Games

Several months have passed since Batman defeated the Joker's attempt to take over Arkham Asylum. Unfortunately, the asylum was almost overrun by Poison Ivy's out-of-control plants in the process, rendering it useless. To replace it, a section of Gotham City's run-down docklands has been sealed off and converted into a new prison and asylum, with most of the city's most dangerous criminals incarcerated there. Appalled, Bruce Wayne enters politics in an attempt to shut down the facility, only to find himself arrested and thrown into the prison. He has to survive, find a way of resuming his Batman persona and bring down both those running the prison and defeat its array of inmates at the same time. Arkham City is the direct sequel and follow-up to 2009's Arkham Asylum . Arkham Asylum was the game that, after dozens of failed attempts, finally 'got' the Dark Knight and made him into a credible computer game character. It did this by giving Batman a strong, dar...

Whilst Batman Begins were merely a successful superhero movie, its sequel, The Dark Knight , was a bona fide phenomenon. The movie was both critically acclaimed and hugely successful, making over a billion dollars at the box office. Director Christopher Nolan hesitated over making a third film, worried it could not possibly live up to expectations (especially given that the tragic death of Heath Ledger meant that the Joker could not return). Ultimately he decided to embrace the challenge and has delivered a - somewhat - satisfying resolution to his take on the Dark Knight. Picking up eight years after the events of The Dark Knight , Gotham City is now virtually crime-free thanks to laws passed in the wake of Harvey Dent's death. Batman (who took the blame for Dent's death) has disappeared, with Bruce Wayne now living in seclusion. Commissioner Gordon, guilt-ridden by both keeping the secret of Dent's insanity and death and Batman taking the fall for it, is planning to reti...

Once again, Batman has defeated his arch-nemesis, the Joker, and returned him to incarceration at Arkham Asylum. Unfortunately for Batman, this turns out to be a trap. The Joker's men take over the prison and release the insane inmates, including several of Batman's most dangerous foes (such as Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy and Bane). Evading capture himself, Batman has to regain control of the prison and stop the Joker's plan to create an army of insane and powerful soldiers loyal only to him. Ah, Batman. The Dark Knight, who takes on a host of villains with a combination of martial arts, impressive gadgetry and cool vehicles. You can't get a superhero (even if his superpower is merely being incredibly rich) better-suited for computer games. It's a surprise, then, that very few games based on the character have been much cop. Arkham Asylum makes up for a lengthy run of mediocre to poor Batman games by being very good indeed. The developers, Rocksteady, haven...