"Father to Son" is the name of the announcement trailer.
And apparently the Batmobile is going to be a "key gameplay component".
Rocksteady wrote:In the explosive finale to the Arkham series, Batman faces the ultimate threat against the city he is sworn to protect. The Scarecrow returns to unite an impressive roster of super villains, including Penguin, Two-Face and Harley Quinn, to destroy The Dark Knight forever.
Batman: Arkham Knight introduces Rocksteady's uniquely designed version of the Batmobile, which is drivable for the first time in the franchise. The addition of this legendary vehicle, combined with the acclaimed gameplay of the Batman Arkham series, offers gamers the ultimate and complete Batman experience as they tear through the streets and soar across the skyline of the entirety of Gotham City.
I strongly suspected that Rocksteady where working on a New Arkham game for the new generation of consoles. Glad to see that I was right and that Origins was just a way of squeezing a last sequel out of the last generation.
The new trailer is stunning. I was looking for an excuse to get a PS4 next xmas and now I have one.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Unless you are a completist I really wouldnt bother. The game is buggy and poorly designed.
Hmm, hopefully you can play other characters than Batman for a bit longer than in the past.
Unless you are a completist I really wouldn’t bother. The game is buggy and poorly designed. All the stuff that was good about Arkham City is still good, but everything else Montreal added is poor, which on the whole drags the game down to a 5/10.
I’ve had no desire to replay the game since completing it and I played the first two Arkham games multiple times.
Arkham Origins has the best story and the best score of any of the Arkham games. The level in the hotel is worth the price of admission alone, along with the bridge mission. Yes, it has bugs and it's not as polished. And the last boss fight is an exercise in frustration.
I'd never skip it though. Putting aside the annoying bugs it was a tremendous amount of fun.
But who cares about all that because...
ARKHAM KNIGHT!!!
I cannot wait for this, and it looks like Rocksteady is making good on the hints from the last game (Scarecrow's messages hidden in the scanner). As long as they also follow-up on the Order of St. Dumas stuff as well, I'll be happy.
Now they just need to announce that Kevin Conroy is returning to voice Batman.
Awww, damn.. I had put some thought into finally finishing 'Arkham:City' and moving onto 'Origins' (it's cheap enough to buy now). But after seeing that trailer, now i'm going to have to get a PS4?!
I had promised my wife that I wouldn't get one until next year
Oh and Hush. They need to follow up on the Hush stuff that was hinted at in City. Scarecrow follow-up, Hush follow-up, Knights of St. Dumas follow-up, and not have it all be an elaborate plot of the resurrected Joker. I trust Rocksteady to get that right.
Speak for yourself. I thought it had the best plot (and music) of all three Arkham games. Roughest gameplay, and certainly less polish than the other games, but it wasn't bad.
Speak for yourself. I thought it had the best plot (and music) of all three Arkham games. Roughest gameplay, and certainly less polish than the other games, but it wasn't bad.
Tell me. Do you really think the joker is that intelligent? I mean in the comics he wasn't that intelligent. But thats just me. I love the first arkham games, and found the origins game laughably predictable and an example of spectacle creep.
Asherian Command wrote: Tell me. Do you really think the joker is that intelligent? I mean in the comics he wasn't that intelligent. But thats just me. I love the first arkham games, and found the origins game laughably predictable and an example of spectacle creep.
As I just said, these aren't the comics. And yes, I do think Joker is smart enough to pull something like that off. He's all about the long game. Plans within plans. Wheels within wheels. I don't think he accounted for Bane (just like I don't think he accounted for Strange's connection to the League of Assassins and what Protocol 10 was, or what Ivy would do to Arkham Island), so he's not omniscient. But devious enough to come up with a plan to get Batman? Yeah. I'm prety sure he's clever enough for that.
None of us know if she will be back in a future game. But there is no law of comic books or video games stating that characters who appeared to die at one point and whose bodies are discovered to be missing at another point can never appear again. If anything, the exact opposite is true of both comics and video games generally.
Yeah, I guess you're right: there is no possible way a comic book character in a video game who helps run an organization founded on immortality could possibly ever appear again.
Manchu wrote: None of us know if she will be back in a future game. But there is no law of comic books or video games stating that characters who appeared to die at one point and whose bodies are discovered to be missing at another point can never appear again. If anything, the exact opposite is true of both comics and video games generally.
Highly unlikely. This is the last game in this incarnation of Batman. So she won't appear in this series again.
