VIDEO Batman: Arkham Knight - next-gen Batman by Rocksteady

I dunno about everyone else, but I've always accepted that Batman uses some crazy Kevlar-esque compounds/materials to create his suits, so actual physical armour always looks dumb At least he still moves like Batman does!

 

The armor in that trailer looks similar to the Batman armor in the recent Injustice: Gods Among Us game. I actually really dig the Injustice Batman armor. Never been too much of a fan of the tights look of the old comic version (and the Asylum/City versions too).

 

I just don't like the obsession with keeping things grounded, is all - the armour sort of pulls me out of the escapism.

 

I'm kind of the opposite. I prefer the armor because, to me, it supports the idea of a real person driving himself so hard towards that ideal. The tights, however, make me think of Adam West and a goofy Batman.

 

I think the compromise is Frank Miller's Batman - the costume features a lot of padding and kevlar in it proper, but the logo itself is bright yellow and a plate of armour to draw fire there.

 

Yeah, but didn't Frank Miller also do Batman All-Stars, where Bruce expected Dick to eat rats in the Bat cave?

 

The word "grounded" always makes me cringe when used in relation to superheros and comic book movies. I don't care for ultra-realistic settings for superheroes which is why I love BTAS and the the Tim Burton films over the Nolanverse. I also love the Marvel Cinematic Universe for similar reasons.

 

BTAS is beautiful stuff - comics always come first for me, though, and The Dark Knight is still the best Batman movie ever - Burton movies are fun but I have issues with them.

And Ezio Skywalker - he did, but his best work is still Year One and The Dark Knight Returns - everything else can be ignored, save for his work on Daredevil.

 

Mask of the Phantasm is the best Batman movie ever.

 

For me, personally, Miller works best as a writer rather than an artist per se. Disclosing a personal bias here that, for me, Neal Adams and Dick Giordano basically invented the world as far as Batman is concerned: Giordano's inks over the Bat are as integral to the character as the cape or the cowl, and I don't think any medium has ever captured those shadows in the way Giordano did (understandably).

For Dark Knight Returns, it's just a case of a book where the story, the style, and the artistry just all lock together and you can't imagine it being done by another artist. It's a bleak, impressionistic Batman because it's a bleak, impressionistic story because it's a bleak, impressionistic Batman because it's a Frank Miller story because it's a bleak, impressionistic Batman. But could that artistry work anywhere else? For me, no. Dark Knight Strikes Back is a guilty pleasure of mine because of the insane story elements, but it looks like a five year old drew it. And I only recently got a hold of his 300, which is (to me) artistry that looks a lot like Strikes Back turned down a couple of notches. When you first read it, it has a visceral impact; when you re-read it, it's just annoying.

For me the best tradeoff between "grounded" and "superhero" when it comes to Batman is in Year One, and that's mainly because David Mazzuchelli is drawing over Frank Miller's story:



The impressionistic, chopped-off phrases work to import the realism, but Mazzuchelli seemed better able to pick where and how the "unrealistic" stuff should come in:



And so on. Although even Mazzuchelli himself freely admits it's a delicate balance between realism and superhero action, and he's not sure if they went too far on Year One. All he knows is this: superheroes are real when they're drawn in ink.

 

Good trade paperback, that

Anyone else curious as to how Deathstroke will control in challenge maps?

 

It won't; Paul Dini isn't involved.

 

Exactly. Chronologically speaking, as far as this "Arkham Universe" is concerned, Batman should be wearing something akin to the "Year One" costume or a variant of those older, more traditional styles. Yet this time around, he's wearing a suit of armor that seems to put all previous costumes to shame.

But then you could argue that, just like Bats did at the beginning of TDK, such heavy armor slows him down and needs to move faster wearing something a bit lighter. Perhaps that could explain the move to the less bulky Arkham Asylum/City costumes?

What Penguinator said: Forget about that book. Batman All Star is just insane Frank Miller flipping the finger at the Bat and everything true to the character. That Batman is merely one of his Sin City thugs wearing the Bat-costume. It isn't interesting, nor relatively fun to look at.

 

If Batman is just starting out in this game (or hasn't been active very long), it's unlikely his suit would be the same or as refined as in later years. If you really were a masked vigilante fighting thugs with knives and guns it be stupid not to wear armour to protect yourself, I mean what if you got shot? Later on when he was better at being Batman and had more experience he could adapt his suit to fit more situations and be lighter if he felt that was preferable to actually being protected from stuff.
I don't think this outfit looks vey different to what was in the previous games, it's still black and grey. Plus in Arkham City their is an Armoured Edition anyway.

 

Arkham Asylum and Arkham City Batman show him at his peak and his prime. That's the best he'll ever be - this is rookie Batman who has the drive and the training, just not necessarily the mindset or experience. Hence, armour.

Of course, this is all just fluff to explain stuff that won't make a huge in-game difference, IMO.

 

Lots of new info on the game, including gameplay vids that seem very familiar (all fine in my opinion) - getting excited!

 

Multiplayer mode has been confirmed!

3 criminals vs. 3 criminals vs. The Dynamic Duo!

 

I'm...not sure how I feel about this. I hated - and still do - the tacking of an unnecessary multiplayer mode to certain single player franchises (cases like Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed spring to mind).

But...I'm intrigued as to how this will work out. I kind of expect lots of backstabbing from the people playing as criminals and, to be honest, from the guys playing the Dynamic Duo as well. Loads of potentially delicious chaos. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

Assassins Creed Brotherhood gave us a very thrilling and unique multiplayer experience.

 

Just think of how awesome voice chat would be when you're playing as Batman.

"SWEAR TO MEEEEEEEE"

 

I'm completely indifferent to the MP reveal. I'm buying Arkham Origins with the hope of getting more of what I got out of the first two games, and maybe it can even be better than Arkham City - not exactly the easiest task, admittedly.

I doubt the SP will be affected much by it's inclusion, so it really doesn't bother me.

 

Yes, well, I disagree. Not every game needs multiplayer...especially not a multiplayer mode that relies on pure paranoia, guesswork and excellent twitchy fingers.

 

Yeah, Assassin's Creed multiplayer is entertaining for about the first five minutes for me, after which I never touch it again.

 

I quite liked Assassin's Creed multiplayer but I never became heavily invested in it. I liked that I could be a total noob and still have fun, which is something that's sort of missing from multiplayer-centric titles like Call of Duty and Halo.

I will say that it's nice to be able to play multiplayer casually - if Arkham Origins can give me something I can pick up and sink a few hours here and there into consistently, I'll enjoy it, and I'll enjoy it more if it's not one of those "stop playing and you fall behind drastically" games.

 

I played AC mp a lot and had a blast with friends on Live.