*Spoilers for "Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 2: Children of Arkham" below*

Last month, I talked about Batman: The Telltale Series, a new Batman game from Telltale that follows their previously-established episodic format based around players' choices. Then, only the first episode, Realm of Shadows, was released; I reviewed it, and I quite liked it. Earlier this week, the second episode, Children of Arkham, came out, and it's even better than the first.

The story continues right where Realm of Shadowsleft off: The revelation that Bruce Wayne's parents, Thomas and Martha, were part of a criminal syndicate with renowned gangster Carmine Falcone and the obviously-corrupt Mayor Hamilton Hill. After Realm of Shadows, I expected Children of Arkhamto back away from this plot point or have some sort of revelation that the Waynes weren't really crime bosses – boy, was I wrong. Instead of backing away,Children of Arkhammakes the Waynes out to be hardcore crime bosses, with both Falcone and Hill discussing at-length the Waynes' involvement and decades-old footage revealing that Thomas Wayne used his influence as a doctor to drive Cobblepot parents insane and commit them to Arkham Asylum (which explains why Oswald Cobblepot, who makes his grand debut as the Penguin in this episode, hates the Waynes so much). I was taken aback that Telltale dove so deeply into the Waynes-as-crime-bosses pool (something other comic books over the years have hinted at but always backed away from), but I'm impressed with their chutzpah; having said that, I also realize that we have three episodes of this game left and Telltale could simply be playing the long game. Regardless, consider me entertained and invested.

Beyond this,Children of Arkhamdevelops Bruce's and Batman's relationship with all the major players, as Alfred, Jim Gordon, Harvey Dent, and Selina Kyle all have big, important moments with Bruce (or, in several cases, Batman): Bruce can choose to forgive Alfred for withholding the Waynes' criminality or remain angry at this transgression; as Batman, Bruce can choose to show a heroic streak to Jim Gordon or sound like an angry vigilante who plays by his own rules; Bruce can choose to continue funding Harvey's mayoral campaign and maintain their friendship after Harvey reveals he has to publicly distance himself from Bruce and his family's bad press; and Bruce can choose to kiss or back away from Selina after the two take part in a bar brawl and flirt with their fists. For me, it's really interesting to see not only new interpretations of some of my favorite characters, but seeing all these seemingly disparate story threads coalesce is really fun – in fact, there is so much to this story that I've left stuff out!

Two major decisions appear in this episode. The first comes in the form of visiting Mayor Hill as Bruce Wayne or as Batman; I chose the former, which was, as Bruce himself said, “the smart choice.” This doesn’t seem to have any real impact on the story (at the moment), but the fact that I can choose between approaching a situation as Batman or Bruce Wayne is, like, my childhood dream. The other major choice in the episode, however, will have ramifications: The climax comes to us in the form of an attack led by Penguin and a mysterious gang known as the Children of Arkham (hey, that’s the name of the episode) on the mayoral debate between Harvey Dent and Hamilton Hill. Batman and Catwoman try to save the day, but Batman is eventually given a choice – a wounded Selina is about to be attacked at the same moment that Penguin is about to smash a floodlight on Harvey’s head. I chose to save Harvey – GOTHAM’S FUTURE IS ON THE LINE, GOSH DARN IT – and theoretically preventing him from becoming Two-Face (in the comics and all other depictions of the character, a side of Harvey Dent’s face is somehow scarred by a criminal and the incident drives him mad) is very ideal (though Harvey's still going to become Two-Face because it's inevitable). However, I may have miffed Catwoman – I imagine she's somewhat salty I let her get shot – so mayhaps our burgeoning relationship is on the rocks. I don't know, guys, but I do know I want the next episode.