Yeah, I guess you're right: there is no possible way a comic book character in a video game who helps run an organization founded on immortality could possibly ever appear again.
Manchu wrote: Yeah, I guess you're right: there is no possible way a comic book character in a video game who helps run an organization founded on immortality could possibly ever appear again.
Are you being intentionally antagonistic? And whatever happened to not posting non-gaming related pictures on Dakka. Should we get ol' reds8n in here to delete your picture and replace it with a red text warning. Would you like that???
1. Of course they can come back. I get how comics work. Don't treat me like an imbecile and talk down to me. 2. I'm not arguing that they can't. I'm saying that they won't. The Joker is dead. They made a point of killing him. To bring him or Talia or anyone who has died (with the exception of Ra's, who they established can keep coming back) would basically ruin a lot of what they've set up.
3. This is supposed to be a thread to talking about the new game, not acting like a smug comic book nerd needling other people with sarcastic snark, so give it a fething rest.
Even though... she might have a small role in the game. Looking at the tittle of the trailer. "From father to son." This either is for Brucie and his father, or it's teasing to Damian?
H.B.M.C. wrote: And whatever happened to not posting non-gaming related pictures on Dakka.
Wow, talk about a one up fail. Of course you are allowed to post non gaming related images on Dakka. But you cannot attach them and generally speaking you can't upload them to the gallery.
H.B.M.C. wrote: I'm not arguing that they can't. I'm saying that they won't.
Can you give me any further spoilers for this unreleased game?
H.B.M.C. wrote: This is supposed to be a thread to talking about the new game, not acting like a smug comic book nerd needling other people with sarcastic snark, so give it a fething rest.
To reiterate, I hope Talia appears in Arkham Knight and I don't think her death scene -- considering this is a video game based on comic books -- makes that impossible.
I do think the trailer was kind of weird thematically. Why is Thomas Wayne's hope that Bruce would do good by the Wayne name and dollars relevant to the fourth game in the series? Maybe it is teasing something.
Manchu wrote: Wow, talk about a one up fail. Of course you are allowed to post non gaming related images on Dakka. But you cannot attach them and generally speaking you can't upload them to the gallery.
If you say so...
Manchu wrote: Can you give me any further spoilers for this unreleased game?
What did I just say about being intentionally antagonistic, or talking down to me, or treating me like an idiot? That's it. I'm done with you. I don't give two gaks if you're a mod or the God-damned admin of Dakka. I'm reporting you for breaking Rule #1.
Ahtman wrote: It is always fun when one nerd calls another person a nerd as some sort of argument.
Of course that's not even slightly what I did, or even the main thrust of what I was saying. Lern 2 reed.
It seems your emotions are so out of whack at the moment you don't quite realize what you are typing or how you are coming across. You seem irrationally upset, and are quite confrontational while complaining about others being confrontational. You might want to take a moment and calm down.
But since moderation came up, Rule Number Two is stay on topic. If you have complaints, by all means pass them on to whoever but don't spam the thread.
HBMC, you're telling me that Talia will not be in the new game despite it being a video game, a medium famous for treating apparent death as a plot device, despite it being based on comic books, both famous for treating apparent death as a plot device as a medium generally and more specifically this very title and this very character is famous for it, and despite the game not being out yet. I mean, maybe you write Batman games for Rocksteady but otherwise I don't see how you can make such a categorical statement.
I enjoyed the hell out of Asylum and City... but was almost finished City when they closed down GFWL, which meant I had to switch over to Steam and start all over again. And that was after all the hassles getting GFWL to work with these two games in the first place.
But you did play City again right? To me, that's great testimony of the game's playability. Major nuisances like the ones you describe tend to spoil me even on good games. I am thinking specifically about game breaking NWN2 bugs.
I haven't played Origins yet because ... I guess the marketing never convinced me it was (1) doing more than City or (2) telling an interesting story. (But I should also mention that while I love Asylum and City, I didn't think the story of either was particularly interesting.) Contrast that to Arkham Knight where we have the Batmobile.
Origins was OK, I liked the story but the action got a little repetitive. It might help to get some of the background on the characters of this particular incarnation of Batman/Gotham, but I don't think you would be missing much.
I might actually buy a next gen console for this. First game that's really pulled me in, plus I loved Asylum and City.
Do you think they'll follow up that element from City with the guy who had made himself to look like Bruce Wayne with all those dead peoples faces? Hush?
