Greetings, forumers!
This thread is about
In particular, this version of Batman:
And the world he occupies, which is the world of WB's
Batman: Arkham Subtitle series
Let's go to where it all started.
Batman: Arkham Asylum hit back in 2009 and rocked faces. One, because it was a licensed product that had the polish and care of a triple-A game. Two, because it was from a little-known developer called Rocksteady Studios who had only one previous game under their belt (the game was alright). Three, because it had an amazingly fun and deep-but-not-too-deep combat system. And finally because it was a 3D Metroid game starring
Batman.
Arkham Asylum tells the story of one really long night spent in Arkham Asylum (where else?), as Batman's longtime nemesis the Riddler has scattered 240 riddles over the grounds of the institution, engaging the so-called "World's Greatest Detective" in a battle of wits. After long and arduous mental exercises, Batman finally uses his fancy gadgets to zero in on the location of the Riddler and have him brought to justice.
Batman: Arkham City came out back in October of 2011 and was somehow even better. Now you had a whole section of Gotham to play in (dubbed Arkham City because the creators really need to shoehorn the word "Arkham" into everything to show it's part of the same series, showing a lack of faith in the awareness of the general public)! The section of Gotham that has been roped off for you to play in has,
of course, been converted into a city-sized prison, proof that Gothamites should maybe just pack up and move to Star City or Metropolis or something. The Riddler is up to his old tricks again, and has this time scattered
four hundred riddles across Arkham City, and has goaded you into another game of intellect by holding innocent people hostage.
Oh also the Joker's there? I guess? Probably doing something
craaaaaazyyyyy.
Now let's fast forward to later this year,
October 25th, 2013, to be exact
Batman: Arkham Origins
So let's get our big worry out in the open. First off, this is the first game in the series
not being developed by Rocksteady. Rocksteady is instead taking their time on another project, likely a continuation of Arkham City, and they need to take their time on it and most likely put it on next-gen consoles and PC, where they will have the horsepower to have at least
a thousand riddles.
That said, I'm not concerned. WB has basically been putting out nothing but quality product since they've become a major developer, and I have faith in them to not put this in the hands of someone who will fuck this up. The reins have been handed to WB Montreal. If Far Cry 3 and the Assassin's Creed games are anything to go by, people in Montreal are born with the gift to make good games.
Here is a laundry list of new additions (thanks to
@Brainiac 8, pulled from the newest issue of Game Informer (May 2013 issue):
Story
- Takes place on Christmas Eve
- Years before the previous two games
- Mob boss Black Mask will give a fortune for Batman’s head
- Top assassins and supervillains from the DC Comics universe are out to get Batman
- Cops on the take from the mob join the manhunt as well
- Batman needs to outsmart his enemies, find out why Black Mask wants him dead, and prove to what good cops that he’s on their side
General
- Porting Arkham City to Wii U let the team get familiar with Unreal 3
- Doing a prequel lets the team carve a unique territory if Rocksteady were to move the Arkham timeline ahead down the road
- Rocksteady’s project is tightly under wraps
- Younger Batman also “gives us the opportunity to refresh things a bit”
- Combat system still in place
- Will have “new layers, new opportunities, and new tactics”
- New enemy types
- Batman not as finely honed as in the previous games
- Won’t control the Batwing directly
- Batwing will figure into story sequences and acts as a universe-appropriate form of fast travel
- Has the traditional predator mode in which players swing from perch to perch, glide kick, string guys upside-down, etc.
- New remote claw that is like the grappler in Just Cause 2
- Batman targets two objects and fires out a claw
- This hooks into the first object and launches another claw and rope to the second object
- Can then pull the two objects together
- Use this to knock enemies together, slam heavy objects into foes, string objects or people under a perch
- Can string up an explosive barrel under a perch, lure enemies with a sonic batarang, then cut the rope with a normal batarang, dropping the explosive on their heads
- Team knows Black Mask isn’t the most popular villain
- Old Gotham is only half of the game world
- Another new entire area is across the bridge called New Gotham
- New Gotham is classier and has much taller skyscrapers
- New zone doubles the size of the game world
- Players can dismantle the hacked tower network
- Towers emit a jamming signal that prevents the Batwing from flying into the area, meaning no fast travel
- It also halts Batman’s sensors from placing points of interest on the map
- Taking down the towers are varied and require all of Batman’s navigation, puzzle solving, and combat skills
- Some can be taken down quickly, others must be returned to later with an upgrade
- “Crime in Progress”: ex – saving some cops from a group of thugs, rescuing a snitch from being tossed off a roof
- Activities give Batman a chance for experience point bonuses
- Completing side quests also contributes to the GCPD’s understanding and appreciation of Batman
- They will begin to know Batman and which side he stands on based on how much you take on the optional missions
- Most Wanted system gives players a chance to go after villains outside of the core storyline
- These optional side missions can be tackled when you discover them
- Many optional missions offer upgrades
- Batman’s butler Alfred may notice that he had a tough time in that situation and give him a new gadget
- Dark Knight system is slightly more behind the scenes, though it’s still important
- Dark Knight system provides a lengthy string of tasks that slowly goes up in difficulty as the game progresses
- The team wants to avoid boring tutorials while still training players to be masters of predator and combat systems
- Complete a certain number of counters or silent takedowns to receive XP rewards or a specific upgrade
- Dark Knight system doesn’t replace challenge mode
- Team wants to make challenges more meaningful
Game demo
- Takes place about an hour into the game
- Batman is perched above Jezebel plaza
- Black Mask’s assassins have stirred up the local thugs
- No towering walls keeping villains in check and many citizens call Arkham City home since there isn’t a prison
- Amusement Mile hasn’t been flooded
- Batman is looking to find out why Black Mask is trying to kill him
- Batman decides to go to the party to track down Penguin, who hears about everything
- Eventually, Penguin gives some intel on a murder at Lacey Towers
- Claw grips Batman’s ankle and drags him out of the room before he can finish his questioning
- Batman reaches for the door, but his arm is stomped by a mysterious figure
- Batman ends up suspended upside-down from the rafters
- Deathstroke circles Batman with a drawn sword
- Batman blocks and disarms Deathstroke, using the sword to cut himself free
- Thanks to Penguin’s tip, Batman goes to Lacey Towers
- The cops say it’s a double homicide
- One victim is supposedly Black Mask
- Inside the apartment, Batman sees Black Mask’s girlfriend strung up on a chandelier
- Black Mask’s assumed body is laying face up across the room
- Batman goes into first-person detective vision to examine the situation
A lot of those sound pretty great. Nothing on riddles, worryingly, but Crime in Progress was something really cool that I loved in the Spider-Man games and would love to see here. Most Wanted system basically sounds like an Assassin's Creed-style assassination mission, except you're Batman so you don't get to kill them (supposedly! Maybe young Batman was
reckless)
Also there's a multiplayer mode that was just announced! Think of it as Mercs vs. Spies, except it's Mercs vs. Batman.
