A redesigned version of Batman: Arkham City — dubbed the “Armored Edition” — will be one of the launch titles for Nintendo’s Wii U console this month. While the trailer above highlights the game’s new features, I’d initially missed another aspect that has been redesigned: Catwoman’s costume.
(In fairness, while Catwoman’s new costume is briefly shown at the beginning of the trailer, when they flash a shot of Catwoman’s character profile at 1:18, she’s wearing the racier PS3/XBox 360 version of her costume.)
While part of me wants to snark about how Nintendo seems to have enforced a more family-friendly look for Selina Kyle, I have to admit that I like the new costume, and it’s a bit ridiculous (not to mention impractical) for Catwoman to climb and slink around Gotham with her top half-zipped. (The unzipped look has also been carried to fairly absurd extremes in the comics as well. See, for example, the promo image for the upcoming Justice League of America title. Or the originally planned cover for Catwoman #0.)
So, kudos, Nintendo and Rocksteady! Thank you for toning the fanboy pandering down just a little. (In, you know, what is still a rather violent and not-at-all-kid-friendly game.)