhaps not flawless, but the release of any of his films is always going to be an event. Can’t wait for the conclusion of his Batman trilogy next year.
Arkham Asylum was fantastic pretty much throughout too. The final Scarecrow section provided me with possibly the biggest “What the fuck?” moment I have ever had with a game.
26/09/2011 at 14:03 mjig says:
AC will undoubtedly be my personal GOTY. Arkham Asylum was one of my favorite games of all time, it was perfect in almost every way. I even liked the somewhat repetitive mini boss fights. There weren’t enough of them in the game for me to get annoyed, and they added a lot of difficulty when you were in a room full of thugs.
26/09/2011 at 15:32 Isometric says:
I noticed something about the beginning there, Sionis Industries = Black Mask. I hope he makes an appearance at some point. To be honest, there are enough villains in this to make me more than happy. Black Mask would be an added bonus.
26/09/2011 at 15:44 mzcclin says:
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26/09/2011 at 16:31 DrGonzo says:
If the delay isn’t for technical reasons (which it may be) then it’s a bit crazy. I will be buying this game as I loved the original. But if it’s out to pirate early, which it almost certainly will be, then I will pirate it too. Which is doubly appealing due to the GFWL.
26/09/2011 at 19:08 kud13 says:
erm, just to let you know, to date, pirates haven’t really cut out GWFL out of games. they just suggest you make an offline account to play.
..or so i’ve heard.
26/09/2011 at 20:16 wodin says:
Looks like the boss fights are back in…oh well…still be a good game though. The Dark Knight was always my No 1 superhero. Love the fact unlike all other super heroes he has no special powers.
26/09/2011 at 22:29 Bubbley says:
I don’t know which Harley looks better. The new Harley in the DC comics reboot or this one. I can’t say I prefer either but I feel compelled to choose.
29/09/2011 at 09:49 fooga44 says:
I really hate the visual design of the Joker in these batman games. It throws the whole feel of the game off IMHO. Whoever is the art director really needed to be fired. I don’t get why they want to push batman into horror-esque kind of thing since the Cartoons the Joker even at his worst was never so grotesque.