Batman:Arkham City Armored Edition is the Wii U's take on the incredible genre-defining Batman adventure. But appearing a year after its first release, will it still find an audience?

Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition isn't alone in being a curious release choice for the Wii U. It joins Mass Effect 3 and Ninja Gaiden 3 in being games that will be considerably old news by the time the Wii U version appears. Since the Wii U's announcement there has been a perceived need for the console to demonstrate its high-def graphics potential, but what do these titles offer other than a proof of concept for Nintendo's new machine?

In the case of Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, it doesn't seem to be very much at all. The controller ably provides a shortcut to the complicated sub menus of the original and having the map permanently displayed will certainly circumvent some of the game's navigation issues. Beyond that it is largely the same game we have seen before. It's a pity and a missed opportunity that a hero that is so defined by his use of gadgets should be unable to find a worthy use for a new controller.

It's hard to know if this version of The Greatest Batman Game Ever Made will find a audience. The quality is certainly high enough and if there are new Wii U owners out there that have not yet experienced this game on PS3, 360 or PC then this should be an essential purchase. If you haven't play this game, you really should check out our other reviews and try this near-flawless gem.

But it seems to me that the new Wii U gamepad doesn't add enough to this game to make Arkham City veterans revisit it with this iteration. There has been some juggling of the gadget minigames and a new sonar mode which particularly seems irrelevant for a character who can see enemies through walls in other versions. It still looks like a very solid game, but its presence here is surely to broaden the range of the Wii U's launch line-up.

Batman Arkham City Armored Edition is currently planned for release on the Nintendo Wii U near to the console's launch at the end of 2012.