Perhaps Scarecrow will use Hush to discredit Wayne. Perhaps that's why Thomas' will is part of the trailer, kind of highlighting what a good guy Bruce is and potentially what he could have become instead.
Oh gosh, I wonder if (along those lines) the trailer is a teaser for Simon Hurt. The Arkham series ... with some Grant Morrison inspiration ... would be mind blowing!
Trailer looked good overall. I wonder how much of it will actually be in the game, though? I mean, how much money did they blow on a trailer that could have been spent on further game development?
I'm undecided on the design of the Batmobile. I think my favorite is still the Tim Burton Batmobile.
Hmm, maybe they will have alternative Batmobiles you can unlock, just like different costumes? Would be cool to cruise around in the Adam West Batmobile.
Not yet. The first run through was only a few months ago. I'll probably go back to it sooner or later, but I'm still trying to summon up the enthusiasm.
(But I should also mention that while I love Asylum and City, I didn't think the story of either was particularly interesting.) .
I actually quite enjoyed the stories of both. City in particular felt a lot like No Man's Land, which was a story that I enjoyed the hell out of.
So one of the devs at Rocksteady is dropping hints that this has cooperative gameplay, with the second player being able to take their pick of Robin, Catwoman, or Nightwing as their character.
Tannhauser42 wrote: Hmm, maybe they will have alternative Batmobiles you can unlock, just like different costumes?
That my good man is a really top notch idea. (BTW the Burtonmobile is also my favorite!)
insaniak wrote: City in particular felt a lot like No Man's Land, which was a story that I enjoyed the hell out of.
Very true, it did capture that feeling. No Man's Land came out in three paperbacks around the time Arkham City launched so I took the opportunity to collect them. It's a good series. I have a lot of favorite Batman I guess but I would love to see a game that has more of that 80s O'Neil and Adams "Batman is James Bond" feeling or, as hinted at above, some Grant Morrison mind bending. Or Knightfall!!!
Origins was twice the size of City. 5 times? Yikes.
And Conroy is back.
Tannhauser42 wrote: Trailer looked good overall. I wonder how much of it will actually be in the game, though? I mean, how much money did they blow on a trailer that could have been spent on further game development?
This isn't the first time they've done a CG trailer for an Arkham game. City had its own CGI trailer, made by Blur (so I presume this one was too), and given that it's Warner Brothers and that Batman is one of their biggest propeties I'd hazzard that not only did this trailer's cost come out of the game's marketing budget (and not its development budget) but that this game's marketing budget will be huge.
Kanluwen wrote: So one of the devs at Rocksteady is dropping hints that this has cooperative gameplay, with the second player being able to take their pick of Robin, Catwoman, or Nightwing as their character.
They've also specifically said that there's no multiplayer, and that they're focusing on making the best single-player experience they can. Nice to see a studio bunking the trend of crow-barring a pointless multiplayer mode into a single-player game.
Examiner.com wrote:As for the storyline in "Arkham Knight," the game takes places after Joker's death in "Arkham City," where all the major villains and crime lords in Gotham have joined forces one night to eliminate Batman. Without giving too much away, the game opens up with Scarecrow telling everyone in Gotham to scram, as he planted fear toxin bombs all over the city. The demo played by Game Informer ends with a reveal of a mysterious new character dressed similarly to Batman called the Arkham Knight, who sports an "A" instead of a bat logo. The Arkham Knight is an original character by Rocksteady and was created with the help of Geoff Johns, DC Comics writer and Chief Creative Officer. Longtime Batman voice actor, Kevin Conroy, reprises his role as the Dark Knight in the latest game.
Gotham City is said to be five time larger than the open-world environment in "Arkham City" and split into three areas. The city streets are much wider than previous games to accommodate for players driving in the Batmobile. The Batmobile can be summoned with a button and can destroy anything it touches on the road. On top of that, the Batmobile can fire missiles, stun guns, and Batman himself into the air. Car-based challenges are also present in the game, with the first coming from the Riddler.
Batman will start off with his old costume and upgrade to a new suit later on in the game. All moves can now be done in-flight, including the use of gadgets. Additionally, the linear launcher can now be used anywhere to create ziplines to traverse. "Arkham Knight" is running on a modified Unreal engine and makes full use of the PS4's and Xbox One's hardware. All cinematics in the game are not pre-rendered; everything is done in engine. With no load times present, players can now entering buildings in the game seamlessly.
