Batman: Arkham Knight

[MrGonzales]

Wasn't Arkham city supposed to be the last game? But then Arkham Origins got made, and now there's this game...

Something tells me we haven't seen the last of the Arkham franchise yet.

There was Azrael's appearance in Arkham City where he gives cryptic warnings that just scream "sequel". His exact words were:

"I bring a message: 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."

So presumably Arkham Knight will be about that.

 

[BrotherRool]

That's quite an interesting voice over. I wonder if the irony was just for comedy or if they're planning on taking that idea somewhere

Given Rocksteady's track record, I'm betting this game will further deconstruct the idea of Batman and how effective he is at stopping crime, as well as how he has made things better or worse in Gotham.[/quote]

I'd be interested in that, they had a pretty hard hitting message in Asylum and then in City it was a little more clouded in the gameplay, but they still had interesting things to say. If they want to really talk about whether Batman is helping people in the best way available to him, that could make an interesting game.

The part where it could go wrong though and where I'm worried the Arkham series will end is, they keep deconstructing this version of Batman and focusing on the brutality, but they don't do anything with that and still expect you to enjoy the game. It would be like if Spec Ops expected you to buy a sequel with more shooting dudes. Either they need to ultimately show that Batman is helping and that there is something that keeps him above the mob, or they need to show him changing in the way he deals with criminals and keeps himself.

 

[anthony87]

Wasn't Arkham city supposed to be the last game?

Considering the amount of foreshadowing there was for future events I seriously doubt it.

 

[Genocidicles]

I'm assuming the voice at the start of the trailer is Scarecrow, because he's talking about engulfing the city in fear.

I don't really like his new voice to be honest. It sounds a bit like Tom Hardy's Bane... I preferred his voice in Arkham Asylum.

 

[elvor0]

I'm assuming the voice at the start of the trailer is Scarecrow, because he's talking about engulfing the city in fear.

I don't really like his new voice to be honest. It sounds a bit like Tom Hardy's Bane... I preferred his voice in Arkham Asylum.

Ahh not too much I don't think. I can't truthfully remember what he sounded like in Asylum, but it's conceivable he's either talking through a dodgy connection/voice masker or the listener is in the throws of fear toxin.

That trailer reminds me a lot of this one:


Deceased father talks about honour and whatnot, being a good person, while son in question does things vaguely related yet nevertheless contrasting said speech.

You're not the only one, first thing that jumped to mind was this trailer, was certainly "influenced" by it shall we say, at any rate. The Wrath trailer is pretty fucking spectacular though, still one of my favourite Blizzard cinematics.

 

[COMaestro]

I am very excited for this, and was surprised to see it's supposed to be released this year, since I didn't notice anything leak out about it other than Kevin Conroy mentioning he was working on the next Arkham game sometime last year. There were a lot of threads planted in City that can be expanded upon here. By the initial voiceover in the trailer, it sounds like Scarecrow to me. Plus seeing the thugs shooting it out with the police all wearing gas masks sorta go along with that to me.

Not sure how I feel about the Batmobile being part of the game. Unless there's a bunch of suburbs you need to go around where you won't be able to grapple around the city like normal, I don't see how the Batmobile would be faster than gliding around. Plus, I doubt there will be any pedestrians or anything, as usual, but I would love to be wrong about that. I'm worried there's just going to be a number of annoying car chase missions, which I never find to be fun.

Also, I heard on another site that this game would be the final in the Arkham franchise, and I hope that's true. Much as I love the Batman games, I don't want them to become overly stale and boring. Wrap up Batman and go to work on another comic superhero, there's LOTS to choose from.

 

[verdant monkai]

"I bring a message: 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."

So presumably Arkham Knight will be about that.

Thanks for the Azrael info mate, I didn't bother with his side quest so I missed that. I'm going off on a tangent I know but you got me thinking...

If they just kill Batman off I will be super pissed off. It will just mean that after you beat the last mission, Batman will just pop back up next to the finial mission icon. And we will still be able to free roam but all the characters will just act like the last mission hasn't happened.

That's one of the cool things about the Arkham games. After you beat the final boss and watch the credits. Everyone you meet congratulates you on a job well done, and gives you a shitty side quest which acknowledges your success. Like where you have to beat up thugs who are extra scared of you, because you beat the Joker.

However it would be awesome if Batman did die for real and then you get to play as Dick Grayson Batman (or nightwing). That would be interesting because the DLC opportunities would be fantastic. Dick would have to earn back the trust of characters like Jim Gordon and Catwoman, as they would know it wasn't the same man behind the bat mask. Criminals would also be so scared they would literally think he was supernatural.

 

[FPLOON]

Kinda figured they'd use Arkham Knight at some point. I hypothesise that future sequels will include Arkham Fall, Arkham Future, Arkham Rising and Arkham Shadow.

Don't forget Arkham Beyond, the prequel to Arkham Future...

OT: Uh... Can this one take place before Batman "retires" the cape or something? And maybe have a twist where the "next" Joker ends up being Nightwing or something like that...

Other than that, Origins was kinda disappointing after playing through City, Asylum was the most balanced of the three games, and City was one of best Batman game I've played since Asylum...

 

[Tanis]

@FPLOON:
Don't jest.

