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Episode 49 of the Digital City, where we find out why Microsoft's Steve Ballmer tried to stomp a co-worker's iPhone; check out the first Windows 7 TV ad; and lament that Steve Jobs had to drag himself onstage at the latest Apple event to basically announce nothing (and that the purported Beatles/iTunes deal never materialized).

We also check out EA's Madden for the iPhone, find out why Batman: Arkham Asylum is such a hit, and fondly remember the 10th anniversary of the Sega Dreamcast.

Related links:
>>iPhone NFL Kick off
>>Arkham Asylum: best of '09?
>>Happy 10th anniversary, Sega Dreamcast!
>>Hands on with The Beatles: Rock Band
>>Microsoft's first Windows 7 TV ad
>>CNBC: Ackerman on Apple

>>Watch the Digital City live every Friday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter!

Yesterday's show with guest host Alli went so well that we ask her to help us out again! Today we show off some beautiful fan artwork, run through outdated tech terminology, dispel "Batman 3" rumors about Megan Fox, and more!

We want to give a huge shout-out and thanks to Joe from Honolulu for sending us these two amazing woodcarvings of The 404! We're still blown away by the level of detail in the paintings and the ridiculous amount of time it probably took to make. Best of all, we love that it's a collaborative effort between two 404 fans: Blake Stevenson helped design our logo and Joe just took it to the next level. Cheers to both of you!

We're all a little worried about Chris Nolan's next "Batman" movie. We've been hearing a lot of rumors about the follow-up to last year's "Dark Knight," and even though we think Megan Fox is next level hot, we just can't imagine her as Catwoman. First of all, there are one thousand other characters in the Batman universe, why resurrect the same ones over and over? Let's see a Killer Croc! In other Megan Fox news, gamers will be excited to hear that she will be on Xbox Live on Saturday, August 29 @ 3 p.m. PT to play Gold Members in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen the Game. Cross your fingers and let us know if you actually play her!

Many more crazy stories from the Web in addition to an "Ask The 404" segment on today's show. Thanks for listening, all!

Despite year-over-year sales declines putting a recession-fueled wet blanket over the entire industry, video games are still a big business, and a hit-driven one at that. Hence, much of the attention falls on a handful of commercial superstars each year, from Halo 3 to The Beatles: Rock Band, leaving plenty of worthy games languishing in obscurity.

That's why it's pleasing to see critics and gamers alike praise Warner's Batman: Arkham Asylum, a new action/adventure game about the famed caped crusader. Earlier this year, during the annual E3 video game industry trade show, we said:

Perhaps because it started life as a lower-profile project, this game was able to develop without a movie release deadline to hit or a hard holiday season shipping date. What we've ended up with is one of the best games we've played this year, with appeal that goes far beyond comic book fans.

Now that we've played the final retail version of the game, releasing on August 25, our initial impressions have been confirmed, and we're willing to say this may be the best overall gaming experience of 2009. CNET's sister site Metacritic.com says the early reviews average out to a score of 91 out of 100, which the site labels as "universal acclaim."

With decent (for a video game) scripting and voice acting, and a grim, detailed setting on Gotham's spooky Arkham Island, we concur with several reviewers who have compared the game to 2007's BioShock, another critically hailed title that mixed talky character development with brutal action in a vaguely dystopian setting. The plot is a typically McGuffin-filled story about the Joker taking over the secure mental hospital that houses both him and a rogues gallery of other super-villains - naturally requiring Batman to set things right.

The real secret to Arkham Asylum's appeal is something too many games ignore -- variety. Instead of setting up a basic gameplay mechanic and repeating it until your thumbs fall off, this game jumps from hand-to-hand combat to stealth to detective work (using some kind of highly advanced Bat-goggles that can track DNA and fingerprints, as well as see through walls). The net result is that you never spend too long doing one thing, which helps fend off boredom.

To be fair, the game's deceivingly open environments mask that it is a largely linear experience, funneling Batman from one challenge to the next through the use of conveniently locked doors and new Bat-gadgets that are doled out as the game progresses. Also, some of the dialog can be hokey, and if like us, you lack a deep knowledge of Bat-lore, many of the references and cameos will go over your head. Still, it's a tribute to the game's strengths that you don't need to much beyond a passing familiarity Batman's movie or TV incarnations or appreciate this game's excellent pacing and production values.

Batman: Arkham Asylum screenshots

Episode 46 of the Digital City, where we debate the merits of the PS3 Slim, show how to get your free Windows 7 upgrade, and discuss new games from Batman: Arkham Asylum to GangStar for the iPhone.

Related links:
>>Skip the PS3 Slim and get one of these Blu-ray laptops
>>Should I buy a new laptop now, or wait for Windows 7?
>>Are gaming handhelds too expensive?

>>Watch the Digital City live every Friday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter!

It's true that New Yorkers groan the most about the summer heat, but nobody's complaining today because we have Libe Goad from AOL's GameDaily in the studio! She gives us her take on the boring PS3 Slim and even defends our right to be 35, fat, and bummed-out gamers!

(Credit: Libe Goad)

Libe helps us kick off the show with a chat about the new PS3 Slim. After yesterday's unboxing, we've all determined that you'd have to be a fool to upgrade from the PS3 Fat (that can't be the official name), but there are a few games to look for on the console, like Wet, starring Eliza Dushku as Rubi Malone, a "lethal heroine who will take any job as she likes it and the price is right." Other games of interest include Wolfenstein and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

All this game talk leads us to a study that reveals the average gamer is 35, fat, and bummed. As a nongamer, I see absolutely nothing fallacious here, but Jeff and Libe have to disagree, and they make a good point. First, the CDC only surveyed 552 subjects in the Seattle-Tacoma area. 552 is a pretty small sample size to determine the "bummertude" of this group, and I'm sure it doesn't help that Seattle rains 226 days a year, these poor gamers are literally being forced to stay in their houses, can we blame them for actually being fat and bummed? We'll get to the bottom of this...

