Rocksteady is placing a lot of focus on the introduction of the Batmobile to Arkham Knight , singling it out as the thing that’s going to make the biggest difference to how the game plays. Indeed, the studio has had to widen the streets of Gotham in order to give you the space you need to bomb around at speed in Batman’s iconic vehicle, meaning that the world has been built around it. The intention is that transitioning between driving and gliding will be seamless, making traversing Gotham that much more fluid.
HE’S IN A TANK
The Batmobile isn’t just about giving us a new way of travel, it is also a weapon. While speed is ordinarily its focus, the Batmobile can transform into a combat mode, utilising a large machine gun and rockets that you can use to take out enemy tanks. So there you have it, the Batmobile doesn’t only mean you can jump over ramps with a nifty rocket booster it means you canengage in tank battles, too.
THE ARKHAM KNIGHT’S A MYSTERY
The Arkham Knight has been described as the first new villain to be introduced that is exclusive to the Arkham series. For our money, that’s probably misdirection and it’s going to turn out that the person inside the suit will be someone that is rather familiar to us, rather than a complete unknown. Indeed, the identity of the Arkham Knight has got everyone speculating there are theories that it could be Hush, Jason Todd, or even Joker. We just can’t wait to find out if any of those are true.
SCARECROW IS ON TOP
Though we reckon the Arkham Knight will end up taking centre stage, it is Scarecrow who is being positioned as the primary antagonist at the beginning of the game. Scarecrow has warned the city of Gotham that he has planted bombs containing his new fear toxin around the city and plans to detonate them, forcing the evacuation of all its citizens. Scarecrow has also united Batman’s foes including the likes of Penguin, Two-Face and Harley Quinn using their desire to take down Batman as a rallying cry.
FEAR IS YOUR FRIEND
There’s a new tool in your arsenal when it comes to taking down the thugs that are left populating Gotham’s streets after its forced evacuation: fear takedowns. When enemies are unaware of your presence, you are able to take out enemies using this new technique. Batman will attack his target and the game will go into slow motion, giving you a window to direct your view towards the next victim.
THE WORLD IS YOUR WEAPON
Anyone who has played Sleeping Dogs will be aware of the array of violent environmental attacks that game lets you to perform. Arkham Knight brings those kinds of combat options to the table (though, unfortunately we cannot confirm whether there will be impale-enabling fish in the game). The environmental attacks we’ve seen so far include Batman knocking a bad guy out using a metal lamp shade and electrocuting another on a fuse box.
GADGETS AND GLIDING GO TOGETHER
With Arkham Knight being five times the size of Arkham City, it’s fortunate that gliding has been tweaked to enable you to climb higher and soar for longer. Where Arkham City introduced the ability to use gadgets in combat, Arkham Knight will let you to use some of your gadgets while in the air the grapnel gun now lets you to change directions instantly while gliding, for example.
IT WON’T BE HELD BACK
With Arkham Knight only coming to the current generation of consoles, Rocksteady has freed itself up to use the full power of the PS4. That’s unquestionably benefiting the game from a visual perspective we’ve seen some spectacular sights as Batman soars through the rain, lit by the neon glow of Chinatown. It’s not just about visuals, though. Rocksteady says that up to fifty enemies can appear on-screen at once in Arkham Knight. Now that’s going to be a challenge to deal with.
YOU’RE THE WORLD’S GREATEST DETECTIVE
It’s important to remember that Batman is supposed to be about brains as well as brawn. Puzzles will return in Arkham Knight, with new gadgets such as the Batmobile’s winch adding another string to Batman’s bow when it comes to tackling obstacles. His intel gathering abilities are also being enhanced as well as using Detective mode, Batman can now chuck out his new Batarang sensor to gain information on a set area.
THIS IS THE END
Rocksteady has been clear about this: the Arkham series is a trilogy and Arkham Knight will be its concluding entry. That’s disappointing in a sense, given how brilliant the Arkham games have been, but it also means we can expect an epic conclusion, hopefully with some finality, as Rocksteady seeks to go out with a bang. That also means we’ve got the exciting prospect of seeing what this studio will do next after moving on from the caped crusader. Bring it on.
ORACLE MAKES HER DEBUT
Okay, so Oracle is in the other Arkham games, but we never actually get to see her. That’s all changing in the new game, with Oracle playing a far more prominent role in the game’s story. Rocksteady has suggested that learning more about Oracle and gaining a deeper insight into her character will also help us to see another side of Batman. Oh, and you can visit Oracle in her clock tower a fine location for a secret base, if you ask us.
YOU CAN PLAY AS HARLEY QUINN
We’re not really fans of this trend of trying to tempt people to buy games early with shameless pre-order bonuses, but we feel compelled to inform you nonetheless that Arkham Knight is doing just that with this character pack. Pre-ordering the game will gain you access to four challenge maps where you are able to play as Harley Quinn, using her unique weapons, gadgets and abilities.