http://youtu.be/60RH89sQ6-4The Wii U will not be getting multiplayer. Just a little kernel to hold onto when deciding which version you should get.
Batman: Arkham Origins hits the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U and PC on October 25th.
Here, have a CG teaser trailer that is not indicative of all of what the game will be like!
http://youtu.be/tq9bKYfyM-o
Sounds pretty cool, right? Well guess what?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7miRCLeFSJo
Because the other day they also announced
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
Hopefully that's not the final title, or hopefully there's a dash in there so it becomes Arkham Origins - Blackgate because as it is it just looks awkward
Anyways, remember how I said these games are 3D Metroid games with Batman in it? Well, have you ever wondered what a 2D Metroid game would look like?
With Batman in it?
More pics in the spoiler tag
Here is some footage of someone playing it on that gorgeous Vita screen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFnKpq5HykI
So things have a weird way of looping around. The Arkham games draw heavy inspiration from the Metroid style of map exploration, and now we have Armature Studio, a team founded by leads who worked on the Metroid Prime series, developing a 2D Metroid-inspired Batman game. I am so hyped for this it is driving me insane.
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate hits the Vita and 3DS on October 25th.
Discuss.
With me, because I'm going insane with glee over this announcement
Posts
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My roommate glares at me. He's not pleased that I woke him up to ready my car and make me tacos.
There's a radio in the distance monitoring the police band. A dispatcher sends a squad car to my area to investigate reports of a cowled man who'd been seen clumsily stalking a facially scarred war veteran.
For this game, I am ready.
also
I am the night.
Also, that's probably the best OP ever :^:
GODDAMN, Blackgate looks sexy as hell.
Yeah, looks like the same suit he's been wearing in the Arkham games. I think the ear point... things are shorter, though. Perhaps that's how you tell the maturity of a Batman. The length of the ear points. If you cross-section them, I bet there's rings.
You can play through the whole game as vengeance and the night.
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Every develop should do this.
I just realized this morning that the Origins "big list of bullet points" has no mention of the Riddler which is Hopefully WB Montreal will have something just as good in store.
Just do the first 5 VR missions early on.
Steam ID: Good Life
It makes sense as you go.
Also I think I've played through AA four times and City around four or five.
Yes, I love this series.
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I love Deathstroke. He was badass in Teen Titans and is one of the few BLOODPOUCH type characters to survive the 90s.
So yes. I will happily inject this game into my veins.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
you and i were meant to be bros
I love these games though, and it doesn't hurt that many pieces of the animated series were a part of it.
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Yeah I'm sure Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill help a lot.
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Yessir, plus the writing by Dini and Sorkin being in the first game were awesome too.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
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Steam ID: Good Life
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This comes out October 25th?!
What the fuck
I'm a little overdue for a vacation so I was actually planning on taking the week off of work when these came out since I'd have two new Batman games to get through
But I was assuming it'd be on a Tuesday like usual, but October 25th is a Friday
I know that's a European thing but that's weird as hell for the American market
Day after my birthday. These will be an awesome birthday present for myself.
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My only complaint about Arkham City is too many goddamn riddles
...said nobody, ever.
We were born on the best day.
No wait, they're still kind of tough. Shoot.
Still, whenever I start a new game, they're the first thing I knock out just to get them out of the way
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Both versions of All-Stars came free with my PS3
All-Stars was "eh"
And then I tried the portable one and it was "eh" but portable
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I'm more encouraged by that than someone saying 'our games were perfect, and if anyone had a problem with some of the designs or controls or whatever, that's just their fault for not recognising genius'
I'm still a little worried about this game, though. Rocksteady dropped enough hints for a sequel in City, were they not actually planning to make one?
Considering their track record, I find it hard to believe that someone would have said "forget that third Arkham game guys, we want you to make something else"
Yup, I'll be selling my copy of all-stars soon. I thought that I would still enjoy it since, y'know, Ratchet is in it...but nope, the game is a steaming pile with a terrible scoring system. Oh well, at least I bought it on the cheap.
I am super excited for portable Batman though....I mean I never thought I would get a Batroidvania, and look where we are now.
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