The Joker Returns in Arkham Asylum 2

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Surprise, surprise, the best Batman videogame of all time has spawned a sequel.

The Spike TV 2009 VGAs hosted the reveal of Batman: Arkham Asylum 2, a sequel to what many call the greatest superhero game of all time. Arkham Asylum 2 looks to take Batman to an even greater videogame height.

From the language used in the game’s press release, and due to a lack of any title at all in the trailer, it seems that Arkham Asylum 2‘s official name is still very much up in the air. What’s not up in the air is the return of the Joker, shown cackling and almost coughing up a lung alongside the also returning Harley Quinn.

What many gamers undoubtedly desired after the release of Arkham Asylum was the ability to explore the area of Gotham City outside of the crazy house. An open world videogame in the style of Grand Theft Auto may be too much to expect here, but at the very least we know Arkham Asylum 2 is not taking us back to the same environment. The trailer shows the Joker lording over a dark and exploding Gotham City, which must need to be saved somehow. The last clue we have on the game is its official website, hinting that Arkham has moved, whatever that may mean.

Batman: Arkham Asylum was both a critical and financial success, so it’d be silly to place the sequel in any company’s hands other than original developer Rocksteady Studios. Most importantly, when videogames make money a developer often earns the leeway to develop an even better sequel, giving Arkham Asylum 2 a whole lot of potential.

UPDATE: Also, The Lost Gamer has a theory that Two Face will make an appearance in the game. Looking at this picture from Arkham Asylum 2‘s website, I’d say that’s just about confirmed.

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