While Rocksteady and Conroy have returned to the Arkham game franchise, comic book writer and long associated Batman writer, Paul Dini, has not. However, Dini offered some encouraging words for the game and Rocksteady on his official Twitter account.
Paul Dini wrote:Okay I just read the announcement and saw the father/son promo. Really the first I've heard of it. However, it looks kick-ass...
And as it's Rocksteady, you know it's going to be great. I can't wait to see more
The no load times thing sounds great. I wonder if that will become a standard thing with these types of games during this new console generation. As to the suit upgrade part, and given the trailer, I guess that means taking on the Nolan look.
I really hope they don't bring back Joker. His death was such a fantastic moment in City that to resurect him would just feel cheap.
Glad to see two face in the Traler, I hope he gets a role as a major villian this time. Being only a minor villian for Catwoman in City was kind of disapointing.
Hasn't Mark Hamill said City would be his last work as the Joker? Not to say that proves the Joker won't reappear (even if this was already kind of the plot of City) but maybe it points in that direction.
If the Harley Quinn stuff is a small single-player campaign (as opposed to just her being playable in challenge maps), then I can see the Joker returning as hallucinations/flashbacks. She is nuts after all, so that'd make sense.
Otherwise yeah, he really shouldn't be in this as it does cheapen City's great ending. Plus, as mentioned, Hamill did say City was his final performance as Joker and I doubt that, as good as he is, they'll have Troy Baker pull double duty as Two-Face and Joker (and maybe even Robin, again!).
H.B.M.C. wrote: I can see the Joker returning as hallucinations/flashbacks. She is nuts after all, so that'd make sense.
Excellent point -- I don't really see her as being able to, erm, move on from that, ah, relationship.
H.B.M.C. wrote: I doubt that, as good as he is, they'll have Troy Baker pull double duty
Unless he can do a great impression of Mark Hamill's Joker, it might also end up being off-putting (as for example, IMO, in DC animated features such as the otherwise excellent Under The Red Hood).
Compel wrote: Or whether they'll be saving that for a Batman Beyond series of games.
I get the feeling from the trailer that Rocksteady is moving away from comics/cartoon Batman and toward Nolan Batman. Then again, the CG trailer for City didn't really represent the actual tone of the game too well.
I'd say it's actually neither the comics nor Nolan Batman. It's more like a more high-tech take on the cartoon series (unsurprising really, given who wrote the first two games).
As far as Harley's baby goes, I'm pretty sure that plotline was concluded in Harley Quinn's Revenge. In the steel mill you find a crib with a mutilated Scarface doll surrounded by 'Negative' pregnancy tests. It appears the one in City-proper was a false positive.
And Troy does do the voice of Joker in Origins, and he does a really good job. There are times where it's indistinguishable from Hamill, but it is a younger Joker. But in small doses (the aforementioned hallucinatons) it could be quite good.
H.B.M.C. wrote: It's more like a more high-tech take on the cartoon series (unsurprising really, given who wrote the first two games).
Very true of Asylum and City. The reason I bring up Nolan is because of the trailer for Knight. The cowl seems to become the Nolan bathelm -- as per the article above, this could be an in-game moment.
H.B.M.C. wrote: And Troy does do the voice of Joker in Origins, and he does a really good job.
Just keep John DiMaggio (Bender from Futurama/Jake from Adventure Time) away from the role!
The only Nolan in these games is Nolan North, voice of Penguin (and, like, all the thugs that aren't either "Generic Black Man" or Steve Blum).
Oh, and one thing we all need to remember: Rocksteady is still just the developer. The publisher remains the as consumer unfriendly as ever Warner Brothers, the same people who cut the Catwoman section out of City to turn it into a makeshift online pass available only with new copies.
To that end:
And that confirms that Harley’s stuff is just Deathstroke-esque challenge maps and unfortunately (?) not a single-player Catwoman-esque section.
The design aesthetic, at least that we've seen so far, of the Bat suit in Arkham Knight breaks with that of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. In the previous two games, Batman wore a rubber-like cowl, a mask that also covers the neck and parts of the shoulders. In Arkham Knight, Batman seems to have a helmet made from some kind of hard material that is totally separate from his cape and the material around his neck:
Spoiler:
That in turn was a novel design choice from Nolan's Dark Knight:
Spoiler:
You can also see the influence of Nolan's Bat suit, in terms of the angular, hard material plates, on the Arkham Knight suit. By contrast, the Bat suit in Asylum and City was a variation on the more traditional 1990s Detective Comics suit.
