The Next Two Batman Games

I’m going to do a full write-up on Batman: Arkham Asylum once I’ve finished it. For now I just want to speculate on the inevitable sequels. A-list games tend to blow up into trilogies anymore, and Batman will probably be no exception. However, for as many villains as there are in Batman’s rogue gallery only a couple can really carry the weight the way Joker does in Arkham Asylum. And, of course, madness and fear are only one aspect of the Dark Knight’s mythos. So here’s what I’m looking forward to…

Batman: Gotham at Midnight. The various factions of Gotham’s sordid criminal underworld are about to bubble over into open war. Batman has to navigate the dives and back alleys of Gotham City and play one faction against another in order to keep the streets safe. This one doesn’t even need a primary villain; Two-Face, Penguin, Scarface, Catwoman, and any number of lesser-knowns all have their role to play. Dial back the infiltration aspect a bit, emphasize the role of investigation and detective work, and give us a few Bruce Wayne segments. (Because Wayne can get to some places that Batman can’t.) Stir in a small bit of Grand Theft Auto in the form of a living, breathing city to explore… but only a small amount. You wouldn’t want to overshadow the things that already make the first game so great.

Batman: Lazarus. Ra’s Al-Ghul approaches Wayne Enterprises with a masterful plan to develop a variety of clean energy-producing technologies. The first act involves Batman investigating Ra’s’s (did I do that right?) true motives, but turns up nothing malevolent. Only after Wayne signs off on the deal do things start to go… awry. Batman then has to put the pieces of Ra’s’s centuries-old scheme together in an adventure that spans the entire globe. (Just, er, keep Superman out of it. Nobody likes that guy.)

Of course both of these games would need the same Riddler challenges and Scarecrow levels that Arkham Asylum has. Those are already super-best.