If you pre-order Batman: Arkham City from GameStop, you'll get access to Robin as a playable character in a set of challenge areas (Edit: My apologies for the confusion. In North America it's a Best Buy exclusive. Elsewhere, Robin is at GameStop). If you want to see if the Boy Wonder's worth your time, check out this video. It'll show you everything you need to know.
Arkham City is almost upon us and we're pretty damn excited at Destructoid. Personally, I'm most eager to see if Scarecrow's actually made it in.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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@Xenonas Robin has been cool for a long time if you don't have the general knowledge of just the animated series/movie Robin. Hell one of them became a villain and the other actually becomes Batman
Animated Series Robin skin! Where do you have to preorder in US to get TAS Batman skin?
God dammit, why isn't all of this available for any NEW purchase? I don't particularly mind having skins as an incentive to but new, but instead of this retailer-specific garbage, I'd like to see it inside the box regardless of where it's from. Retailer specific anything is really pissing me off. What happened to real competition, and not this anti-competitive exclusivity bs?
For everyone concerned about retailer specific DLC, I'm pretty much positive all DLC will be released in full in good time. You'll be able to get it no matter where you made your purchase, but you'll have to pay for it. That's a bitch, but at least you'll get it.
I know I'm preordering from Best Buy. I really want this Robin pack on Day 1; a whole new character is worth it for me to buy from a specific place. Therein lies the genius and irritation of retailer specific content. It's great because you get it, and also terrible because of the extra hoops you have to jump through.
Are you sure pre-ordering the game counts as an extra hoop to jump through? The money you put down goes towards the game anyways, and all you have to do really is visit your retailer early and say what's up.
The extra hoops, IMO, comes from the fact that you have all this neat content coming out, but each different retailer has it's own piece of content. Some games do release the content later to be PURCHASED (which should be free), while sother games don't even put it up for purchase after. If someone was really crazy, they'd buy the game multiple times just for a couple skins and challenge maps.
Yes, I want to play as Robin. Yes, I want extra challenge maps. But should they cost money? No, they should've came with the game. If pre-ordering something gets me this "extra" content, then sure it's no skin off my back as long as it's within the purchase of the game itself.
@Wally - And when you want to support a smaller or locally owned store? You get jack shit. How about they either put these things in every retail copy our they put it on the disc.
for everyone bitching about pre-order bonuses and more specifically, retail specific pre-order bonuses, this is the fix for the online pass, we need to encourage this type of thing more.
btw, best buy is killing gamestop on trade-in value right now. i traded in a bunch of games yesterday and got $79 + $20 for trading in more than 4 games or something like that. I checked the trade-in values at cheapassgamer.com and it would have only been $64 + 10% ($6.40) if you have a powercard or whatever, which costs 15 bucks.
best buy is killing on trade-in credit right now cause they are trying to get attention. it wont last forever thos, they will probly drop down to about the same as gamestop sometime next year. they are a much bigger company so i imagine that they will always give slightly better trade-in deals. but they are killing gamestop for trade-in value on games.
Jim (you may not see this now) but can you -or anyone else- shed some light on something about this Robin pre-order bonus please?
The wording of the bonus says you get Robin (duh) and the extra Red Robin skin for him, but it also mentions that you can play as him in 2 additional challange maps. Does this mean it also COMES with those maps or is the language of it just really confused?
Way I see it, if its right, getting a new character for challenge maps AND more challenge maps is the way to go -says the guy who pre-ordered on Amazon to get the $10 credit.
@Preorders exclusives being confusing
You guys saying that should look at the list here: http://www.giantbomb.com/news/batman-arkham-citys-pre-order-bonus-scheme-is-like-some-terrible-labyrinthine-nightmare/3567/
Theres so many bonus' and so many of them intersect, its insane. I think the only country that gets ALL of them is Italy, and thats because, for some reason, Italy seems to have a massive number of retailers that sell games. (which, when I was over there years ago, I REALLY didn't notice AT ALL)
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Contest:
4:30 PM on 10.05.2011 | 
ALSO FUCK EXCLUSIVE RETAIL BONUS I WILL DESTROY YOU!!
God dammit, why isn't all of this available for any NEW purchase? I don't particularly mind having skins as an incentive to but new, but instead of this retailer-specific garbage, I'd like to see it inside the box regardless of where it's from. Retailer specific anything is really pissing me off. What happened to real competition, and not this anti-competitive exclusivity bs?
I know I'm preordering from Best Buy. I really want this Robin pack on Day 1; a whole new character is worth it for me to buy from a specific place. Therein lies the genius and irritation of retailer specific content. It's great because you get it, and also terrible because of the extra hoops you have to jump through.
Canceling pre-order.
Thank you!
Are you sure pre-ordering the game counts as an extra hoop to jump through? The money you put down goes towards the game anyways, and all you have to do really is visit your retailer early and say what's up.
The extra hoops, IMO, comes from the fact that you have all this neat content coming out, but each different retailer has it's own piece of content. Some games do release the content later to be PURCHASED (which should be free), while sother games don't even put it up for purchase after. If someone was really crazy, they'd buy the game multiple times just for a couple skins and challenge maps.
Yes, I want to play as Robin. Yes, I want extra challenge maps. But should they cost money? No, they should've came with the game. If pre-ordering something gets me this "extra" content, then sure it's no skin off my back as long as it's within the purchase of the game itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kwJQ_HJc-0&feature=player_embedded
Fuck you guys...
btw, best buy is killing gamestop on trade-in value right now. i traded in a bunch of games yesterday and got $79 + $20 for trading in more than 4 games or something like that. I checked the trade-in values at cheapassgamer.com and it would have only been $64 + 10% ($6.40) if you have a powercard or whatever, which costs 15 bucks.
best buy is killing on trade-in credit right now cause they are trying to get attention. it wont last forever thos, they will probly drop down to about the same as gamestop sometime next year. they are a much bigger company so i imagine that they will always give slightly better trade-in deals. but they are killing gamestop for trade-in value on games.
BATMAN!!!!!
you know, cause destructoid is just relevant for the US :I
Tim Drake is a little mary sue.
The wording of the bonus says you get Robin (duh) and the extra Red Robin skin for him, but it also mentions that you can play as him in 2 additional challange maps. Does this mean it also COMES with those maps or is the language of it just really confused?
Way I see it, if its right, getting a new character for challenge maps AND more challenge maps is the way to go -says the guy who pre-ordered on Amazon to get the $10 credit.
@Preorders exclusives being confusing
You guys saying that should look at the list here: http://www.giantbomb.com/news/batman-arkham-citys-pre-order-bonus-scheme-is-like-some-terrible-labyrinthine-nightmare/3567/
Theres so many bonus' and so many of them intersect, its insane. I think the only country that gets ALL of them is Italy, and thats because, for some reason, Italy seems to have a massive number of retailers that sell games. (which, when I was over there years ago, I REALLY didn't notice AT ALL)