A Batman Beyond game would be freaking COOL!

 

[V4Viewtiful]

The trailer didn't excite me like the City one with Strange, where it revealed new stuff (like fighting mechanics) but any Bat-game by Rocksteady is okay.

I'm not a fan of the Origins style design to the suit, I preferd the mesh look from the first 2 however the Shin-guards and gauntlets a slime and I like them. the suit segments are a bit distracting.

Batmobile, Woo!

Apparently Dini isn't writing the story, i'm not too pleased about that because he left a lot of loose ends like Azrael who I believe may be important to this game.

 

[fezgod]

Three thoughts about this game:
1. This trailer (and to some extent the later parts of Arkham City) is that it shows that Batman isn't exactly the best thing for Gotham.

"The pursuit of a destructive lifestyle" - Pretty much sounds like Batman to me.

Maybe this series will end with Batman hanging up the cowl, since he realizes that, overall, he's doing more harm to Gotham than good.

2. Batman's fighting definitely looks more brutal. Which makes sense seeing how he acted in Harley Quinn's Revenge. It's funny that the only deaths in the Arkhamverse that have affected Batman's psyche are his parents' and

Spoiler

the Joker's.

3. In a twisted way, I'm happy that Arkham Knight is only on next-gen consoles because that means that they won't have to water down the game's features in order to accommodate for the 360 and PS3.

 

[EHKOS]

Well this is the first time the next gen console graphics impressed me, and if I'm perfectly honest, blew me off my feet.
A bit disappointed that they didn't go Beyond, but like a lot of great TRILOGIES there is sometimes a fourth spin-off a-la Sly Cooper and Naughty Dog that still shines.

Also I'm getting more angry than I should be about the amount of people who thought Origins was supposed to be the last game. It was a prequel made by a second-rate studio to stave off fans until Rocksteady finished their work. You can't rush art.

 

[FPLOON]

@<link=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/FPLOON>FPLOON:
Don't jest.

A Batman Beyond game would be freaking COOL!

Fuck yeah it would!
Especially if Rocksteady's at the helm...

*gasp* What if that's what Arkham Knight would lead up to in the end?
(I just realized that I'm more excited for a game that doesn't exist [yet] than Arkham Knight...)

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Well this is the first time the next gen console graphics impressed me, and if I'm perfectly honest, blew me off my feet.
A bit disappointed that they didn't go Beyond, but like a lot of great TRILOGIES there is sometimes a fourth spin-off a-la Sly Cooper and Naughty Dog that still shines.

Also I'm getting more angry than I should be about the amount of people who thought Origins was supposed to be the last game. It was a prequel made by a second-rate studio to stave off fans until Rocksteady finished their work. You can't rush art.

Do we actually know that these are in game graphics and not just pre-rendered cinematics?

 

[DudeistBelieve]

....Well finally theres a game that I'll buy the new consoles for, if it looks anything like the trailer that is. I've been wanting to drive the batmobile for so long now.

....God I really want though, a living breathing Gotham though. Give me pedestrians and purse-snatches and rapist.


More importantly, if this is the last game? End it with Batman's death. Why not? There are only two logical outcomes for Batman thematically- Either the day comes that he actually has something to live for, that he can actually be happy and move on from his parents death OR he dies saving people.

And the Nolanverse gave us the happy ending. Now give us the Death version.

 

[Jaylo69]

Kinda figured they'd use Arkham Knight at some point. I hypothesise that future sequels will include Arkham Fall, Arkham Future, Arkham Rising and Arkham Shadow.

Sweet. I enjoyed all of the games in the series and this is pretty cool news. I never did 100% origins though, there is a lot of side things I need to complete and haven't got around to yet. Also I need to try out Blackgate on the 3DS. It has been in my backlog for a few months.

Don't bother. Blackgate on 3DS is fucking terrible.

 

[Shocksplicer]

Kinda figured they'd use Arkham Knight at some point. I hypothesise that future sequels will include Arkham Fall, Arkham Future, Arkham Rising and Arkham Shadow.

Sweet. I enjoyed all of the games in the series and this is pretty cool news. I never did 100% origins though, there is a lot of side things I need to complete and haven't got around to yet. Also I need to try out Blackgate on the 3DS. It has been in my backlog for a few months.

Don't bother. Blackgate on 3DS is fucking terrible.

I'm guess on you quoted me by mistake...

 

[King Billi]

Wow! this game is going to be relased this year! Arkham Origins only just passed... I know that games purpose was just to whet fans appetite but I'm still amazed this new game is due so soon.

In any case I guess this will be the game that finally moves me to buy a PS4, would certainly be appropriate considering Arkham Asylum was the game which christened my PS3.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

More importantly, if this is the last game? End it with Batman's death. Why not? There are only two logical outcomes for Batman thematically- Either the day comes that he actually has something to live for, that he can actually be happy and move on from his parents death OR he dies saving people.

And the Nolanverse gave us the happy ending. Now give us the Death version.

There's the DC animated universe version, where Batman gets too old to fight crime and ends up a lonely old man forgotten by the world, so there is a 3rd logical outcome.

 

[lapan]

Pretty burned out on Arkham, so unless this is as good or better than the first game i'll pass on it