It ain’t easy being a sidekick. No matter how hard you work, or how much personal trauma you overcome, the superhero always gets the headlines, or in the case of Batman: Arkham City, the video game. But according to an offer posted on Best Buy’s website and in one of the retailer’s flyers, those who pre-order the game will be able to unlock a playable version of Batman’s trusty accomplice Robin for two challenge maps.
The online promotion advertising unlockable downloadable content allowing players to embody the Boy Wonder in Arkham City hasn’t been confirmed by the developers just yet, but the hopes of comic book fans everywhere have already been raised.
Whether Best Buy jumped the gun or was given faulty information to begin with, it seems likely that while Robin may not be joining Batman on his more-than-lengthy singleplayer campaign, the crimson kid will be giving players a new character with which to tackle some challenge maps.
The ad doesn’t state if the challenge maps in question are included with the pre-order or will ship with the retail version. But for Batman fans, the only thing that matters is that after being snubbed by Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and Rocksteady Studios’ Arkham Asylum, Robin is finally being given some much-deserved attention.
Arkham Asylum fans are likely still reeling from having Catwoman confirmed as playable in Arkham City’s campaign, and while Robin’s forms of traversal may not be as different from Batman’s as hers, you won’t hear us complaining. Simply being able to see a Robin design as dark and gritty as that of Arkham City is impossible to resist, especially given the tragic history of everyone to bear the mantle.
Some skeptics may see the addition of Robin to challenge maps as a cop-out, or simply a fan service for those demanding to see Robin alongside some of the Dark Knight’s greatest villains. But Rocksteady has given fans plenty of reasons to trust their decisions, and if Robin appears in challenge maps with unique animations, lines of dialogue, or even character-specific ways of traversing Crime Alley, it could be hinting further involvement in the future of the game series.
That could mean anything from DLC featuring or centered around Robin post-release, or even a chance for co-op in whatever game comes after Arkham City in the franchise, should Rocksteady decide to make one. We won’t get our co-op hopes up, but depending on the nature of the still-unannounced appearance of Robin in Arkham City, it could be a possibility.
What do you think of the idea of a playable Robin in the Arkham series? Think it’s an inevitability, or something that should be avoided at all costs?
Batman: Arkham City is scheduled for a release on Xbox 360 and PS3 on October 18, 2011.
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Source: ArkhamCity.co.uk
