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

Hey bra, I don't like it either, which is why I'm more inclined to just get a new PC and say goodbye to any new Halo. The point is, you got options. The game comes it in October. Just save up some cash and make a choice by then.

 

Yeah I suppose.

I wasn't saying YOUR idea was bad, by the way, hope you didn't mistake me, I meant it's just a shame to have to have 2 machines to play games for same overall company.

But like you said, I've still got time to pick an option..!

 

I'm keeping my 360 because I have lots of games I still want to play on it. To me it makes less sense to trade it in for a new console when I'd only have two or three games for it. I'm not saying you can't, just that I won't.

 

Most of my issues are with Johns, to be fair, and his "XTREME"-ification of the mainstream DCU.

But I still have DAT HYPE for this game!

 

If you're a Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) or Flash (Barry Allan) fan or Superman fan, Johns isn't quite as big a problem, although he often keeps reusing the same violent themes in his stories. Batman's appearances in his stories usually haven't been all that good. Superman Earth One isn't that bad, relatively speaking. Batman Earth One was that bad. Mainly I remember a really bratty young Bruce Wayne. Hm, reminds me a bit of the current Captain Marvel/Shazam now that I think about it.

Knowing him, Arkham Knight will probably have some sort of tragic backstory that will have driven them to this, blame it all on the hero, possibly still some minor shred of morals in there but due to some mishap during a battle they'll lose their last moral anchor and then blame it all on the hero. Well, even if the main villain is that generic, as long as the regular rogues gallery and action are still top notch, it'll balance out.

Too bad its not PS3 or 360 (and definitely not Wii U by now ) , but hoping the graphics will be really, really better if they're not held back by needing to code for both the PS3 and PS4. Would have been nice for all the Arkham games to be during one generation of console, but oh well, they all change eventually. Either that or I've really got to get around to getting a gaming PC one of these days.

 

Given that we don't know the specs for medium-high end graphics on a PC, let's say I wanted to build a decent budget rig that could run this game. What would my shopping list entail, if this game's benchmarks are in any way comparable to recent releases?

 

My current PC runs every Arkham game so far with no problem, but I'd probably have to reduce the graphics quality in order to play Arkham Knight. I had some issues with Origins but I'm not sure how of much of that was down to it being glitchy instead of my PC not being up to spec.

I don't know the current top graphics cards, but you'd want 8GB of RAM or more to run games and a quad core machine for it to have any longevity.

 

Ok, what are some of the best graphics cards out there that I should consider?

 

Hmmm. Might just play this on my buddy's Xbox when the time comes. Thinking about it, I can't justify spending 400+ on a console just to buy one game (yes, more are coming but at this point...that's what it is).

 

One of the articles out about this game insists that the Batmobile could work on 360 or PS3...if it was the only thing on the disc. Take that with a pound of salt, but I certainly hope they're going to really push what the games can do in this one.

 

Yeah I need to see something truly spectacular that pushes me off the edge and makes me want to purchase a next-gen console for sure. They've been working on it for three years probably so...should be good...but the technology of next-gen is still young.

 

http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2014/03/batman-arkham-origins-review.html
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Batman is one of the greatest fictional characters of all time and I am allowed to say this because, as a blogger, I can make unsubstantiated statements that I claim to be absolutes (he is, though). Thus, Batman can be many things: violent, anti-social, heroic, crusading, angst-ridden, driven, and even funny.

Never boring.

Arkham Origins, the third installment of the popular Arkham Asylum series, is a work painfully driven by corporate desire to capitalize on the previous installment's success. Arkham City was a top contender for Charles Phipps' Best Game of All Time. I say that as an unmitigated Batman fanboy and by no means an unbiased judge. Arkham Origins builds on Arkham City's engine, map, and even storytelling engine to create itself.

The results are, unfortunately, underwhelming.

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Deathstroke's appearance was most welcome.​

Arkham Origins is by no means a bad game, but this is damning with faint praise. So okay, it's average (thank you, TV tropes) would be a good description of how I feel about it. After the tremendous success of Arkham City, Montreal game developers were always going to have a tough act to follow. Still, I think they could have done better as the haste in which this game was pumped out and it's myriad flaws show everywhere.

