A year has passed since the events of Arkham City, and Gotham has begun
to show signs of recovery. The death of the Joker ushered in a period of
relative stability for Gotham – there were even signs of regeneration,
perhaps redemption. In truth the villains haven't disappeared, but
without the Joker's culture of chaos it's been more difficult for them
to destroy the lives of Gotham's honest citizens.
This isn't the salvation Batman has been fighting towards, though. It's
a moment of respite. The Joker's absence created a power vacuum in
Gotham, and the Scarecrow – arguably Rocksteady's most original take on a
Batman villain – has returned to seize control. He's threatening Gotham
with a large-scale chemical attack, forcing the authorities to issue a
city-wide evacuation. This is how Arkham Knight begins.
The prologue shows hysterical citizens jostling for spaces on school
buses being used to ferry people beyond the city's limits. The roads are
gridlocked. Time moves forward, and the streets become empty.
Everyone's left – at least the hard-working, decent folk of Gotham have.
There are a few cops behind, still fighting the good fight, but we see
one shot at close range. His body hits the ground. It's brutal,
remorseless, and as the camera pulls back, we see Two-Face and the
Penguin standing over the wide-eyed corpse. The narrator tells us that
Gotham has been inherited by "scum, criminals, and worse".
The camera glides through the streets, taking in the destruction –
burning cars puke out black smoke and packs of wild thugs roam freely.
The camera moves higher and higher, until at the very top of a large
building we see a familiar sight. Every Nolan film had one of these
unforgettable shots, where Batman – Gotham's watchful protector – was
caught, in silhouette, silently surveying the city he promised to
redeem. But this shot is impressive for different reasons. It shows the
immense scale of Arkham Knight, but also how seamless it wants this
world and experience to be.
The following hands-off demonstration lasted for approximately 30
minutes. Below are what I think right now are the most interesting or
striking elements of Arkham Knight. I also spoke with Rocksteady's brand
manager, Dax Ginn, who was able to go into more detail about certain
aspects of the game.
THE BATMOBILE
The Batmobile is undoubtedly the centrepiece of Arkham Knight. When I
first saw it in motion, tearing around the streets of Gotham, its
exhaust angrily snarling, I initially thought of Nolan's Tumbler. I
think a lot of people will. This is a huge vehicle, after all, with
gigantic tyres and the profile of a rhino, but the official inspiration
can be traced back to Rocksteady's very first Batman game, Arkham
Asylum.
I'd entirely forgotten but at the very beginning of Asylum the
Batmobile makes an appearance. "That’s the first one we looked at," says
Ginn. "We went back and had a look at what we have done before. If you
look at some of the design features of that – the fins on the back, the
pipes along the side – those features and those elements exist within
this Batmobile."
Rocksteady has got to a point where it's created its own unique
embodiment of the Batman myth that it can draw upon itself, and feel
confident in that decision.
"I think it’s fair to say we didn’t line up every Batmobile ever made,
and pick and choose pieces. We first and foremost went to our own
Batmobile and chose elements we wanted to evolve and carry over. We then
looked at what this needs to do in the game."
And it needs to be an unstoppable force. When Batman calls in the
Batmobile, it reminded me of the moment you request a Titan. While the
game itself doesn't change, the dynamic and the way you perceive and
interact with the world does.
The Batmobile is seemingly indestructible – you can crash through
pillars and concrete walls without any really noticeable loss in speed.
And though it looks like a tank, I also found it strangely organic –
maybe it's those overlapping carbon fibre scales or the way it's chassis
is segmented and flexes when you take a corner, but it feels more than
just a machine.
There's also a lot of raw power. It's incredibly fast and agile, more
than capable of taking tight corners and making large jumps. It's during
the more agile manoeuvres when the design really comes to life too –
little hydraulic fins on the wheel arches raise up to assist with
breaking and the large exhaust lets out a fiery growl. While I don't
know if I'd go as far as to say it's like a character, it certainly has
its own personality and I think the default mood is angry.
Rocksteady is definitely treating the Batmobile like a character
though, and it will have its own upgrade path just like Batman. "You saw
the immobiliser rockets onboard – a non-lethal vehicle takedown gadget –
but there are more abilities the Batmobile brings, but we'll be talking
more about them later on."
THE BATSUIT
It's still Kevin Conroy, but Batman looks different. It's weird, he
looks more like the Batmobile. The suit's more armoured and has sections
made from carbon fibre. It's been done to underline the relationship
between Batman and his car.
