Rocksteady: Arkham City “five times bigger” than Arkham Asylum

In an interview with Gamespot, Sefton Hill, head of Rocksteady Studios has stated that the locale footprint of Arkham City is “five times bigger” than the Island on which Arkham Asylum is located. But the developers aren’t doing it  “just for the sake of it” and have ensured that it ain’t just GTA with Batman.

“In Batman: Arkham Asylum, we really focused our effort on creating an intense, pressure-cooker atmosphere by locking Batman in the madhouse and allowing The Joker to turn up the heat. ”

“In Arkham City, we want to take that attitude to the next level, so we created an experience in which gamers will have a huge amount of navigational freedom, but they will also feel the extreme pressure of the challenges that they face.”

“Players will be able to go anywhere at any time, but we have made sure that players will always have a very clear idea of where they are needed most if they want to just stick to the core narrative path of the game. Explore the streets of Arkham City, and you will find many side missions, secrets, and street brawls, so players won’t find it difficult to get into some trouble if that’s what they are looking for.”

“Explore the streets of Arkham City, and you will find many side missions, secrets, and street brawls, so players won’t find it difficult to get into some trouble if that’s what they are looking for.”

Arkham City will not offer you as much freedom as other sandbox games, as the developer would have to sacrifice atmosphere to achieve it.

“Arkham City is its own place; a massive superprison, jam packed with supervillains, thugs, and psychopaths. There aren’t any rules, but it has a law of its own, and this is why it is a perfect setting for Batman. Gamers will have to think and act like the Dark Knight if they want to survive in a place like Arkham City.”

Batman: Arkham City is slated for a fall 2011 release on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, and judging by the track record, the wait will sure as hell be worth it