After reading the premise of Batman: Arkham City, it seems as if it is a low rent version of No Man's Land. One wonders why the creators did not simply recreate NML?
Why Arkham City instead of NML?
- Thread starter Gotham Central
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I always thought that No Man's Land would make the best possible Batman game. Make it an open-city-world game like Crackdown where you can scale buildings and glide off them. You have to take back the city block by block from the enemy gangs each lead by a super-villain boss. And you get to recruit allies; civilians, cops, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, etc. Would have been awesome.
They probably want to play off the Arkham theme and name at moment for sales but I think NML should be saved for the next game to make a kick ass trilogy of games. Get bigger with each game going from the Asylum to streets then the entire city.
Not to mention the fact they're probably using Arkham City as a pseudo tie-in for "The Dark Knight Rises" and an original storyline with characters rumored for the movie makes most sense as opposed to adaption a comic book story. I wouldn't call the plot for Arkham City a "low rent" version of NML. There are similarities but they're two totally different story lines.
Also, the guys behind these games seem pretty creative, I don't think they're interested in simply adapting a story like No Man's Land. They seem interested in telling their own story using the characters.
I tend to agree. The creative team have shown that just like the writers and producers of the DC animated shows (yes, I know Paul Dini was on the payroll for Arkham Asylum) they're perfectly capable of crafting their own narrative from the existing characters and settings with their own unique stamp.
Still, I would defiantly agree that the basic premise of NML would be ideal for a massive GTA/Saints Row 2 style free roaming game. The premise mind, not she story because NML didn't really have a central narrative, just a series of conflicts as the city is gradually put back together. A video game would need a central villain, an overarching plot and a climax. All of which would need to be specifically crafted.
Still, I would defiantly agree that the basic premise of NML would be ideal for a massive GTA/Saints Row 2 style free roaming game. The premise mind, not she story because NML didn't really have a central narrative, just a series of conflicts as the city is gradually put back together. A video game would need a central villain, an overarching plot and a climax. All of which would need to be specifically crafted.
I highly doubt that Christopher Nolan gives a shit about a video game that's coming out eight months before his movie.
^Yeah, I'm fairly sure the use of Hugo Strange in both the upcoming movie and new game is just a coincidence. If you know where to look in Arkham Asylum you'll see the developers have at least been thinking about Arkham City since before the first game shipped. Plus of course Hugo was one of a plethora of characters who's presence was felt via the Riddler challenges (you break into his old office at one point.)
^You'd be surprised what DC ENT has their hands on and doesn't. So I guess I'm the only one who finds it curious that Hugo Strange is one of the main characters, Talia Al Ghul is another character who has an expanded role and Catwoman too? I never said anything about Nolan in the first place.
And Two-Face, and The Joker, and Mr. Freeze, and Harley Quinn, and Zsasz. Given that Arkham City was in development since a few months before Arkham Asylum shipped in August 2009 (which was quite some time before any real work began on Batman 3), I don't think there's any connection whatsoever.
(Especially since we don't even know who anyone is playing in The Dark Knight Rises, and the rumors have run the gamut from Riddler to Killer Croc to Strange to Bane to God knows what else the Internet has come up with.)
Curious? Sure. Suspicious? Not really. Just looking at it from the game's POV, it makes sense to prominently feature former Arkham employees turned villains and since they used two of them already (Quinn & Crane) and invented a third, that only leaves Strange and perhaps Lock-Up for the sequel.
As for Selina and (supposedly) Talia making appearances, as Timby points out they're not the only ones hinted at having expanded roles in AC. I think their have also been reports of Calendar Man, Black Mask, Penguin plus of course Joker and Harley are set to return.
As for the filmakers, they decided that given the way they ended Dark Knight, adapting (at least in part) Prey was a logical progression and a good fit. From what little we know of the plot of AC, it doesn't have very much to do with DKR's purported plot (aside from Strange's usual shtick with Batman's identity.)
Of course I could be wrong and maybe Chris Nolan told Rock Steady in 2009 that they were planning on using Hugo Strange...but honestly, I doubt it.
Well, the Penguin was hinted at in the announcement teaser last year (the Iceberg Lounge was seen), but we know that the plot has a couple of major threads: Dr. Strange was installed as the warden of Arkham City by Mr. Batshit himself, Mayor Sharp. Two-Face was recently incarcerated in Arkham City, and is attempting to establish himself as a strong force in the population (which is where the scene of him preparing to kill Catwoman comes from). The Joker's in there, too, and has some sort of grand scheme (and there's a prominent gameplay mechanic regarding the wars between Joker and Two-Face's gangs). All the while, Strange is doing whatever it is Strange does (mostly being batshit crazy and obsessive over Bats' identity). Mr. Freeze's appearance will most likely be as a mid-level plot device / villain, not entirely unlike Poison Ivy in Arkham Asylum.
Again, at the very least, the story and script were completed by the end of 2009, which is when Mark Hamill's involvement was confirmed (saying that the script was too good to pass up, so while Arkham Asylum was originally his final go-'round in the role, he decided to do it again -- a comment that was repeated in recent press materials). So, yeah, I really see no connection whatsoever between Arkham City and The Dark Knight Rises.
I didn't say that there was a connection. I simply pointed out that there is a coincidence in the use of some of the characters and the tone of the video game's plot. Also a tie-in doesn't necessarily mean a connection to the film either. The release of the game can be looked at as a nice build up towards the movie.
S
Stone_Cold_Sisko
Guest
I think a slummy section of Gotham walled off is a little more realistic (relatively speaking) than the entire Gotham City becoming this nightmare zone wasteland.
Also I imagine they want to do their own storyline, and also it's a sequel to Arkham Asylum, a mega-hit game.
Also I imagine they want to do their own storyline, and also it's a sequel to Arkham Asylum, a mega-hit game.
As much as I really liked the NML stories, I tend to agree. I never really bought the idea that a whole city could just be abandoned by the world at large. If I were to adapt it into another medium I'd defiantly give a much better reason why the city is cut off...like the whole planet got hit by the same thing or there's a mysterious impenetrable fog at the city limits or Braniac shrunk the city and they're stuck in a jar...something realistic like that. 
