E3 2011: Batman: Arkham City E3 Demo Preview

Warner Bros. is proudly showing off Batman: Arkham City at the booth during the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and the long line outside proves that fans are excited. The follow-up to the excellent Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City looks to be a worthy sequel, taking the caped crusader to the dark rooftops of Gotham City. We already covered most of the E3 demo here in great detail, but Rocksteady Studios wanted to give us a quick look at the Penguin and a chance to show off Batman's new moveset when faced with 30 enemies.

The presentation began with Batman gliding over the seedy streets of Gotham, and then we were introduced to the flirtatious and highly talented Catwoman. While Catwoman will take up only 10 percent of your entire playtime, she's a crafty one and has skills that Batman can only dream of (or about). The demo highlighted Catwoman's pick-pocketing skills and her ability to crawl on ceilings. Her attacks are lethal, quick, and smooth, and she can nimbly drop behind a pair of unsuspecting guards and knock their heads together. She eventually made her way to the prize in the vault and had to make a decision whether or not she would retrieve Ivy's orchid. When this portion of the demo was over, the screen went blank. After a few moments, we heard the maniacal laughter of the Penguin, and we were back as Batman, but inside a rundown building that was decorated liberally with cobwebs. A devious criminal mastermind, the Penguin was in the process of lecturing Batman in what we presume to be his den, the "Iceberg Lounge." Armed with his signature umbrella, Oswald Cobblepot was interested in threatening Batman before unleashing a team of mentally unstable prisoners to take him down.

The purpose of this quick presentation was to show us what Batman was like when faced with a crowd. While Arkham Asylum had a lot of close-quarters one-on-one combat, the dark knight will at times need to face up to 30 or more enemies. In this particular demo, it was limited to 30, and he was able to chain his attacks to clear the room. Each well-timed punch was followed up by a swift kick into someone else, and it just kept going as long as there was someone else within limb's reach. Part of what made the last game so great was the satisfying combat, and Arkham City looks to continue that trend.

The game is set to ship in October of this year for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. In the meantime, check out our E3 live stage show in the video above.