THERE’S PS4 EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
Exclusive to the PS4 version of Arkham Knight is the Scarecrow Nightmare pack. The DLC seems to serve as a prologue to the events of Arkham Knight that will reintroduce Scarecrow. It looks like the pack will play similarly to the Scarecrow sections in the first Arkham game, with Batman presumably suffering the effects of Scarecrow’s fear toxin as he attempts to overcome one of his most recognisable nemeses.
YOU’VE GOT A GUN?!
We won’t go into too much detail as we don’t want to spoil anything, but information contained in Arkham Knight’s ERSB rating suggest that a gun makes an appearance. That’s rather odd, considering Batman doesn’t kill people. Our guess? There may be a section where you play as a villain and it is there that you use a gun. Alternatively, the scene in question could take place while Batman is hallucinating under the influence of the Scarecrow’s fear toxin.
COULD BATMAN DIE?
You may want to skip this one if you want to avoid spoilers. The limited edition of Arkham Knight comes with a statue that has a rather revealing inscription: “From a grateful city, in memory of the Gotham Knight.” The implication is that Batman either dies, or retires at the end of the game. Having said that, it would be pretty damn stupid to give away such a crucial story point like that on a statue in the limited edition of the game.
CHALLENGE MAPS ARE BACK
Did you get obsessed with gaining perfect scores in the Arkham Asylum and City challenge maps? Well, you’ll be pleased to hear that they will make a return in Arkham Knight. We are assuming that both combat and predator challenge maps will be in the game; whether there will be a new style of challenge maps in Arkham Knight is something we will have to wait to find out.
THERE’S NO MULTIPLAYER
Arkham Origins brought multiplayer to the series for the first time. However, it seems it may also have been the last, with Rocksteady saying that there will be no multiplayer mode in Arkham Knight. To be honest, we’re happy to hear that the studio will be focusing its energy on the single-player campaign, because that’s the reason we want to play the game. Having said that, we could have got on board with a co-op mode that let us pelt around Gotham as a duo.
THERE’S TROUBLE AFOOT
Rocksteady has talked about Arkham Knight exploring what happens when the people close to Batman come under threat in his battles with villains. To us, that means that there are two of Batman’s allies most likely to get caught in the crossfire: Commissioner Gordon and Oracle. Does this mean that one of them is going to get come to serious harm? We’ll have to wait and see, but Rocksteady is certainly hinting that someone is going to get hurt.
RIDDLER IS BACK
Riddler returns in Arkham Knight and that means plenty more Riddler challenges for us to beat. However, he’s also got something new up his sleeve. Riddler has been building a series of tracks designed to test Batman’s skill in the Batmobile. As you do laps around a track, it will become more difficult, dropping out a section of floor, for example. We’re not sure if racetracks fit with the Riddler’s MO, but they should be a fun way of challenging our skills.
KEVIN CONROY IS THE BAT
The voice of Batman will be familiar to anyone who has played the Arkham games (or even watched the animated series), with Kevin Conroy returning to voice Batman. There are a number of other returning cast members too, with Troy Baker back to voice Two-Face, Nolan North cast as The Penguin and Tara Strong reprising her role as Harley Quinn. Mark Hamill will not return, however.
POISON IVY IS HELPING YOU
It appears that Poison Ivy has decided to help Batman. Poison Ivy tells Batman about a meeting between the supervillains in which they agreed to unite to take him down under the Scarecrow’s leadership. Why is she helping Batman? Either her intention is to lead him into a trap, or there’s something that she wants from him in exchange.
THINGS HAVE CHANGED
There are a hints that Batman and his allies are not on good terms with the public. Though it’s not something Rocksteady addressed. It seems there is speculation about what happened between the Batman and the Joker, bringing his vigilante status into focus. As for Jim Gordon, there is an election going on for the Commissioner. Maybe people have their doubts about Gordon, too?
GOTHAM WILL BURN
Firefly appeared in Arkham Origins, but he’s yet to appear in any of the Rocksteady Arkham games. That will change in Arkham Knight, with his appearance confirmed. As to other villains that could turn up Arkham Knight, we are moving into the realms of speculation. Hush is one that could well appear, as well as Anarky.
YOU RETURN TO ASYLUM?
There’s been speculation that a bridge spotted in the background of one of Arkham Knight’s trailers leads to the island on which Arkham Asylum is situated. Speculation is all that it is at the moment, but the prospect of returning to the site of the first game is undeniably appealing. We can well imagine a climatic return to where it all began, a la Shadow Moses at the end of Metal Gear Solid 4.
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