New Scoop on BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY - 5 Times Bigger than Original & Possible Co-Op Play (Minor Spoilers)

Thank goodness for small favors. Like a any addict, I need my fix and thankfully the "Official PlayStation Magazine" and Comics Alliance gives us die hard Arkham fans some news on the plot, abilities, co-op mode, etc.

According to VG247's coverage:

The fenced-off area is five times the size of Arkham Asylum. Batman, obviously, doesn't like it: "He's been monitoring this place," said director Sefton Hill. "He's worried. He thinks it's a time-bomb waiting to explode into the streets of Gotham."

I am very excited to hear that Batman has a new gadget called a Grapple Boot, which pulls him up and launches him into the air, and can be combined with a new dive which pulls into high-speed, street level flight. Essentially, the Dark Knight can fly whcih is pretty sweet.

According to Chris Sims of Comics Alliance, Batman will also has a second zip line, "which he can shoot out while using the first: think classic Spider Man." Now that will make "zipping" around Arkham fun as hell.

The tidbit that will have Arkham fans and video gamers as a whole excited is the hint that there might be co-op play in the form of Catwoman. If you recall one of the previews, Batman rescues her from Two-Face, as depicted on the "GameInformer" cover from a few weeks back. -- and when asked if the fact that she uses her whip much the same way as Batman's grappling hook meant she'd be playable, Sefton Hill's response, "I'm not allowed to comment on that."

As far as other gameplay news, Hill revealed that there will be optional side-quests in the form of crimes that can be solved detective-style, by examining multiple pieces of evidence. It's a nice touch to show Batman as the World's Greatest Detective and not just a dude who kicks criminals in the face, and it seems like it could add more to the game than just wandering around hunting for Riddler trophies in between boss fights.

Batman will also have new moves in "Arkham City", including "beatdown" attacks and all-new takedowns: including hanging takedown where Batman throttles a man from above with his legs, and the ability to punch through panels to get to enemies on the other side.

So wipe the drool from your chin, take a deep breath and keep telling yourself it will be here soon.  That's all we can do until we can get our hands on this future game of the year.