Spoiler:
Interestingly, the the City design already shows hints of being influenced by the Nolan movies:
Spoiler:
I'd also say that the Arkham Knight batmobile has more in common with the militaristic tumbler from the Nolan films than the swept back coup of the Burton films or the Animated Series -- or even the Arkham City batmobile for that matter!
LuciusAR wrote: Not an obvious copy, but it has a very similar feel to it.
That's the overall impression I have from the whole trailer, that there is a strong "Nolanian" influence. If it plays out beyond the CGI trailer, it seems like a pretty big change for the franchise.
That's a low blow Kan! But it would make sense, I guess. On the other side, Bats never looked like Bale in either Asylum or City (at least to mine eyes).
Manchu wrote: That's the overall impression I have from the whole trailer, that there is a strong "Nolanian" influence. If it plays out beyond the CGI trailer, it seems like a pretty big change for the franchise.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Arkham Origins has the best story and the best score of any of the Arkham games. The level in the hotel is worth the price of admission alone, along with the bridge mission. Yes, it has bugs and it's not as polished. And the last boss fight is an exercise in frustration.
I'd never skip it though. Putting aside the annoying bugs it was a tremendous amount of fun
Agreed entirely. the dialogue with the villains was by FAR the best of all the games thus far.
H.B.M.C. wrote: Now they just need to announce that Kevin Conroy is returning to voice Batman.
I hope so. Would be annoying to change voice actors right at the end!
His Joker sounds like any given droll/creepy villain. It's growly and monotonous rather than psychotically musical. He laugh is atrocious and the laugh is pretty important; it's what made Hamill's interpretation so vivid.
I thought DiMaggio's laugh caused the same feeling as nails on a chalkboard. Obviously not the same sound, but the same reaction. I loved it. I'm not bashing Hamill at all-I loved his performance. But I think DiMaggio is getting the short end of the stick here. Among my crowd, I've yet to show UtRH to anyone who disliked it, or even found it only "okay". Each person who I've shown it to has agreed that it's the best Batman movie they've seen. So...shrug. Your mileage varies by quite a bit, I'd say.
However, yeah, John DiMaggio just wasn't Joker-ish enough to me. He sounded too... serious. If you listened to it without actually watching the video, it could be any generic Bat-villain doing the beat down.
Well, if Mr. J does show up somehow (for example, in the quite plausible scenario HBMC mentioned) I reckon they will at least get a Hamill impersonator rather than go with DiMaggio's interpretation or similar.
One performance/artistic choice I do not care for at all is the Penguin's cockneyish accent, which might even amount to a kind of retcon of the character. Oswald Cobblepot is the scion of one of Gotham's First Families, not an Eastender wannabe. Too late to do anything about it now I guess.
I also didn't care for the voice acting for Ra's in City (by the guy who did Appa and Momo in Last Airbender) because it doesn't have anything in the way of gravitas that one would expect from such an ancient schemer. It certainly doesn't hold a candle to the performance of David Warner in BTAM. Every time Warner's Ra's said "Detective," I could hear a blend of admiration, sadness, weariness, and spite. In City, it's just blah blah blah boring stock villain voice.
It's not just Conroy and Hamill who left a strong impression on me from BTAM. A lot of the cast members were amazing talents who perfectly captured, or perfectly reinvented, the essence of these characters. Michael Ansara's Mr. Freeze is another great example, a performance -- along with the larger reimagining -- that has defined the character's presentation across media ever since (including in Arkham City).
Well they've already got Baker there doing Two-Face, so he can just do his Joker from Origins again if they desperately need him. Penguin's accent is at least explained in the game's background material (if your read it all after finding the various riddles/trophies/items/etc.). I mean, he got the bottle stuck in his eye socket during a fight!
Whenever I hear Ra's speak I hear the Clones from Clone Wars, 'cause it's Dee Bradley Baker. Not sure if they'll do Freeze again. I think his story is kinda done from an Arkham perspective. Batman and him reached a kind of détente by the end, so him suddenly becoming a problem seems unlikely.
His Joker sounds like any given droll/creepy villain. It's growly and monotonous rather than psychotically musical. He laugh is atrocious and the laugh is pretty important; it's what made Hamill's interpretation so vivid.
Yeah, he doesn't sound like the Joker at all. Not crazy enough.
But since moderation came up, Rule Number Two is stay on topic. If you have complaints, by all means pass them on to whoever but don't spam the thread.