We also talk briefly about the 12 most annoying types of Facebookers, like the Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-Of-My-Day guy (aka Twitter feeders), or the Town Criers who feel the need to broadcast every headline they see on TMZ. Unfortunately, I think all of us are guilty of being The Self-Promoter, but who isn't? Everything you post on Facebook is a form of self-promotion, isn't that why people join social networks in the first place?

Per usual, we always need Calls From the Public, so if you have something to say feel free to give us a call at 1-866-404-CNET or shoot us a line at the404(at)CNET{dot}com!

Eidos' highly anticipated Batman: Arkham Asylum is due to hit stores on August 25. The action title, which will be available on PS3, Xbox 360, and PCs, follows the caped crusader as he takes on the likes of Joker, Poison Ivy, and other supervillains. Several new screenshots surfaced at E3 2009.

Batman: Arkham Asylum screenshots

Additional reading: Dan Ackerman's take on Batman: Arkham Asylum.

(Credit: WB Games)

One of the most buzzed-about games of the year isn't a big-name sequel or movie tie-in, although it does have the kind of pop-culture bona fides other games can only dream of. Instead, Batman: Arkham Asylum (published by Warner Bros. and Eidos) is a standalone story about everyone's favorite caped crusader--although the vibe is more Christian Bale's moody Dark Knight than '60s Adam West Technicolor antics.

Video games based on comic book characters have almost uniformly disappointed in the past because the games bore little resemblance to the source material. Typically, they're generic brain-dead beat-'em-ups that a game developer awkwardly inserted a 3D version of a licensed comic book character into.

Batman: Arkham Asylum screenshots

Perhaps because it started life as a lower-profile project, this game was able to develop without a movie release deadline to hit or a hard holiday season shipping date. What we've ended up with is one of the best games we've played this year, with appeal that goes far beyond comic book fans.

Set on an isolated island that houses an asylum for the criminally insane, Batman must recapture several of his old arch-enemies (who are conveniently all locked up in the same facility). The game smartly mixes several different types of action, and never leaves you doing the same thing for too long.

Here it is. It's the latest trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum. The trailer is set to air Thursday night on MTV, but fortunately for us, Stephen Totilo, from MTV's Multiplayer, decided to post it early for everyone to drool over.

Eidos and developer Rocksteady Studios set expectations very high when the first trailer for "Batman: Arkham Asylum" debuted in November. The setting of Arkham Asylum combined with the dark tone of the story seemed to embody the feel of Batman's universe.

With Emmy Award-winning "Batman: The Animated Series" producer Paul Dini writing the game's story, and the voice-over stars Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprising their roles as Batman and the Joker from the series, respectively, all signs continue to indicate that "Batman: Arkham Asylum" is a game that Batman fans have been waiting a long, long time for.

This particular trailer starts off with a great Joker narration (voiced by Mark Hamill). Adding to Joker's dialogue is a focus on Batman's so-called Invisible Predator stealth combat techniques. After viewing the video, check out some of the screenshots of the game below.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

(Source: Joystiq via MTV Multiplayer)

The Joker takes over the Gotham underworld

I first mentioned the Batman: Black and White Motion Comic a couple weeks back and went on bit about how much I'm in love with ol' Bats and how we're getting married and planning our lives together. Hmmm, actually I may not have mentioned the whole marriage and lives together thing...until now.

Anyway, I finally got a chance to check out the first five episodes on iTunes and my initial reaction after watching all five is bring on more. Now.

Black and White is a motion comic developed by Warner Premiere, and is a direct translation of the Batman: Black and White comic book anthology from the 90's which featured superstar writers and artists, like Paul Dini, Alex Ross and Dave Gibbons. They've basically taken the art and added subtle and not so subtle animation here and there to mostly great affect.

My favorite episodes are "Good Evening, Midnight" (from episode four), which includes narration by Thomas Wayne (Batman's dad) and is juxtaposed with Batman's actions from that night. This episode makes me wonder if Blizzard was inspired by it to make the Wrath intro. Then there's "Two of a Kind" (from episode two) starring Two-Face in an interesting love triangle with twin sisters. Two-Face has always been one of my favorite Batman characters, and he's used brilliantly here. My favorite of all, though, was called "Case Study" (also from episode two) and focused on the Joker. It has a great back story and asked the question of whether he really is insane or not.

I have to put in the good word about the music here. Each story had its own score, and each does a great job at establishing the mood.

Each of the episode includes two stories and the episodes range from a little over 6 minutes to over 11. Unlike Watchmen, there are multiple voice actors used, including thankfully, real female actors. The voices are fitting for the most part, although Batman's voice did take some getting used to it as it sounded a bit too sinister at times. Also, I'm more a Kevin Conroy and Christian Bale man myself. It wasn't until another great episode, "Perpetual Mourning" (included with episode five) that the voice really started to grow on me.

Like I said, I can't wait for the next episodes. These are very well-done short pieces of entertainment. Perhaps a little too short, however. Some episodes are as short as 6 minutes, and although they include at least two stories, $0.99 may not be worth it for such a small morsel. Doing the math however, $0.99 per six minutes works out to be about the cost of a $20, two-hour DVD.

If you're a Batman fan, get them. All of them. Now. If you're just curious, I'd say the second episode is worth trying and if you like that, you'll at least like the others.