Nolan’s second Batman chef-d’oeuvre, that is The Dark Knight, is breaking all sorts of records at the box office which no doubt stimulates one to wonder why isn’t there a movie tie-in to cash in on the breathtaking success that even the producers themselves didn’t see coming. While Electronic Arts is yet to confirm or debunk the rumour that Pandemic Studios has a title based on The Dark Knight in the works, Eidos Interactive pulls no punches, announcing that it’s developing Batman: Arkham Asylum based on the DC Comics series.

With Rocksteady Games, the developer behind Urban Chaos: Riot Response, at the helm, the game starts with the player taking on the role of Batman who’s on his way to Arkham Asylum, with The Joker in his clutches. Little does he know however that the imprisoned super-villains set a trap, thus triggering “an immersive combat gaming experience.”

Said Phil Rogers, CEO of Eidos Interactive:

“In Batman: Arkham Asylum Eidos and Warner Bros. are building a true action adventure game experience worthy of gamers and fans. Players become Batman, like he has never been seen before in a video game, as he fights through intense circumstances in Arkham Asylum utilizing his intuitive detective skills and aggressive melee attacks.”

Commented Martin Tremblay, President at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment:

“Batman: Arkham Asylum offers players the chance to battle Gotham’s worst villains with Batman’s physical and psychological strength in a graphically distinct and story-driven game. We look forward to working with Eidos on expanding DC Comics’ world-renowned character Batman in the game space with a noticeably different feature set in an incredibly dark interactive environment.”

Courtesy of NeoGAF forums, we’ve compiled a list of details that go in depth about the game’s combat mechanics:

• Boss Battles won’t necessarily be a series of straight pugilistic fights. Each enemy represents a different side of Batman and not all of them can match his wide skill set. Some battles are focused on combat others will focus on gadgets some are similar to giant Zelda style bosses.
• Combat description in the magazine talks about Batman perched on a high ledge in a wide open room as he watches some of the Joker’s thugs rifle through drawers. Batman switches to investigation mode using a blue tinted visor that among other things lets Batman see his enemies through walls and identifies things like guns and knives. One thug is carrying a machine gun so Batman jumps of the ledge, spreads his cape and kicks him in the face. He then swipes his cape in a large arc to stun his other enemies and then goes to work on them with a stylish blend of punches, kicks, a knee to the face here a behind the back elbow there. Combat has a gymnastic flourish and is accomplished using only three buttons. Attack, Stun and Throw.
• Combat is only one element of the game so the developers didn’t want a bunch of button combos that you’d forget because you’ll be doing other things besides fighting.
• During battle a combo multiplier at the top of the screen will increase with every strike. Once the combo expires a colony of bats will swirl around Batman and then contribute to an experience bar on the left side of the screen. In an RPG like skill tree system players will be able to distribute points where they prefer. Think Combat moves, faster takedowns, or gadget upgrades like the ability to throw multiple batarangs at the same time.
• Gadgets are revealed by collecting items in secret rooms. You’ll need gadgets to survive as there are very tough enemies in the game that you can’t just go head to head with (Think Killer Croc, he’s 10 feet tall in the game and super tough)
• There are sections that involve sneaking but the developers call them Predatory gameplay sections as stealth tends to imply weakness, they prefer to think of it as picking off the weak people or people you wouldn’t last too long in direct fight with from strong positions. The example they give in the article is Batman creating distractions with bodies and victim’s yells and then stalking the guards as they go to inspect.

For more interesting tidbits about the game taken from the latest issue of Game Informer, click here.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is in development for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC and is slated for a 2009 release.