"The Batsuit was really our opportunity to integrate Batman and the
Batmobile as one," Ginn tells me. "The man and machine idea, the synergy
between them, was really critical for us. We were very aware very early
on we have to make a Batman game, this isn’t a driving game – it’s
still a Batman game, and so the interconnection between Batman and
Batmobile aesthetically has to be as linked it is from a gameplay
perspective."
This is most dramatically showcased when Batman calls in the Batmobile
for the very first time. He swoops down from a rooftop in slow motion.
As Batman falls, the car pulls into shot and almost appears as if it's
going to mow Batman down – he jumps at the last minute, the car goes
into a tail-spin, and Batman lands comfortably inside the vehicle. This
is the set-piece, cinematic introduction, but it works in a similar way
in the actual game. The Batmobile can be summoned at any point, and it
will come find you, never taking more than a few seconds, and with a
simple button press you hop in. You can call it in while gliding through
the air, and even swoop directly into the driver's seat.
"If you look at the design of the Batsuit and you look at the design of
the Batmobile, there’s really clear aesthetic connections between the
two in terms of the usage of carbon fibre and the difference between
large patches of low detail and then areas of intense detail is one of
the philosophies that we had with the design of the Batmobile. When
you’re on a plane and look out at the wing, the top of the wing when
flying doesn't have a lot of detail on it, but when you land and the air
brakes go up, the detail underneath that is kind of insane. It’s super,
super detailed. That’s was the philosophy we had for both design of the
Batsuit and the Batmobile. Areas that are very sleek and then patches
that are insanely detailed."
I think one of the most interesting aspects of Arkham Knight's setup is
this brief period of peace and prosperity that Gotham has experienced
in the last year. Even though things have been getting better, Batman
has been secretly preparing for the worst. Ginn tells me that he's been
developing not only his gear but his abilities during this time. "He’s
been preparing for the worst. Building the Batmobile and redesigning his
suit, and all of the technical steps he’s taken to kit himself out puts
him in a perfect position to meet the threat Scarecrow brings.
Scarecrow is unifying the entire Rogues gallery – all of the super
villains of Gotham City united against Batman. That’s a threat unlike
he’s ever faced before, so he needed to be ready."
GOTHAM CITY
It's still Kevin Conroy, but Batman looks different. It's weird, he
looks more like the Batmobile. The suit's more armoured and has sections
made from carbon fibre. It's been done to underline the relationship
between Batman and his car.
"The Batsuit was really our opportunity to integrate Batman and the
Batmobile as one," Ginn tells me. "The man and machine idea, the synergy
between them, was really critical for us. We were very aware very early
on we have to make a Batman game, this isn’t a driving game – it’s
still a Batman game, and so the interconnection between Batman and
Batmobile aesthetically has to be as linked it is from a gameplay
perspective."
This is most dramatically showcased when Batman calls in the Batmobile
for the very first time. He swoops down from a rooftop in slow motion.
As Batman falls, the car pulls into shot and almost appears as if it's
going to mow Batman down – he jumps at the last minute, the car goes
into a tail-spin, and Batman lands comfortably inside the vehicle. This
is the set-piece, cinematic introduction, but it works in a similar way
in the actual game. The Batmobile can be summoned at any point, and it
will come find you, never taking more than a few seconds, and with a
simple button press you hop in. You can call it in while gliding through
the air, and even swoop directly into the driver's seat.
"If you look at the design of the Batsuit and you look at the design of
the Batmobile, there’s really clear aesthetic connections between the
two in terms of the usage of carbon fibre and the difference between
large patches of low detail and then areas of intense detail is one of
the philosophies that we had with the design of the Batmobile. When
you’re on a plane and look out at the wing, the top of the wing when
flying doesn't have a lot of detail on it, but when you land and the air
brakes go up, the detail underneath that is kind of insane. It’s super,
super detailed. That’s was the philosophy we had for both design of the
Batsuit and the Batmobile. Areas that are very sleek and then patches
that are insanely detailed."
I think one of the most interesting aspects of Arkham Knight's setup is
this brief period of peace and prosperity that Gotham has experienced
in the last year. Even though things have been getting better, Batman
has been secretly preparing for the worst. Ginn tells me that he's been
developing not only his gear but his abilities during this time. "He’s
been preparing for the worst. Building the Batmobile and redesigning his
suit, and all of the technical steps he’s taken to kit himself out puts
him in a perfect position to meet the threat Scarecrow brings.
