Bonus content be damned, Arkham City: Armored Edition feels like a step back from the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, which have been out for about six months already. Now it's true, there are some new features. First, for some reason, Batman and Catwoman both have new outfits: armor. Batman's armor looks pretty similar to his Challenge Mode armor (if not exactly the same), but this is the first time it's available in Story mode. It also features a new weapon: during fights, you fill up a meter to activate something of a hyper mode, where all of the enemies turn orange and Batman deals more damage, complete with sparks and lightning.

Of course, though, the Wii U version of Arkham City adds GamePad support, and that's the feature I was drilled on at the demo. The GamePad itself is a wholly competent piece of hardware. The control scheme is exactly as it was on the PS3, so I was used to it straight away. In fact, the guy demoing the game had to tell me to stop pretty often so he could tell me about the Wii U-specific features. I should note right off the bat that the GamePad's screen is used for submenus: things like activating sonar (new) and selecting your gadgets is controlled in real time with the Gamepad.

But this immediately presents issues: whereas you could merely select, say, your Explosive Gel by tapping on the PS3's D-pad, here you have to go through a lengthy process of tapping up on the D-pad, then selecting your item on the Gamepad. You can actually drag the item into an empty D-pad slot (kind of like Zelda) or just equip it right away. After that, you use it as you normally would--by pressing ZL to equip and ZR to use. It's a clunky interface, made perhaps more clunky by the fact that the demo had me switching up items all the time.

A few items have Wii U-specific modes now. The remote control Batarang can be guided with the GamePad (though I recommend the sticks); explosive gel can be detonated one at a time on the GamePad (by activating sonar); and the hacking mini-game is now restricted to the GamePad—you slide your finger around until you "find" the right spots while avoiding a red laser. I actually liked this new mini-game.

As for how the game looks, it's still clearly in an unfinished form: textures popped up in low resolution and stayed that way for quite a long time before realizing they were actually supposed to be in higher resolution. Overall, however, the game doesn't look any better than the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions (Andrew mentioned that it DOES look better than the 360 version; I think it looks worse than the PS3).

My initial assessment is that, if you already have Arkham City, there's no real reason to double-dip. However, it's a fantastic game in its own right, and anybody who has NOT played it may as well wait for the Wii U version.