Two Batman: Arkham Asylum DLC packs releasing over two weeks
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Sep 10th 2009 at 10:30AM } 
It appears the upcoming expansions will be brand new, and won't be re-releases of pre-order exclusive DLC, such as "Dem Bones" and "Crime Alley." We don't know any other details on the two upcoming releases, but we do know this: we want them. Now.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Storm Eagle [Resident Capcom Megafan] @ Sep 10th 2009 10:31AM
Insane Night? Prey in the Darkness?
Those sound like the titles of Challenge Rooms to me!
whylekat @ Sep 10th 2009 10:35AM
Right! Predator challenges!!
8-bit.artist @ Sep 10th 2009 10:33AM
man, i wanted to beat up skeletons. WHY MUST I BE PUNISHED FOR NOT PRE ORDERING AT GAMESTOP!?
whylekat @ Sep 10th 2009 10:38AM
I guess for the same reason I'm punished for not owning a PS3. =/
*sigh* I wanna kill cops as Mr. J!
Faceman @ Sep 10th 2009 10:45AM
I'm pretty sure they will release both exclusive CRs at some point, but they obviously won't do it for another 3-4 months at least...
8-bit.artist @ Sep 10th 2009 11:06AM
the joker content is paid for by sony. you will never see it on a 360. just like ps3 owners will never see the dlc episodes from gta4 as they were paid for exclusively by microsoft.
pmagod @ Sep 11th 2009 12:45AM
I got lucky, I didnt pre-order but they gave me the bonus anyways
RoC1909 @ Sep 13th 2009 7:28PM
Uh...that is the WHOLE POINT in pre-ordering!?! And WHY should the people who pre-ordered be screwed over by having the EXCLUSIVE content they paid for, given away or sold??? Jeez...use your head.
Ben @ Sep 10th 2009 10:39AM
Hey you didn't acknowledge people who tip'd you about this (including myself)...oh well can't wait for this dlc!
Storm Eagle [Resident Capcom Megafan] @ Sep 10th 2009 10:56AM
Cry me a river.
ben @ Sep 10th 2009 11:05AM
@Storm Eagle [Resident Capcom Megafan]
What version Barbra Streisand or Justin Timberlake? lol
Theres no need to be rude
Andrew Yoon @ Sep 10th 2009 11:16AM
Actually Ben, we wrote this story up before you sent in that tip! (Let's not forget that we have some close ties with the EU PS.Blog...) Thanks for sending it in though.
Storm Eagle [Resident Capcom Megafan] @ Sep 10th 2009 11:19AM
Hi Andrew!
ben @ Sep 10th 2009 11:27AM
Thanks for letting me know that Andrew, it must have just been a coincidence that I sent you a tip and you made a post very soon after and I assumed I as well as others had sent you the tip and I have seen posts thanking people for sending info in before :-). Sorry for the misunderstanding.
(Still doesn't mean 'Storm Eagle [Resident Capcom Megafan]' should be rude though and act smug!)
The Alex @ Sep 10th 2009 10:39AM
I really wish this trend of pre-order bonus content ends. I live way the fuck up in Northern Canada, where we don't have any of those stores (like Gamestop, Futureshop, Best Buy, etc), so there's no way I COULD pre-order these games even if I wanted to.
So, I miss out just because of where I live? That's fuckin' retarded!
I really hope companies start realizing this, and give us an oppertunity to obtain this extra content by other means, such as DLC maybe 6 months after the game launches.
----
As for the new DLC content that will be available to everyone, I'm pretty excited, Batman was a killer game, but I really hope it goes beyond Challenge Rooms, but I can't imagine what it would be, especially if they're free content. I can't see them tacking on a free storyline, but it would be very cool if they did.
whylekat @ Sep 10th 2009 10:45AM
You could still pre-order online and get the bonuses
The Alex @ Sep 10th 2009 10:48AM
Nope, you can't. Gamestop doesn't supply to Canada. EB Games (the Canadian equivilant to Gamestop) doesn't sell games online. I mentioned Future Shop, but they rarely get ANY pre-order bonus crap. And Best Buy only has Pre-order goodies for US customers.
So, it's less to do with where I live in Canada, and more to do with the fact I live in Canada. I'm sure other Canadians would agree. We do get some Pre-order bonuses, but not nearly as much as our American gaming counterparts.
