Ever since The Dark Knight hit theaters to nearly universal acclaim, I’ve noticed the horned silhouette of Batman popping up more and more frequently. And not just in movie posters. In fact, it seems that the success of the latest Batman flick has helped out the caped crusader’s career as a videogame star. There are no fewer then 4 games starring Gotham City’s favorite billionaire vigilante set to be released, and in a surprising turn of events, they all have the potential to be good.

LEGO Batman - Following in the tradition of the LEGO Stars Wars and Indiana Jones games, game developer Traveller’s Tales will be taking the Batman universe and LEGOfying it. Like those games, it will feature a blend of action, adventure, and vehicular segments all geared towards an audience ranging from children to adults.

Players will get a chance to take a ride in the Batmobile, Batboat, and Batwing while battling enemies ranging from the Joker to the Riddler. If the other LEGO games are any indication, LEGO Batman should be plenty of fun, with tons of hilarious in-jokes and lots of unlockable secrets.

Batman: Arkham Asylum - On the other end of the spectrum we have Batman: Arkham Asylum. While LEGO Batman will be family friendly fare, this game taps into the darker side of the Dark Knight. Set in Gotham’s infamous Arkham Asylum, Batman must fight his way through a variety of different foes after the Joker takes control of the facility.

Early reports claim that the game features a dark and disturbing atmosphere similar to recently released BioShock, which was all kinds of creepy. Even cooler: in addition to the hand-to-hand action Batman is known for, the game will also focus on his sleuthing capabilities with a series of CSI style puzzles to solve.

Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe - OK so he may not be the star, but Batman certainly is one of the major draws of this one-on-one fighter. He will join the likes Superman, Green Lantern, and The Flash as they take on the warriors from the Mortal Kombat universe. Some of the first footage of the game showed off the Dark Knight holding his own against none other then Sub-Zero, proving that super-powers aren’t a necessity to kicking ass.

The Dark Knight - The most mysterious of the bunch is the tie-in with the blockbuster film. While games based off of hit movies are almost always a certainty, The Dark Knight has yet to receive that treatment. Though little is known about the game, actor Gary Oldman (Commissioner Gordon) let it slip that it is in fact in development, and is expected to ship in time to coincide with the film’s eventual release on DVD. Unfortunately, that’s about all we know about the game.

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Andrew Webster is a freelance writer based in Toronto who covers comics, movies, videogames, and anything else that will rot out your brain. Check out his personal site to read more of his incoherent ramblings.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 14th, 2008 at 11:28 pm and is filed under Tales From The Basement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.