The premise of Arkham Origins is little known Batman villain, Black Mask, has placed a staggering 50 million dollar bounty on our heroes head. This is considered ludicrous by Gotham City's criminals given Batman has only been operating two years in Gotham City and is considered an urban legend by most. Eight of the world's greatest assassins choose to respond along with every crook and corrupt cop in Gotham (the latter of which compromises all of them but James Gordon).

The first problem with Arkham Origins is this premise isn't bad but it's lacking punch. In Arkham Asylum, Batman must rescue Commissioner Gordon. This is a personal motivation and works fine. In Arkham City, there's the layers upon layers of mystery to figuring out Hugo Strange's plot. As Alfred rightly points out, Batman could just stay at home and avoid this mess entirely. Batman retorts the villains are likely to hold Gotham City citizens hostage in order to draw him out, which is great but one which takes awhile to get put into effect.

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The use of lesser-known villains is a welcome treat.​

There's also a twist with this premise I won't spoil but proves to be wholly unnecessary. The character of Black Mask suffers because of this twist as does the narrative. I understand Black Mask's not as popular as other Batman villains but the game could have waited to dump him in favor of Bane and a certain other famous Arkham alumni (whose still alive in the period this story is set).

The next problem is Gotham City feels rather lifeless. I understand it's impractical to try and replicate a modern city of millions and the excuse of both a massive crime wave as well as an epic snowstorm make a reasonable excuse for why only criminals are on the streets. Still, I would have appreciated the level designers throwing in some acknowledgement Gotham City is inhabited. Have there been citizens traveling the streets who need to be rescued, lights on in buildings, and maybe the occasional scarred witness to the Batman's activities.

Travel time is a problem in Gotham City as well. The game world is open from the very beginning, which is usually a plus, but the leaping from rooftop to rooftop in order to cross across the massive islands gets tedious after awhile. The fast travel system cuts down this frustration but it, honestly, feels like cheating. I would have preferred the game to open up the islands of Gotham one by one to make things feels tighter.

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Gotham City during wintertime is quite the treat.​

Then there's the fact the game is bugged. Not so bugged as to make it unplayable, at least on my Xbox 360 but enough to be noticeable. Criminals get stuck in walls, the frame rate drops when you're traveling too fast, and I actually had to go back into a room to finish a boss fight because I thought it was over. These moments were rare but obvious enough to make me think this game was rushed out the door without sufficient testing.

I have a few more irritations to the game but nothing really concrete. These things don't overwhelm the good in the game, which is mostly carried over from Arkham City but they are certainly notable. So what are the good points of Arkham Origins? The things which stand out as original compared to Arkham City?

The first thing is Gotham City is gorgeous. The environments recycled from Arkham City are altered for their heyday and the dilapidated urban wasteland of the previous game is re-envisioned as a thriving urban metropolis. The new environments are equally entertaining, showing a Gotham City which is in its height of economic prosperity but still an Art Deco nightmare containing a corruption impossible to extirpate.

The Boss Battles of Arkham Origins are a massive improvement over Arkham City's own. Missing from the previous games is the appeal of a Gotham City super-crook showing up and Batman beating the crap out of him. In Arkham City, you have to sneak up on Deadshot and take him out in one blow. In Arkham Origins, you have to beat the crap out of Deadshot numerous times before he finally takes a hostage. THEN you have to take him out in one blow.

There's also the fact battling Deathstroke is like fighting a katana-wielding Captain America, nearly impossible for our hero to defeat and totally awesome. Bane, never used well by these games, is combined with his movie characterization to be the Joker's equal.

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Black Mask is an intimidating guy. Too bad his role is usurped fairly early on.​

I also give the game props for excellent voice-acting. Despite the absence of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, both Batman and the Joker are still recognizable. Bruce being younger and angrier makes the story's character progression more interesting. There's even a Breaking Bad reference where Batman explains to Alfred that, no, Gotham's criminals do not knock on his door--he knocks on theirs (the actual line is far more badass, however). It's also wonderfully subverted when someone, I won't say who, most definitely does knock on the Batman's door.

In conclusion, Arkham Origins is a game which could have been so much better if it had been edited and tweaked as well as properly play-tested. There's flashes of genius in the game like the absolutely breathtaking Joker level in the Gotham City hotel. Unfortunately, these are interspersed with long boring periods of grappling around the empty city. Weirdly, I felt like Spiderman since I was doing so much of it. Batman: Arkham Origins is a disappointing game but it's still decent and worth a look at.

