Batman: Arkham Asylum will be getting the Game of the Year treatment, available March 26th, 2010 across European and PAL territories. What makes this edition so special is the inclusion of six new challenge maps along with the option of playing in 3D.

Now we know you’re probably wondering why you would want this feature when you don’t even have a 3D capable TV or even the glasses. Well, you’re in luck…

The shortlist for the BAFTA GAME Award 2009 has just been announced, and you can now vote for your favourite! This is the only award at the British Academy Video Game Awards which is voted for by the public, so it’s fitting that it’s also the most prestigious.

Some great games have been nominated, including seven titles on the PlayStation 3, one of which is exclusive (bet you can’t guess which one).

Batman: Arkham Asylum has had some decent downloadable content since the game’s release last August.

So if you have yet to buy this fantastic game, we have another reason for you to give it another look.

Here’s one that might take you by surprise.

When the votes were cast for this year’s Most Wanted Games of 2010, there were a few titles that were tossed around that many of us probably wouldn’t have even dreamed mentioning a few months ago.

During this long and arduous process, over thirty games garnered nominations, but when the dust settled and the arguing stopped, no other game received more knowing nods among the staff here at PS3 Attitude for making a surprise appearance on this list than Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 (though it’s unlikely to retain such a title).

Geoff Keighley teased via Twitter to “not miss the first five minutes of the VGAs for our biggest surprise premiere in VGA history!” Well we watch those first five minutes and were treated to some toxic gas, courtesy of the Joker.

Once the smoke cleared Gotham City was in full view in the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum…

You may recall we mentioned the upcoming free Batman: Arkham Asylum DLC.

Well, Eidos have now dated the impending download along with releasing some scant details of what’s in store for us Bat lovers.

Most of you are probably too busy playing the actual game to be watching the menu screen of Batman: Arkham Asylum. If you look closely towards the bottom of the screen though, you’ll see a news ticker.

Normally these aren’t too exciting/newsworthy, but free DLC is always awesome, especially for such a great game.

Known as a man with an almost unhealthy penchant for gadgetry (when not picking up wayward boys and dressing them up in spandex), Batman just wouldn’t be caught dead without the latest smart-phone/netbook/high-tech gizmo capable of slicing your head clean off.

Showcased in the below trailer, watch as the Dark Knight unleashes numerous fandangled doohickeys from his high-tech trick-bag including batarangs, explosive gels and even infrared vision to get the jump on the inmates of Arkham Asylum.

The Homerun is back with more news and views on the new content to hit PlayStation Home this week, plus anything else we can fit in.

It’s a busy week from all directions so let’s get straight into it.

Check out the following link over at C&VG for a look at some behind the scenes footage taken at Rocksteady, the studio behind the upcoming and eagerly anticipated Batman: Arkham Asylum.

On its own, it’s an interesting exposé with interviews from the likes of comic-book maven and game writer Paul Dini to some pretty cool mocap shots of martial artists going through their acrobatic moves, helping the animators capture Batman’s unique fighting style within the game.

What is also intriguing from the footage is, right at the end when the camera pans across the Rocksteady development floor, there appears to be a blurred console sitting vertical on one of the developer’s desks.

As you may know, PS3 Attitude is an official media partner for Edinburgh Interactive 09. You can always find all the latest news regarding the event here.

So without further ado, here is our full and complete show preview, helping you get the best from the event.

Eidos Interactive will release a Batman: Arkham Asylum demo on the PSN (and XBL) this Thursday, August 7th.

Using the summer to polish the game to an inch of its digital life, we’ve been assured that this time has been well spent in making this not only the best Batman game of all time, but perhaps even the best super-hero game ever, period.

Arkham Asylum is home to the most dangerous villains in Gotham City, all of which have quite the hatred towards our caped crusader. It looks like the Scarecrow just might get the chance to extract his revenge with the help of his skeleton army.Exclusive to those who pre-order the game, players be able to download the Scarecrow Challenge Map and face your fears against the undead.

Batman is coming.

If you’ve broken the law, be afraid of the shadows.

Look out for guano because when you get caught it will probably hit the fan. The Dark Knight could well send you to Arkham Asylum. It seems to be the place to be for any up-and-coming bad guy lately.

Until everyone breaks out, that is…

Batman: Arkham Asylum may well have been delayed a while, but that doesn’t mean that can’t ogle the latest trailer.

Not only that but we have also managed to snaffle some great shots of these guys looking all dark and mean.

The bad news?

Not long now before we finally get our hands on the belated Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Conscious that most gamers have the memory span of fruit-flies, Rocksteady have been keen to fill the delay by releasing oodles of video of the game in action in an effort to keep our appetites suitably whetted.

Poor Bats can’t catch a break. Everywhere he turns there is someone trying to beat him down, someone trying to break his flow, someone showing up in skimpy new uniforms, someone trying to break his back or even someone trying to hunt him down like some kind of snake. It’s his own fault really; who hangs out in a psychiatric hospital overrun with lunatics?

Add one more person to that list because Poison Ivy joins the festivities as her longing to ‘grow together’ reaches new heights in Arkham Asylum. But not in the way we expect, the lady in green that does not rhyme with ‘bulk’ has a very different perspective on personal growth.

What better way to console yourself over Batman: Arkham Asylum’s release delay than by checking out some new footage of the Dark Knight himself laying all kinds of retribution fuelled hurt on the cronies of Gotham’s infamous nut-house.

We all had a different reaction to the recent news of Batman’s delay, but we can all still agree that we want to play Batman: Arkham Asylum as soon as it hits the streets.
In a good news/bad news scenario, Eidos and Warner Bros. released a new video showcasing Batman’s ‘freeflow combat’ to ease the pain and/or whet the appetite even further. We have to be frank for a minute, the bad news totally overshadow the good news.

After lapping up the delicious challenge room video and then the news that The Joker would appear as a playable character in such rooms on the PS3, we’re a tad disappointed to report that Rocksteady’s Batman outing, Arkham Asylum, is now officially delayed.

Slipping like an oily batarang through The Dark Knight’s grasp from its original release date of June 23rd all the way to the end of Q3 2009, we’ll have to wait a little longer to get our hands on the vengeful detective.