Warners has released a new trailer for Batman: Arkham City, starring The Riddler. The more I see, the more I'm looking forward to this game. What do you think, folks? For me, this is currently my most anticipated game of the year. What are your thoughts? Are you going to buy Arkham City when it hits stores October 18 (or pre-order like I did)?

These new screencaps from the upcoming Batman: Arkham City are, sadly, pretty small. Which is a shame, because they look spectacular. Even with the itty-bitty size, you can notice cool details like the eyes on new baddies Riddler and Penguin; they look like a whole new level of crazy, which is appropriate for a game based on the premise of a citywide insane asylum.

Since he was first revealed as a playable character in Batman: Arkham City, Rocksteady's redesigned Robin has been the topic of a lot of talk among the fans. More than any character other than Harley Quinn, this Robin has been given a distinctive new look, going beyond the black, white and red minimized color consistent with Arkham City promotional art and extending to his shaved head and an aura of brooding badassery.

Personallly I wasn't surprised, shocked or dismayed - there's the Arkham Asylum games universe, and its every bit as distinctive in its own way as any other DC spinoff universe, like the world of the JLU. It's not as if, in any of his monthly titles, Batman utilizes an explosive gel gun for like, everything. Yet in the game, he does. I have no problem with that, and I have no problem with a skinhead Robin.

Others did. Robot 6 reports of commenters comparing Arkham City's Robin to Eminem and even calling him "horribly Schumacher-esque" Ouuuch.

Rocksteady Studios' Senior Concept Artist Kan Muftic has decided that the time has come to address the situation, and give "The Final on Robin" in a post on the Arkham City community message boards:

"We wanted to create a Robin that players would identify as a contemporary character and move away from the traditional “Boy Wonder” image that most people know. Our vision of Robin is the one of a troubled young individual that is calm and introverted at times but very dangerous and aggressive if provoked. The shaved head is inspired by cage fighters, because we thought that Robin might be doing that in his spare time to keep him on his toes. Still, we kept all the classic trademarks of Robin’s appearance, such as the red and yellow colors of his outfit, the cape and the mask.

We really hope that people will discover our Robin as one of their new favorite characters in the Batman universe. He is back and he means business."

Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment recently unveiled a killer 12-minute clip of gameplay from the upcoming Batman: Arkham City.

Now here's even more gameplay footage - picking up right where the previous clip left off, no less! This demonstration, from Rocksteady Games marketing manager Dax Ginn, is from Japan Expo 2011, which is the same carnival of awesome that played host to the dancing Ironettes.

Batman: Arkham City will be released in the U.S. on October 18.

Catwoman, Two-Face, and Batman - it's a crowded madhouse in Batman: Arkham City, the upcoming sequel to maybe the greatest superhero game ever. It looks every inch the awesome game that Arkham Asylum was and then some, with a cast of Gotham's nastiest characters and an entire criminal city as your sandbox. Ohh and that Catwoman. See for yourself, as Warner Bros. Interactive and DC Entertainment show what they've got with this clip featuring 12 minutes of gameplay.

Batman: Arkham City is scheduled for release October 18. I've already put in my pre-order, how about you?

Best Buy was the source of last week's announcement that Robin would be a playable character in Batman: Arkham City when they announced that he would be unlocked to gamers who pre-ordered from their website. Well today they've updated the announcement to include new details and more importantly - a look at Robin himself.

That's Tim Drake, all right. Not how he'll look in the DC Universe come September of course - or how he's looked ever (skinhead much?), but close enough for disco. We've got the staff, and a general air of badassery, along with a black, white and red color scheme in keeping with Arkham City's uniquely dark vision of the DCU.

In any case, the game looks awesome and the playable Robin, while doubtlessly DLC that will be available to everyone, is officially enticing enough that I just pre-ordered the game from Best Buy, my first purchase from the chain in some 7 years or so.

Hey, they've thrown in a Red Robin skin, how was I supposed to resist?

The cover art for the upcoming Batman: Arkham City is in keeping with much of the promotional material we've seen for the game to date.

Stark black and white, a highly stylized kind of grim, with faint traces of just one color - red. Batman is going to bring. The. Hurt.

These Batarang-shaped PS3 and XBox 360 controllers are showing at E3, and will be released to time with the October release of Batman: Arkham City

Here's the complete press release from peripheral maker POWER A:

Fight Crime in Batman: Arkham City This Fall with the Batarang Controller from POWER A

Batarang Controller for PLAYSTATION® 3 and Xbox 360® to Debut at E3 EXPO June 7-9 in Los Angeles

E3 Expo 2011
June 03, 2011 09:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

LOS ANGELES--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--E3 EXPO, Booth #5522 West Hall -- POWER A today announced it will debut official Batarang controllers for Batman Arkham City at the E3 Expo June 7-9 in Los Angeles. Developed by Rocksteady Studios and based on DC Comics' core Batman property, Batman: Arkham City is published worldwide by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Batman fans will revel in the authenticity of the design of the Batarang, while gamers will appreciate the comfort and performance that POWER A brings to these one-of-a-kind controllers. The Batarang controller for PLAYSTATION® 3 is wireless with reverse analog sticks and a Batman-themed USB RF receiver. The Batarang controller for Xbox 360® is a wired controller with a 10-foot / 3m inline release cable.

"POWER A understands the high quality standard that partnering with a legendary brand such as Batman demands," said John Moore, vice president of product development and marketing for POWER A. "We are committed to making the best possible controller to amplify the experience players have with Batman: Arkham City, and the Batarang does just that. It's not just a great Batman collectible, but a high-performance controller worthy of the Batman: Arkham City game."

The Batman: Arkham City Batarang controller will be available at key retailers in conjunction with the game's October 18, 2011 North American release date.

Just when you thought you couldn't be any more psyched for the release of Batman: Arkham City, along comes this new trailer starring Catwoman. Based on all the gameplay footage here, it looks like you get to spend some time prowling around, breaking hearts and cracking skulls as Selina in the game. Here's hoping for an entire Catwoman level - or levels even, that would be awesome.