7.5/10

 

Well Joker won't be in this one unless they resurrect him

 

Actually, he will be according to Hill the head of Rocksteady.



http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ne...ng-the-best-out-of-xbox-one-ps4/1100-6418119/

Just yesterday Batman: Arkham Knight was announced. The game will be Rocksteady’s final Arkham game, concluding the trilogy that they began in Batman: Arkham Asylum and continued in Batman: Arkham City. Not much is known about the exact plot of the game beside that it will take place one year after the events of Arkham City and will feature Batman at the pinnacle of his power. The title, description, and trailer have all raised some questions in the minds of fans. Here are five interesting ones for you to ponder while we wait for more details.

Will the Suicide Squad Show Up?

One of the biggest surprises of Arkham Origins was seeing Amanda Waller recruit members into the Suicide Squad. But will the team show up in Arkham Knight? Its hard to say. Arkham Origins was developed by a separate team, so it’s possible that Rocksteady has no interest in the Squad. Perhaps WB Games Montreal was laying groundwork for the post-Rocksteady future of the franchise. But the Suicide Squad showing up in Arkham Knight would probably go a long way towards making Arkham Origins feel like an integral part of the franchise, rather than just a diversion.

Why are the Villains Working Together?

So here’s something unique in a Batman story: his villains are working together. Spider-Man has his Sinister Six/Syndicate, but Batman’s villains are usually too crazy to work together. In fact, for the majority of the previous Arkham video games, the villains were trying to kill each other as much as their trying to kill Batman. The trailer for Arkham Knight clearly shows Two-Face, The Penguin and Harley Quinn all working together (and I would assume that Scarecrow’s voiceover at the beginning suggests he’s in on the plan as well). The Joker’s death in Arkham City likely removed the most chaotic part of any Gotham underworld alliance while also giving the remaining villains a pretty good reason to watch each other’s backs.

Who is the Arkham Knight?

Rocksteady has clarified that the games’ Arkham Knight title does not refer to Batman, but to a new character created for the game. No further details have been released just yet, but how “new” is this character going to be? It could be an entirely original character added to the game, or it could be another character hiding his identity. Which leads us to our next two questions…

Where’s Hush?

Just the day before the big Arkham Knight reveal, we reported on an update from the Batman: Hush Facebook page hinting a big announcement, but the update also implied that the big announcement would feature Hush. Well, we got the big announcement, but no sign of Hush. So where is he? Well, he hasn’t shown up in person, but that doesn’t mean he’s not there. Remember, the original Hush storyline had Hush assembling a gauntlet of villains for Batman to fight through. The whole story basically read like the script for a video game. So, considering the villains of Gotham are quite suddenly working together, could Hush be the one pulling the strings?

The reading of Thomas Wayne’s will during the trailer may also be a hint at Hush’s inclusion. Remember, Hush is Tommy Elliott, Bruce Wayne’s boyhood friend who grew up with a grudge against the Waynes because Thomas Wayne tried to save Tommy Elliott’s parents after a car crash (it didn’t make much sense in the comics either). Perhaps Bruce remembering his father’s will is meant to remind us of Thomas Wayne’s role in creating Hush.

We also know, from Arkham City, that Hush has taken on Bruce Wayne’s face, a plot thread that was left dangling by the end of the game. But will he be the Arkham Knight? Maybe, but I think it may be someone else…

Will the Joker Return?

A lot of players might hope that the Joker remains dead in this game, already burnt out from three other games with him as the main antagonist. If this was just another game in a long series, I would agree, but as the final chapter of a trilogy that has already spent so much time with the character, it would just be absurd for him not to make a return. How remains to be seen, as does the question of whether or not he’ll take on the mantle of the Arkham Knight, but it seems like a solid way of keeping things a mystery for a good portion of the game. We’ll have to wait and see.

Batman: Arkham Knight will come to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC later in 2014.

 

That could just mean he's going to appear in hallucination sequences brought on by fear gas. There's no way they'll make Joker the Arkham Knight, and I really don't think they'll bring him back in the flesh. Not after how well received the end of Arkham City was.