HBMC, you're telling me that Talia will not be in the new game despite it being a video game, a medium famous for treating apparent death as a plot device, despite it being based on comic books, both famous for treating apparent death as a plot device as a medium generally and more specifically this very title and this very character is famous for it, and despite the game not being out yet. I mean, maybe you write Batman games for Rocksteady but otherwise I don't see how you can make such a categorical statement.
The issue I have with her being in the next one is that generally 'comic book death' only happens after a good amount of time, to allow the use of the deceased character in new stories. storyline wise City and Knight will be consecutive, so I really can't see them resurrecting a character between the two games; it would be like killing a character at the end of a story arc and then resurrecting them for the very next story arc.
I've got to agree Goliath... As far as Mr J is concerned. Arkham City was ultimately Joker's tale, which was book-ended quite comfortably.
However, an Al Ghul is a different matter entirely and Ra's did establish the possibility in Arkham City that when people are brought back from the dead using it, the can turn back wrong. Now, if that were, to say, happen to Talia... Then we have an set of sidequests. Or alternatively, an emotional core to the story.
New info/screenshots, thanks to Playstation Magazine, via the fine filks at Arkhamverse.com:
You can call on the batmobile mid-glide by targeting a spot you want it to drive to
- The Batmobile pretty much affects everything you hit in some fashion, not just certain walls
- You use L2 mid-glide to use the line launcher
- The use of gadgets while gliding produces a slo-mo sequence
- The batmobile has a boost function
- The boost function refuels when you drift around corners
- Rocksteady isn’t talking about whether or not you can upgrade it
Arkham Knight lead character artist Albert Feliu recently spoke with GameInformer about the work he and his team have done re-defining the look of Batman’s villains for the new game.
The Penguin - Feliu attributed most of Penguin’s look to a change in season in-game (as Arkham Knight is set on Halloween.) “This time, we went for autumnal mafia. We took the coat off, and the concept of Penguin was more of a dirty dude. Obviously his shirt is rolled up and sweaty, and he has food stains on it. But still, he’s really powerful. He’s got a golden chain, as well. We had to be a bit crazy with this character, and working with his design. And we shaved his head. He’s proper filthy, you know. It makes you want to punch him even more.”
Two-Face - “ we thought he was a really strong character already,” said Feliu of the character’s design in Arkham City. On the proces of updating him for Knight, Feliu added that not much was changed: “OK, that was Arkham City; what can we do to make him look different, right? We just rolled up his sleeves and made him look really next-gen. We took some references of really filthy, burnt flesh – which is what we do most of the time, which is quite cool – and tried to make him look as badass as we could.”
The Riddler - Feliu promised more Riddler in Arkham Knight: “This time around, you see him throughout the game, and he evolves… It’s something we try to put in the characters. If you had to work overtime, for example, you would start the night with your jumper on and everything, and as the time went by you’d probably take your jumper off, open your shirt, take your tie off, have a coffee. The Riddler is a character who has a cool framework, and we didn’t want to change it too much – we like his shirts with question marks and silly glasses and greasy hair.”
There's a character literally called "Arkham Knight," as in it's not a epithet for Bats? Wow, I feel really old right now because that strikes me as totally absurd. Almost as dumb as giving the Penguin a cockneyish accent, even. I suppose this could be a corruption of the Azrael storyline?
I am glad to see Babs getting actual screen time, even if it's as Orcale (bleh).
Manchu wrote: There's a character literally called "Arkham Knight," as in it's not a epithet for Bats? Wow, I feel really old right now because that strikes me as totally absurd. Almost as dumb as giving the Penguin a cockneyish accent, even. I suppose this could be a corruption of the Azrael storyline?
It's not really a "corruption". You'll see more as time goes on, but think of Hush.
Kanluwen wrote: The Arkhamverse is not the same as the comics universe.
Like I said, corruption.
If you say so. Azrael initially started off as a villain for Batman.
Kanluwen wrote: Remember the whole "prophecy" that Azrael gives to Batman in Arkham City?
I remember it being vague: "bad things will happen so beware!"
Dark days are coming Batman. The prophecy is coming true, you are the warrior who will close the gates of Hell. You are the one who will save this day and in doing so events will occur that you cannot stop. From the ashes of Arkham, the fires will rage and Gotham will burn. And you? You will burn too.
Rocksteady started work on Arkham Knight almost immediately after they finished City. They had a plan for Azrael...and to an extent, Thomas Elliott.
