Gamescom 2011 Hands On – Batman: Arkham City

What it is: Batman: Arkham City is the Warner Bros. published and Rocksteady developed follow-up to Arkham Asylum, which just might be the best superhero based video game ever created.

The sequel aims to cover more space in the city of Gotham and will allow players to also take on the role of some other characters from the Batman universe.

How it is: The big surprise of the hands on time I got to spend with Batman: Arkham City is that the character I initially control is not Batman but Catwoman, who is a more nimble and quick fighter but also somewhat more fragile.

She also has her own set of combat tricks, like using the whip to disorient enemies and can be as deadly as Batman, although a little more focused on hit and run moves.

The action then returns to Batman, who must rescue Catwoman after her capture by Two-Face.

The Capped Crusader is tough in brawls as he was in the first game in the series and it's now easier to create combo chains without losing the multiplier.

But the enemies have also gotten an upgrade and are able to use more weapons and better gang up on the main characters.

Another piece of the demo involves tracking the Joker and passing through a Harley Queen dominated hospital that shows off the stealth mechanics.

All the enemies here have firearms and the Bat needs to move unseen and unheard, using gargoyles and take downs to eliminate enemies, showing off one new move that sees him punch through plywood to get to his target.

When and on what: The new Batman video game is set to be launched on the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the PC on October 21 in Europe and three days earlier in North America.

The developers are also preparing a version for the new Wii U, probably launching at the same time as the new Nintendo home console.

We have a special page with all our Gamescom 2011 coverage.