With his less-smudgy makeup, spiky green hair and maniacal cackle, Dini's creation looks and acts more like earlier versions of the iconic villain. If you're expecting a Heath Ledger-like Joker in "Batman: Arkham Asylum," you may be disappointed. "There are a lot of forensics aspects to the story." "Detective work is a crucial game element," Dini said. In creating his story's look and tone, Dini said he chose his favorite elements from different incarnations of Batman.įor example, the game emphasizes Batman's intellect and use of technology by solving puzzles with the help of such tools as X-ray scanning and a pheromone tracker. Winner of five Emmy awards, Dini has worked on Batman comic books and written episodes of "Batman: The Animated Series" and later, "Batman Beyond."ĭini, who has also written for the ABC-TV hit "Lost," said he was influenced by Batman lore from character creator Bob Kane, the Batman comics of the 1960s and the Dark Knight graphic novels of Frank Miller. Because there was no movie, graphic novel or comic tie-in to follow, he was able to create an original story.ĭini's familiarity with the main character may help win the hearts and wallets of gamers. (Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment is a division of Time Warner, which owns CNN.)Īs the lead writer for the game, Dini said he was given a clean slate to work from. It's being developed by Rocksteady Studios and will be published by Eidos Interactive in conjunction with Warner Bros.
The game will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows. Zsasz, Poison Ivy and Killer Croc.īatman has appeared in video games since 1986, but none as ambitious or complex as "Arkham Asylum," which draws much of its inspiration from the character's comic mythology. After the trap is sprung, the Joker releases the inmates, including some of Batman's most ferocious enemies: Bane, Harley Quinn, Mr. The atmospheric game pits Batman against Joker in a battle of wits and brawn after the Clown Prince of Crime traps the Caped Crusader inside Arkham Asylum, Gotham's psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane.
"This is the Batman movie I would have liked to have written," said Dini, who was scheduled to discuss the game during a panel Saturday at Comic-Con International, the huge celebration of comic-book culture in San Diego, California. You want mayhem, insanity and brutality? Get ready for all of it. Buzz is building online for the dark, cinematic game, which reimagines a brooding Batman and his most notorious nemesis, the Joker, for an experience that's reminiscent of "The Dark Knight" blockbuster movie.
Restless fans can pick out more details from the teaser trailer embedded below, and look for the September issue of Game Informer, which features a bruised Batman and leather-clad Catwoman.That's what Emmy-winning TV writer Paul Dini did in creating "Batman: Arkham Asylum," a video game coming out in late August. But what do you expect the game is still more than a year away. Developer Rocksteady Studios, who went from nameless to famous with the success of Arkham Asylum, has kept tight-lipped about the project. (Here in the newsroom, we were rooting for the more evocative, but there's plenty of room for a trilogy, right?)īeside what's listed above, everything else is speculation. registered a slew of website names in July. The newly announced name is not a total surprise. But instead of taking place on a shadowy island-prison, this new title brings players to "Arkham City," a "heavily fortified" district of Gotham City. This sequel to the 2009 blockbuster Batman: Arkham Asylum once again pits the dark knight against the Joker. Batman: Arkham City will swoop onto video game consoles and PCs in Fall 2011, according to new details released today.