Grimcicle @ Sep 10th 2009 10:53AM
Preorder from the U.S. site ebgames.com. They ship to Canada (I live in B.C. and I've ordered from it before) and offer the preorder bonuses. Just so long as you don't mind paying in USD.
whylekat @ Sep 10th 2009 3:09PM
Wow that sucks..
Moustafa @ Sep 17th 2009 6:08PM
Actually, Gamestops are appearing over here. At least, they are in Quebec.
Spallit @ Sep 10th 2009 10:40AM
Am I the only one who is going to be disappointed with challenge rooms? The single player is so thoroughly enjoyable, why can't they build on the games strengths, instead of tacking on extra distractions?
tmacairjordan87 @ Sep 10th 2009 10:45AM
That's the thing though. The best part of batman were the rooms where you had to use stealth and plan how to take down the 5 or so armed baddies. These sound like predator challenges (I'm sure at least 1 will be), which are the best parts about Batman.
LaughingMan @ Sep 10th 2009 10:46AM
I think I would agree with you that the single player campaign provides much more interesting things for the player to do than to just sit in a room beating up guys, but the challenge rooms are boatloads of fun if you dive into them.
I've spent hours trying to perfect my combos... just last night I got the Freeflow Perfection trophy, with Variation x9.
whylekat @ Sep 10th 2009 10:47AM
There's 5 different game slots..
Start a new game, Replay fantastic story mode, Problem solved. =)
Spallit @ Sep 10th 2009 10:52AM
I guess we enjoyed different things about the game then. The combat is fun, but I enjoyed the actors and story much more.
As long as someone is happy :)
Viney @ Sep 10th 2009 11:00AM
I thought the story was extremely well done, and complete as it is. What else, within the confines of Arkham, is there left to cover? Anything else would just feel tacked on and break up the cohesiveness. And any remaining story outside of Arkham would be better left for a sequel, where they can really flesh it out. It's like deleted scenes from a movie. Sometimes they're entertaining, but there's a reason they were left out of the final cut.
Don't get me wrong, I love the story and more is usually better, but I wouldn't want them to start tacking on patched in sub-plots just for the sake of cashing in on DLC when they've already got a successful plot set in place. The success of the story mode is reason enough to leave it alone as it is. Save the DLC for challenges rooms and whatnot like new levels or a new playable challenge room character or heck, maybe even a new gameplay mode if something else works, but at the risk of convoluting an otherwise good thing, leave the story alone.
Spallit @ Sep 10th 2009 11:22AM
I agree with what you're saying, but I didn't mean to imply that the DLC should be a continuation of the main plot. I would almost prefer something new, a short story as opposed to "deleted scenes". Something similar to the Red Faction Demons of the Badland DLC.
The Batman universe is quite large, they could have a little side story of a different character, Robin, or Batgirl. One of the things I loved about the game, is that it assumed the player already had knowledge of the Batman universe and built upon it.
So much more could be done with DLC, and it seems to me that a lot of developers choose the "easy" route.
Warlock @ Sep 10th 2009 11:32AM
I'll be slightly disappointed if they are challenge maps (unless they are really good challenge maps - a stealth map in a location *not* from the single player would be fun). I just never really got into the challenge maps I guess. The stealth ones are pretty fun but it's just a repeat of what I did in single player. And the fighting ones I find boring. So I'm still hoping it's something original.. but I sort of doubt it will be :(
Viney @ Sep 10th 2009 11:42AM
If they did a little side story of a different character I'd be hesitant to see someone like Robin or Batgirl. I'd rather keep it confined to characters already in the game. Maybe playing the perspective of some of the villains within the story. Joker's/Riddler's escape from prison? Harley's takeover of the security system? Terrorizing people as Scarecrow? Something like that would be great. But squeezing another character like Robin into the story, that doesn't already have an established role in Arkham Asylum, just because they exist in the Batman universe would feel too forced.
Spallit @ Sep 10th 2009 11:48AM
Let me clarify, that the DLC does not have to take place in the asylum. Find something that works, create new environments if necessary, and charge a fair price for the content if you have to.
Again, I just really like the characters in Batman, and would love to see more of them developed.