Scarecrow is unifying the entire Rogues gallery – all of the super
villains of Gotham City united against Batman. That’s a threat unlike
he’s ever faced before, so he needed to be ready."
I'm going to say
it. I prefer Arkham Asylum to Arkham City. I actually didn't realise
this was so much of a controversial statement until recently. It's borne
more out of a love and an admiration of Asylum's level design than a
dissatisfaction with its sequel. That being said, I never found City to
be the most engaging of open-world experiences. I liked it for other
reasons. It was an open-world experience, of sorts, but you were
confined to a part of the city. All of its best moments where spent
inside. The open-world felt more like a plot device rather than a
genuine sandbox to prowl. I wanted to explore all of Gotham City, but
was quarantined from beginning to end.
Arkham Knight literally tears down the walls of Arkham City. I only saw
the game in action for half an hour but already this feels more like an
interesting, well-realised, surprising version of Gotham to explore.
There are distinct areas, from the neon-tinged, richly-detailed China
town to the grimly industrial makeup of Falcone's shipping yard. The
city also unfolds more naturally and fluidly. Arkham City's map had
memorable areas, but there was nothing much in between, knitting them
together. And the introduction of the Batmobile has definitely helped
shape the design of Gotham from the street-level up – "the shape of
streets, the layout of streets, the location of significant landmarks –
all of those things were considered as we were developing the behaviour
of the Batmobile," Ginn explains.
And while I didn't see most of Gotham, it appears to be huge.
"That’s kind of the cool thing about having such creative control over
the world we are creating," Ginn explains. "It can be whatever it needs
to be in order to deliver the most awesome gameplay experience. It’s
about five times bigger than Arkham City, therefore 20 times bigger than
Arkham Asylum. So it’s pretty massive."
For those wondering if Gotham City extends to include Wayne Manor,
unfortunately it only refers to the urban environment of central Gotham.
Or at least, that's what the official party line is.
THE VILLAINS
I still think the Scarecrow sequences in Arkham Asylum remain a
highpoint for the series, so it's great the Scarecrow is being lined up
as one of the game's chief antagonists. Even more so, when you realise
the narrative once again takes place over the course of a single night –
this time round it's Halloween. So what can we expect? Unsurprisingly,
Ginn wouldn't be drawn on specifics, but if the Joker was about
embracing chaos, we should expect a more psychological assault on Batman
this time.
Of course, standing behind the Scarecrow is the new eponymous villain:
the Arkham Knight. We know next to nothing about him, and Ginn wouldn't
offer anything more than saying the character has been co-developed by
Rocksteady and DC Comics. At the very end of the demo, Batman is
ambushed by the Arkham Knight, who beats him to the ground. His
silhouette resembles Batman, but there's no cape and his armour is more
futuristic. His voice is digitally-altered, and refers to Batman as an
'old man' and says rather ominously, "This ends tonight."
And it does, at least according Rocksteady which is presenting this game as the definitive conclusion to its
trilogy. Speaking to Ginn, it's clear that Batman: Arkham Origins,
released only last year, was never part of the development plan or
impinged upon this project in any way. This is the third and final
chapter in Rocksteady's Batman story.
THE ACTION
Combat has always been one of Arkham’s biggest strengths. The simple yet
attractive system ofcombos and counters appears unchanged, but Batman
looks more powerful then ever before – there are new moves, of course,
and more varied environmental attacks; Batman grabs one of Riddler’s
henchmen and crashes his skull into a nearby generator. There are new
abilities too. Thugs with guns have always posed the greatest threat in
the Arkham series, but towards the end of the demo, Batman makes light
work of three armed guards using a new skill, the ‘Fear Takedown’ – it’s
a way to quickly chain attacks and within seconds, sure enough, the
three guards are out cold.The combat is fast and brutal, and
reassuringly familiar, but what has changed is the scale and fluidity of
the overall experience. Batman can traverse the city at incredible
speed, using either the Batmobile or his array of gadgets which have way
more functionality than ever before. Batman can now use his grapple gun
and line launcher while gliding, making him more agile. Actually, one
of my favourite moments came when Batman fired his line launcher while
gliding towards a group of criminals. It creates a tight rope between
two buildings, onto which the Dark Knight perches and surveys his prey
down below.
source: IGN
