Batman: Arkham Asylum

Mid-year, Rocksteady and Eidos, in conjunction with DC Comics, will release Batman: Arkham Asylum across the 360, PS3 and PC. A nice twist on the regular comic-to-game urban landscape (which in Batman's case is obviously Gotham City) has been setting the action inside the offshore funny farm, Arkham Asylum. Following his apprehension of the Joker, Batman escorts his prisoner to Arkham, only to find the man in makeup has laid a trap for him. Stuck in the asylum as the inmates take control, he needs to fight his way out.

Advertised as an action-adventure, it appears as if this game will be working the beat em up path, too. An advanced battle control system will see Batman able to take on several foes at once, linking moves together and getting graded on each tussle. The combat engine in Arkham Asylum is clearly where the developers hope to attract the majority of their audience - those who aren't wooed by the Dark Knight alone, anyway. There will also be a focus on gadgets, which are hidden throughout the game.

The stack of enemies in Arkham Asylum is impressive - Riddler, Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy; they're all there. Naturally the big ones will be essential parts of the narrative flow of the game as Batman makes his way out of danger, doing his best to restore order during his journey.

Also unlike previous outings, here Batman will show a broader range of crime fighting skills. Past the merciless beating of Arkham's many crazies will be the use of stealth and strategy. Batman's skills as a detective will be called into play here, which is something we haven't seen a lot of.

The game will include a core single-player campaign, naturally, as well as number of unlockable bonus modes. One of these is a survival mode of a kind, where Batman is pitted against vast hoards of baddies and is forced to fight them off without the aid of any kind of health boost. At the end of the round, provided he hasn't been beaten to a pulp himself, a score is given based on the effectiveness and showmanship of the combat.

Another is also focused on taking down a group, but this time one by one, without alerting their cronies. You'll be able to hang from rafters, sneak along high ledges to get the drop on them, and otherwise float about in the darkness in the fashion we have all seen in Batman comics and movies.

An official website is forthcoming, but at this point links only to the trailer. Additional trailers are also kicking about, showing sharp graphics, and better than that, a dark, sketchy graphical style. One of the more recent releases introduces us to Harley Quinn - an evil debutante who refuses Batty's request that she surrender and hints at being an altogether haunting nemesis.

Many of the game's intricacies have not been publicly released, but with the announcement of the game coming last year, we are getting to critical mass for pre-release buzz. Lots of people are talking, so it may pay to join the conversations. A preliminary (overseas) rating is hovering at 16 and up, so expect something a little dark, a little violent and a lot of fun.