Viney @ Sep 10th 2009 12:50PM
I can almost guarantee you there won't be any environments outside of Arkham that'd be added as DLC to THIS game just to add a new character. The Batman universe is obviously larger than that, but this game is centered on Arkham. It'd be like adding DLC to Bioshock that didn't take place in Rapture. It'd just feel out of place with the rest of the focus of the game. Yes, I'd like to see different environments too, but I definitely believe they would hold off on that for a sequel, where those environments would be more cohesive with the game as a whole.
tmacairjordan87 @ Sep 10th 2009 10:44AM
Sounds like new predator challenge rooms, which is a huge + for me even though I already traded in the game (needed to get MW2 somehow). If they're both free too, that's even better.
The Alex @ Sep 10th 2009 10:57AM
Ugh, and there-in lies the problem, pre-ordering in US funds... kind turns the "Bonus" into "Bone Us" (as in Bone us Canadians... ugh, nevermind).
Regardless, forcing consumers to pre-order in another country for content that is DOWNLOADED is fucking retarded. I could understand missing out on physical swag (though that still sucks), but to miss out on downloadable content just because there's a border in the way... how does that make any sense? Why not simply offer free DLC for the first month a game is released... no pre-orders needed, just reward every gamer who buys the game in the first month... then after the first month, the DLC gets removed and maybe put back on in 6 months for a small fee.
Deaddy @ Sep 10th 2009 10:58AM
Where's Crime Alley from, the collector's edition? Never heard of it until now. I assume there will be one predator and one combat challenge, but I wish they were both predator. That was the best element of the game. Not good at the combat.
The Alex @ Sep 10th 2009 11:01AM
Ugh, and there-in lies the problem, pre-ordering in US funds... kind turns the "Bonus" into "Bone Us" (as in Bone us Canadians... ugh, nevermind).
Regardless, forcing consumers to pre-order in another country for content that is DOWNLOADED is fucking retarded. I could understand missing out on physical swag (though that still sucks), but to miss out on downloadable content just because there's a border in the way... how does that make any sense? Why not simply offer free DLC for the first month a game is released... no pre-orders needed, just reward every gamer who buys the game in the first month... then after the first month, the DLC gets removed and maybe put back on in 6 months for a small fee.
The Alex @ Sep 10th 2009 11:03AM
Sorry for double post - trying to "reply" to my original post up the page there... doesn't seem to be working for me... :(
Downvote away... send me to Oblivion!
LuckyEMS @ Sep 10th 2009 11:13AM
man i would have loved to pre-order in England and get these bonuses
o wait
Jose @ Sep 10th 2009 11:45AM
Can we please get a GD PC tag up in this piece?
evanescfan @ Sep 10th 2009 1:39PM
CRIME ALLEY:
what again exactly was one supposed to do to get that exclusive?
i understand dem bones required a preorder from gamestop.
Maulok @ Sep 10th 2009 1:57PM
It was exclusive content for buying the $100 Collector's Edition, if I'm not mistaken.
HT UK @ Sep 10th 2009 11:47AM
If it has to be a challenge room, I really hope it's one of the Silent Predator ones
Benny @ Sep 10th 2009 11:54AM
I think a Horde mode/Terrorist hunt/Firefight would be cool, endless swarms of badguys coming at you in one of the open areas outdoors, or maybe in Crocs cave or somewhere fairly large like that. easy to program too, nothing new to add aside from a little code.
Ryguy226 @ Sep 10th 2009 12:34PM
I was thinking the same thing, something along the lines of what the Scarecrow map is about, except the game doesn't end if you're hit ONCE. I would love to just beat up random punks/skeletons/guards/etc. in increasingly difficult waves to see how far I could kick ass.
ignfan69 @ Sep 10th 2009 11:58AM
Hello Eidos!
I'd rather pay 5 bucks for something better than just a challenge room.
kentuckyfried @ Sep 10th 2009 1:42PM
This is just more challenge rooms?
It would be nice if they added DLC standalone SP content.
Haywire @ Sep 10th 2009 4:00PM
I want instant boss battle DLC!
I really want to replay the Scarecrow sections without having to play the story mode again, also it would be cool to give the bosses a few more tricks to make them more challenging. "Killer Croc (Extreme)" anyone?