Starting Friday and running through Monday, March 1, you’ll be able to pick up Batman: Arkham Asylum for 75% off through Games on Demand on Windows.  Whereas the title usually retails for $50, with this discount you’ll now be able to pick up the critically acclaimed game for only $12.50.  You can read our review of the title here.

The discount is part of a special deal recently announced by Microsoft’s Major Nelson wherein every weekend in March will feature a discounted Games on Demand title.  Every Friday Major Nelson will announce via his Twitter account the title selected for discount.

You’ll need to download the Games for Windows – Live client if you don’t already have it to take advantage of the offer(s).

Frank Miller revitalized Batman in graphic novel form when he unleashed The Dark Knight, which told the tale of an aging Batman reluctantly coming out of retirement. According to an interview with the Hughes Brothers, who are set to open their latest movie The Book of Eli, Warner Bros studio approached the team about possibly making Miller’s version of Batman starring none other than Clint Eastwood.

“I remember how dark the comic book was. Batman was old. He had to rely more on his tools and other sh*t, and he was a decrepit, 60- or 70-year-old man in this comic book,” said Albert Hughes. “I remember saying to them back then, ‘We want to do this, and you should get somebody like Clint Eastwood to do it’.”

Even though the studio offered the project to the brothers several times, the feeling was that “The Dark Knight Returns” would be the end of Batman movies. “We were never going to do that. We were telling them it was the death of their franchise,” Albert laughed. “Looking back now, we definitely would’ve killed that franchise.“

Downloadable content is arriving for Batman: Arkham Asylum on September 17th, but no one knows what it will add. We do know it will be free, which is either very generous or indicative of something minor that isn’t worth paying for. This information comes straight from the game’s news ticker. That’s all that is known for the time being, though more information is soon to be uncovered as the release date approaches.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is a game of amazing depth. For fans of the Caped Crusader it is a dark treasure trove of trivia, action, and intensity. The voice acting is superb and there is tons of it. Interview tapes you discover along your move through the game unlock hours and hours of dialogue from all of the villains as they interact with an Arkham shrink. The dialogue is well written and performed fantastically so it is a joy for fans and would do a great job of acquainting those with only a passing familiarity with some of the more obscure characters. They also do a great job, along with a load of other unlockable content, abilities, challenges, etc., of pulling you through the game.

And it is important to give the game sometime to fully reveal all of its potential. It actually wasn’t till a couple hours into the game that I wasn’t convinced everyone was crazy and that Arkham Asylum didn’t deserve more than score in the mid-8’s. After all, you were seeing nothing more than cell block corridors, and the visuals were great, but not perfect. read more…

The UK managed to get Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen a week before America and, not surprisingly, it opened to big numbers, once again ensuring that Michael Bay’s questionable talents will be crapping up movie screens for years to come.

Transformers managed to haul $20-million in its opening weekend, outperforming the original by a mighty 71%, just barely losing-out to The Dark Knight.

Source: Box Office Mojo