2011 Games To Watch #2: Batman Arkham City

As you'll see, the one game that I'm anticipating just a little more this year is the same as it was a few months ago, but that doesn't mean I'm any less excited about Batman: Arkham City (as I've said previously, before #1 was announced this was top). Taking place a year after the sensational Arkham Asylum, the sequel opens as Mayor Quincy Sharp introduces the residents of the asylum to their own part of Gotham City which Batman's greatest adversaries can roam around, create factions and wage all-out war (which the Joker and new foes Two-Face, the Penguin and Mr Freeze do) provided they don't attempt to leave the confines of 'Arkham City'. Predictably enough, havoc soon ensues as Two-Face captures Catwoman and threatens to execute her if his evil half kicks in via the flip of a coin, at which point Batman enters the city to save her and stop bigger plots taking shape. The Joker isn't doing so well after his Titan encounter (but as we saw at Arkham Asylum's end, Bane, Scarecrow and Killer Croc might just have been fuelled by it) so will taunt you and attack from the shadows, but developer Rocksteady Studios promise more one-to-one encounters than before and that the puzzles will require a lot more thinking than just pressing LB for Detective Mode (gasp!). I'm currently playing Arkham Asylum through for the third time- yes, it really is that fresh- and still consider it the best game of 2009 and one of my favourite video games ever, so won't be surprised at all if the expanded play space, combat enhancements and massive side-plots make Batman: Arkham City one of the best titles released this year for any format.