I feel like we're talking past each other because you want to appear to have information without divulging it. Not saying you don't have info, just that this conversation is going nowhere.
Azrael was never an "Arkham Knight." So if he's that in this game, yes, it would be a corruption of his story line, i.e., a change so great as to basically invalidate the original character. And Hush had nothing to do with any incarnation of Azrael.
Finally, there is nothing substantial in that "prophecy." It could as easily be literal as metaphoric. I have a prophecy for you Kanluwen; in the future, there will be more Batman games so beware! Now, when the next game after Arkham Knight comes out, you can remember that I prophecized it here on Dakka Dakka first.
So, is this meaning that everyone is suggesting that Tommy Elliot / Hush stumbles across Strange's notes in Arkham City and as a result, suffers his psychotic break when finding out his childhood friend is Batman?
So, *he* ends up being the Arkham Knight as an 'evil' Batman and, of course, decides that naturally, the only way to save Gotham is to burn it down?
Manchu wrote: What are you talking about? Three Bruce Waynes with British accents in comics and two in animated series? A British accent is "camp" to you?
That's true on all three counts (it is camp, camp is part of its charm, and it is charming) but it has nothing to do with giving established characters foreign accents out of nowhere.
Arkham Knight is a new character Rocksteady have created for this game. Is he Az? Is he Hush? No one knows (other than the developers and voice actors I 'spose). Personally I doubt he's either.
Kanluwen wrote: I do not think that image is the Arkham Knight.
It is. They said it is. That's the publicity shot they've made of Arkham Knight.
And really, on the grand scale of complaints, Penguin having a cockney accent isn't that big a deal.
Maaaaaaaan, I hope not. I have already seen people suggest it's Talia, which I think would be just slightly less dumb even though I'd like to see her back in AK otherwise.
The GameInformer Hub articles are always hit or miss (we love the videos, but could do with fewer filler articles), but the latest one that focuses on the Batsuit is pretty informative.
As usual, we haven’t ripped off the article, so go and take a look at their editorial, but what we have done is taken the quotes from Rocksteady staff and presented them to you below.
Art Director, David Hego:
“You put them next to each other, and you can see that they’re coming from the same family. You get the same elements on Batman’s suit, you have the same shapes, you have different metal shaders between carbon fiber and the brushed metal shininess. That’s the visual story. The story behind it is that Batman has this new car, and he’s doing all this crazy s— with it, and he needs to eject at mach 3 out of it.”
Lead Character Artist, Albert Feliu:
“I remember having a meeting with David a year and a half ago, and we were talking about what we could do to make Batman’s suit really special. The Batmobile was there, and we started talking. We wanted to do something that was awesome – it was going to look amazing in terms of shaders and new techniques, but it needs to look different. We couldn’t go the same way. We had to diverge in a new direction, where people would notice that this is a next-gen Arkham. That was our goal – all the materials, all the leathers, and everything that kind of went with that. It takes five or six times more time to make Batman than any other character, so it was heavy and it was hard work, but I thought it paid off in a way.
The cape still covers the shoulders, but now he has the armor on top. If you imagine, if you were gliding down like Batman, down a city, to support that amount of muscle and weight, it makes more sense that it was attached to the cowl. What we did was build this armor thing, and one of the purposes of it was to hold the cape in place when it’s gliding around and all this ridiculous force to keep Batman and the cape attached. The cape is actually still there, it’s just that it’s covered.
Studio co-owner, Jamie Walker:
“He can move in it [the suit]. That’s very important to us to have an authentic feel. Parts of it that haven’t ever been before are now articulated as well, so they all move in a different way.”
The comments about Batman launching from the Batmobile are particularly exciting. After reading this, we can’t wait to see the game in action – bring on the gameplay footage!
It was really funny to hear it used to reference the new Penguin - a Next-Gen Penguin no less!
It's a company line. Everyone who's giving interviews has been coached on two things:
1. Say "Next-Gen" as often as possible.
2. Talk about the Batmobile as much as you can.
In fact, they're pimping the Batmobile so much that I wouldn't be surprised if WB cut the Batmobile and made it Day-1 DLC like they did with Catwoman stuff.
It was really funny to hear it used to reference the new Penguin - a Next-Gen Penguin no less!
It's a company line. Everyone who's giving interviews has been coached on two things:
1. Say "Next-Gen" as often as possible.
2. Talk about the Batmobile as much as you can.
In fact, they're pimping the Batmobile so much that I wouldn't be surprised if WB cut the Batmobile and made it Day-1 DLC like they did with Catwoman stuff.
