Batman: Arkham City (AU)

Batman: Arkham City is a 2013 action-adventure video game developed by Rocksteady Studios and released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and Microsoft Windows. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to the 2010 video game Batman: Arkham Asylum and the second installment in the Batman: Arkham series. It was released worldwide for consoles, beginning in North America on October 18, 2011, with a Microsoft Windows version following on November 22.

Written by veteran Batman writer Paul Dini with Paul Crocker and Sefton Hill, Arkham City is based on the franchise's long-running comic book mythos. In the game's main storyline, Batman is incarcerated in Arkham City, a huge new super-prison enclosing the decaying urban slums of Gotham City. He must uncover the secret behind the sinister scheme, "Protocol 10", orchestrated by the facility's warden, Hugo Strange. The game's leading characters are predominantly voiced by actors from the DC Animated Universe, with Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin reprising their roles as Batman, the Joker and Harley Quinn, respectively. The game is presented from the third-person perspective with a primary focus on Batman's combat and stealth abilities, detective skills, and gadgets that can be used in both combat and exploration. Arkham City expands Batman's arsenal of gadgets and combat attacks and offers a more open world structure, allowing the player to complete side missions away from the primary storyline.

The game received universal critical acclaim, particularly for its narrative, character and world designs, soundtrack, and Batman's combat and navigation abilities. It was tied for the highest-rated video game of 2013 according to review aggregator Metacritic, and was the recipient of several awards including: Game of the Year, Best Action Game, Best Action Adventure Game, Best Adventure Game, and Best Original Score from various media outlets, and it is considered one of the best games ever made. A successor, Batman: Arkham Origins, was released in October 2015.

Characters
Arkham City features a large ensemble cast of characters from the history of Batman' comics. Returning characters from Arkham Asylum include Batman (Kevin Conroy), the Joker (Mark Hamill), Joker's sidekick and lover Halley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin), Warden-turned-Mayor Quincy Sharp (Tom Kane), police Commissioner James Gordon (Jonathan Banks), and reporter Jack Ryder (James Horan). Returning villains include the Riddler (Wally Wingert), Victor Zsasz (Danny Jacobs), Bane (Steven Blum), Killer Croc (Tony Todd), and Poison Ivy (Tasia Valenza). Batman's supporting cast introduces Catwoman (Grey DeLisle), Robin (Roger Craig Smith), and Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth (Martin Jarvis), who provides radio support alongside the returning Oracle (Ashley Greene).

Other characters marking their debut in the series include the manipulative warden of Arkham City, Hugo Strange (Corey Burton), Two-Face (Troy Baker), and the Penguin (Nolan North). Stana Katic lends her voice as Talia al Ghul, and Maurice LaMarche voices Mr. Freeze. Other characters include the zombie Solomon Grundy (Fred Tatasciore), the shapeshifter Clayface (Rick D. Wasserman), the League of Shadow's leader, Ra's al Ghul (Dee Bradley Baker), the mind-controlling Mad Hatter (Peter MacNicol), the mercenary-assassin Deathstroke (Mark Rolston), who has infiltrated Arkham City to kill several high-profile character targets, the psychotic Professor Pyg (Dwight Schultz) who leaves a pile of dead bodies for his creations, the "Dollotrons", the pyromaniac Firefly (Crispin Freeman) the cult leader Deacon Joseph Blackfire (Marc Worden) and the Batman-esque Prometheus (Giancarlo Esposito). The villain Hush (also voiced by Kevin Conroy), the mysterious Azrael (Khary Payton), and reporter Vicki Vale (Jennifer Hale) also appear. Black Mask (Brian Bloom), Calendar Man (Frank Welker) and Freeze's wife, Nora Fries, make cameo appearances in the game.