We saw in Harley Quinn's Revenge that Bruce was in a very distraught mindset because of what the Joker did and what happened to him in Arkham City and I think he'll very much be a presence in the plot via Bruce's development.

 

Well, he did die right near a Lazarus Pit, so you never know. Usually Batman villains didn't get resurrected (usually a continuity reboot happens first and they were never dead instead), but its hard to tell. I wonder if they'll manage to get Mark Hamill back to play the Joker after he had already retired for good (again) last time. Well, they probably could.

Hm, maybe I should go download Harley Quinn's Revenge someday. By the way, how bad is Arkham Origins by now? I've heard of quite a few bugs, and a few pages back there was a news story that they weren't going to bother with any more bug fixes but would just focus on DLC instead.

Well, if Hush plays a large role in this game, here's hoping they adapt Dini's storylines with Hush (the plastic surgery is already a good sign).

 

Does anyone have a link to Joker being confirmed in any capacity?

 

Just in general because in Batman games all roads lead to Joker, that's all the confirmation anyone needs.

I'd say Arkham Origins could be worth it merely if they just implement the boss battles into future games. Nix everything else, just because it lacks the punch Rocksteady gives the same basic content, just transplant the boss battles over. And the willingness to use smaller villains.

Do you know what I'd give for a Maxie Zeus boss battle? Quite a lot! Scarecrow as the main villain of the game, with the Arkham Knight and people like Maxie Zeus being more side characters? Everything!

 

I don't see why that's a problem having two expensive consoles. I still have my older consoles and handhelds, along with my newer ones.

I can only speak of the stories from before recent reboot, but I thought he was well handled in "Rebirth", GL #9 and Action Comics #865.

 

Because I know I'd buy fewer games for the Xbox One than the 360, and for just one final game in a series I want to finish, it's a big ask to keep two. Still, 9 months until Christmas....!

 

Evidently! The only reason I'm asking is because I've seen that GameInformer interview with Hill and he's pretty adamant the Joker's dead, so if someone's saying he's said otherwise I want a citation.

 

*sigh*

I think you're a bit oblivious to the realities of the video game industry. The Batman Arkham franchise isn't the first to force players to jump the next-gen-console gap, nor will it be the last. It used to be this could be expected out of exclusive franchises (i.e. all of Nintendo's, Halo and Gears of War for the Xbox, Infamous and Uncharted for Sony), but we are at the dawn on a new next-gen wave. Publishers and developers have no doubt been working for the last couple of year on new titles using the development kits for the newer consoles. And as time goes by it will certainly be easier and more economical to develop games for the next gen than trying to develop ports for legacy consoles as well. And let's face facts, Sony and MS want to sell their new toys. They know that the Batman Arkham franchise is extremely popular. So it's a no brainer if they decided to tell WB and Rocksteady to forsake development of ports for their legacy consoles and to instead focus on the next gen hardware.

Again, it sucks. It might be unfair even. But that is business. If you want to play this game, you will have to splurge...or not. After all, nobody's forcing you to buy either a new game console, PC or the game. Nor is it really such a big deal to have two gaming consoles side by side. Gaming isn't an essential need that must be sated whatever the cost. It is a luxury for those who can or can't afford this hobby/habit. As you said, you have the better part of nine months to save up a little bit of dough and make a wise, conscious choice on the matter.

 

I have 3 consoles set up under my TV, and it'll be 4 when MS has enough exclusives to give me a good reason to own an Xbox One.

Anyhow, I'm currently replaying Arkham Asylum. Bunch of fun. It's weird how easy and simple (in terms of enemy types) the original is in terms of it's combat though. Without it throwing many different enemy types at me, I've almost never been hit so far, and the only time I've actually died is when I wasn't stood close enough to the wall in a Scarecrow vision (I'm on Hard).

But the level design, atmosphere and dialogue are still top-notch.

EDIT: Also, could we get a title change to Arkham Knight? We can finally put Origins behind us.

 

Oh no, no, as a DC-inspired game you can never forget about the origin story!

 

Trust me Darth_Invidious, I'm very aware of the gaming industry and the tactics they're using to progress and make more cash.

It just boils down to the fact I'm a little gutted the option isn't going to be there for the 360, but I appreciate those wanting "next-gen" experiences from the console and future games.

Never mind, I will see what my options are nearer the end of the year.