They're not. It's very integral to the gameplay...plus they've already announced that some places/editions are going to have skins for the Batmobile as preorder stuff.
Kanluwen wrote: They're not. It's very integral to the gameplay...
Your point being?
The Catwoman stuff was pimped at E3 to no end, with Catwoman being a major focus of their hype. They even said how important her sections were to the game, and how it made up 10% of the story and stuff like that. They may have even used the word 'integral' a few times.
And what happened? WB ripped it out of the game, turning it into a combined Day-1 DLC/Online Pass that you had to download. Surprised a lot of people, including Rocksteady, who never said it was DLC during E3. Because it wasn't.
Kanluwen wrote: They're not. It's very integral to the gameplay...
Your point being?
The Catwoman stuff was pimped at E3 to no end, with Catwoman being a major focus of their hype. They even said how important her sections were to the game, and how it made up 10% of the story and stuff like that. They may have even used the word 'integral' a few times.
My point is that it would be like if they made Batman's grappling hook to be DLC. The Batmobile is key to movement within the city, alongside of the already existing grappling hook.
Once you see the game in action, you'll see just how integrated it is into the actual gameplay.
And what happened? WB ripped it out of the game, turning it into a combined Day-1 DLC/Online Pass that you had to download. Surprised a lot of people, including Rocksteady, who never said it was DLC during E3. Because it wasn't.
The only people who this really affected were those who bought the game used. Yeah, it sucked for them but it wasn't kept secret that "only new copies of the game will come with the Catwoman DLC".
For what it's worth though...
Yeah, Warner Brothers does some stupid crap when it comes to DLC. With Arkham City it was the first time they did DLC that wasn't system specific(Asylum had Joker only for PS3, as an example) and it was at the height of the "$10-$15 DLC included for free with the new copies of the game" craze. And what they're doing with Arkham Origins right now, with the Mr. Freeze DLC coming out almost at the end of April? Ridiculous.
Alpharius wrote: It's a company line. Everyone who's giving interviews has been coached on two things:
1. Say "Next-Gen" as often as possible.
2. Talk about the Batmobile as much as you can.
Very funny - and no doubt quite true!
So here's the first two questions from a new interview in PC gamer. I'll bold the important parts.
PC Gamer: You’re dealing with an open world many times the size of your previous games. How did Rocksteady have to adapt to making a world of this size?
Dax Ginn: For us in the past it’s been one way or the other. The detail we put into creating Arkham Asylum was critical to the atmosphere of that game. Then in Arkham City when we just blew the doors off and went open world, it was really a balance of how big we could go and how detailed we could execute [the world]. Using the horsepower of next-gen, we’ve really been able to deliver on both for the first time, and that’s just been incredibly awesome for our engine team to be able to say to our art guys and our creative guys, ‘you just go for it. Create the atmosphere of Gotham you’ve always wanted to create.’ So the decision to make the game exclusively for next-gen has really opened the door on that for us.
PC Gamer: What were your points of inspiration from Batman lore for the storyline here?
Dax Ginn: It’s the craziest thing, because we sort of inspire ourselves. I know that sort of sounds cheesy, but the development and narrative threads set up by the previous games really put us on a path. That’s what we knew we had to execute on when it came to Arkham Knight. We were finishing a trilogy so it had to be grounded in the story we told before. It was the same thing with the design of the Batmobile—the Arkham Asylum Batmobile is the foundation for the design of the Arkham Knight Batmobile. It wasn’t driveable in Arkham Asylum and it now is this time around. So all the sources of inspiration come from the work we’ve done before in a very conscious way. Subconsciously, I’m sure we’re all insane Batman fans, so who knows where that comes from.
Third sentence into both answers, and we're back onto the company line. Nex Gen! Batmobile! Next Gen! Batmobile. The second question wasn't even about anything related to the Batmobile, the guy just turned the conversation that way.
You see, I think we can all agree that one villain who is an absolute MUST for this game is the great and mighty Man-bat. Granted, I've only made it through Asylum and part of City, but my sources tell me he is not in the series thus far, which must be addressed! Adding in Killer Moth and Great White could be pretty sweet as well, I know they've referenced both of them in the past.
We could also use more Deathstroke and Grundy. I never get tired of either!
It wouldn't surprise me if Deathstroke was taken off the cards entirely now. - I imagine that the Arkham Origins people have declared 'dibs' for his Suicide Squad game/series.
