The follow up to Batman: Arkham City, Harley Quinn's Revenge starts off almost instantaneously. At the beginning, we're treated to an extremely short introduction sequence of Robin landing on a nearby rooftop just outside of the Sionis steel mill, where Harley has apparently been held up ever since the "Mistah J's" death. Harley was moved from Arkham City after her clown prince of crime bit the big one, but she managed to break out of her temporary holding facility and make her way back to Arkham City.
Its here we find out that Batman has been missing for two days, and it's up to Robin to find him. He makes his way inside the steel mill, a video of the joker loops, repeating "you left me to die." That endless banter could drive anyone nuts, let alone an already unhinged clown woman. Vicki Vale returns to provide information on outside developments
Player controls as Robin are just as fluid as the Batman, and players who downloaded Robin as a playable character for the challenge maps. Like the maps, Robin comes equipped with a collapsible bo-staff. Not as brutal as Batman's fists, it makes short work of Harleys thugs nonetheless. Unlike any of Batman's equipment, Robin's staff is able to transform into a shield, and it works as well against hot steam as it does against bullets. But it does have a meter. Let it sink too low and bird boy becomes a bullet riddled Robin.
You make your way through the steel mill until you come across a group of thugs surrounding Batman's infamous utility belt. We're then treated to a flashback of two days earlier when Harley first kidnapped some of Gotham's finest. Then you take over as Batman, first investigating the cops' disappearance.
A lot of us might not have played as the titular dark knight or the bird themed boy wonder since the game first released in October. I was definitely rusty at first, but I eventually shook off the batwebs (batwebs?) and was back to racking up the combos.
Harley's Revenge only offers more of the same, nothing new (except for Harley's voice actor). Not to say this is bad, since it's everything that made us love Arkham City to begin with. Though you can't explore TOO much, there's still some trophy hunting to be done. Littered through Sionis Industries are Harley balloons, like the chattering joker teeth and Riddler question marked trophies of yester year. To the victor go the spoils, and a shiny new trophy / achievement awaits the ever-vigilant OCD completionist who manages to pop all 30 balloons bearing Harley's visage. But if you were hoping to see new areas, or at least go through familiar haunts as young master Drake, don't hold your breath. Any attempt to leave the immediate area outside of Sionis Industries sees your choice of caped crusader swinging back towards the steel mill, saying he can't leave until he finds the missing cops.
Pick up Revenge if you're a hardcore bat-o-phile with a few hours to kill and $10 to spare, but if you're tired of bash-counter-dodge style combos, give it a pass. Harley Quinn's Revenge is available for download now on PS3 and XBox360. It will be available for PC June 1st.