Full Report originally appeared in PlayStation the Magazine Issue 50, October 2011. Author: Matt Cabral.
It’s only one a little over a month for the release of Arkham Asylum’s sequel video game (Arkham City) all ready from the marketing to the preview playable demos available out there it promises to be another hit just like its predecessor. The scale is just…unfathomable. This time is not just a lunatic asylum but a whole city that is populated by the worst of the worst of the Batman rogue Gallery. You not only will see Joker, but also Penguin, Two Face, and Riddler playing along with the Bat, to gain supremacy in the food chain of the criminal world.
The October issue of the Playstation Magazine offers an interesting view of what the new with the game. Here is an excerpt of the whole article by Matt Cabral
With so many baddies involved in this new chapter of the Batman saga, we have reassurance from Dax Ginn, Marketing Manager for Rocksteady, that it will not affect the atmospheric immersion we are used to from Arkham Asylum and we will not have lame characters with stupid lines or plots that do not relate to the whole development of the story.
“Every aspect of the game is character driven. It was critical during the development of the whole 40 hours of content…Characters, especially villains, need time to breathe; you really need to be able to plumb the depths of the things that make them interesting.”
This means that the murdering psychopaths have been carefully crafted around their own storylines and gameplay scenarios.
(Ginn continues) “…The players should also count on interacting with the criminally insane in ways that place believable characters interactions above all else… each encounter with a villain is designed with each criminal’s defining traits, combat strategies and specific brand of Bat-terrorizing in mind.”
Good to know since we players don’t want a repeat of what happened in Batman Returns with George Cloony’s Batman and Swartzenegger’s Mr. Freeze. We’ve just been too spoiled by Nolan’s Batman trilogy, craving good realistic scenarios for the Batman universe.
Expect a brief alliance between Bane and Batman (even after their rough intro in Arkham Asylum) as both join forces to search for the Titan: the monster making drug Joker manufactured in the Asylum and Penguin seems to be stashing all over the city. This is a volatile alliance, so expect its turns and twists.
Also on the character repertoire, include the city itself.
“…we wanted to pay tribute to the legendary landmarks from Batman’s history and really fill out Arkham City with that Batman DN whenever possible. Even though it is five times bigger than Arkham Island was, we feel it come across to the player with the same attention to detail and love that went to Arkham Asylum…we went on to out to make the most detailed open-world game ever made”
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USING THE GRAPPLE BOOST(propels Batman past his initial grapple point to a higher elevation) |
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| 1 | Grapple with R1 |
| 2 | Then double-tap X (holding X on the second tap |
Ginn explains that this new world is not only large but also rewarding. So every time you set yourself to explore this world you will find A LOT and will be rewarded for their efforts. And in an effort to make this exploration possible, two new moves have been enhanced for the Bat: The EXTENDED GLIDE and the GRAPPLE BOOST MOVE. These will allow the player to soar high above the city and can get Batman from one end of the city to the next in no time (since here we’ll have no Batmobile).
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FLIGHT SCHOOL 101 (Hints for the Extended Glide) |
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| 1 | Find a high point on the city with some open space below |
| 2 | Hold X then walk off the edge of the building |
| 3 | Next execute a dive bomb by pulling R2 |
| 4 | Before hitting the ground, pull back on the Left-stick and release R2 |
For those of us, who like the hand to hand combat, the game if full of meat to beat around…ehem…goons. Each henchmen, goon and thug will be have their own psychopath leader and will feature their own characteristic uniforms (like Joker’s clown painted goons, or Harvey’s Two-faced thugs for example) and you will be able to fight them. Two new moves for the Bat to fight his enemies are the BEAT DOWN (where Batman stuns its enemies using his cape, then beats them to a pulp) and the AERIAL TAKEDOWN ( where Batman will literally do a session of tap dancing on their enemies’ faces). Batman will also have a chance to ‘steal’ his enemies’ weapons and use them against them as he will be able to use the environment to his advantage (slamming enemies head against walls, etc.) Another cool gadget will be the CRYPTOGRAPHIC SEQUENCER that will allow and eavesdropping Bat listen to radio messages, Remote controlled batarang (?) and smoke pellets. But a word of caution…these thugs come in greater numbers and with a brain. So fight carefully and trust no one.
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ROCKSTEADY COMBO-CRANCKING TIPS |
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| 1 | Pick your target and work the crowd with precision |
| 2 | Use gadgets |
| 3 | Be aware of all the assaults coming to you in a fight |
| 4 | Alternate attacks |
| 5 | Watch for projectiles being thrown at you |
| 6 | Focus on chain and be aware of when takedowns are coming. As soon as one available, target the highest rated enemy and take him out. |
And don’t forget the details. These could make you lose hours following leads all over the city (like the reported reference to Black Canary that is supposedly hidden on the game) and Ginn guarantees us that “everything that is OPEN on the game, (meaning outside) is accessible to the player to add to the areas the players themselves will open as they go through the game.”
Well, with all this goodies coming our way, we can wait for the arrival of the game on OCTOBER 18, so mark your calendars and Happy videogaming!!!
(Batman is property of DC Comics and Arkham City is developed by Rocksteady. All pics are property of Rocksteady and their marketing dept and used here only to illustrate.)
