Story
- Takes place on Christmas Eve
- Years before the previous two games
- Mob boss Black Mask will give a fortune for Batman’s head
- Top assassins and supervillains from the DC Comics universe are out to get Batman
- Cops on the take from the mob join the manhunt as well
- Batman needs to outsmart his enemies, find out why Black Mask wants him dead, and prove to what good cops that he’s on their side
General
- Porting Arkham City to Wii U let the team get familiar with Unreal 3
- Doing a prequel lets the team carve a unique territory if Rockstar were to move the Arkham timeline ahead down the road
- Rocksteady’s project is tightly under wraps
- Younger Batman also “gives us the opportunity to refresh things a bit”
- Combat system still in place
- Will have “new layers, new opportunities, and new tactics”
- New enemy types
- Batman not as finely honed as in the previous games
- Won’t control the Batwing directly
- Batwing will figure into story sequences and acts as a universe-appropriate form of fast travel
- Has the traditional predator mode in which players swing from perch to perch, glide kick, string guys upside-down, etc.
- New remote claw that is like the grappler in Just Cause 2
- Batman targets two objects and fires out a claw
- This hooks into the first object and launches another claw and rope to the second object
- Can then pull the two objects together
- Use this to knock enemies together, slam heavy objects into foes, string objects or people under a perch
- Can string up an explosive barrel under a perch, lure enemies with a sonic batarang, then cut the rope with a normal batarang, dropping the explosive on their heads
- Team knows Black Mask isn’t the most popular villain
- Old Gotham is only half of the game world
- Another new entire is across the bridge called New Gotham
- New Gotham is classier and has much taller skyscrapers
- New zone doubles the size of the game world
- Players can dismantle the hacked tower network
- Towers emit a jamming signal that prevents the Batwing from flying into the area, meaning no fast travel
- It also halts Batman’s sensors from placing points of interest on the map
- Taking down the towers are varied and require all of Batman’s navigation, puzzle solving, and combat skills
- Some can be taken down quickly, others must be returned to later with an upgrade
- “Crime in Progress”: ex – saving some cops from a group of thugs, rescuing a snitch from being tossed off a roof
- Activities give Batman a chance for experience point bonuses
- Completing side quests also contributes to the GCPD’s understanding and appreciation of Batman
- They will begin to know Batman and which side he stands on based on how much you take on the optional missions
- Most Wanted system gives players a chance to go after villains outside of the core storyline
- These optional side missions can be tackled when you discover them
- Many optional missions offer upgrades
- Batman’s butler Alfred may notice that he had a tough time in that situation and give him a new gadget
- Dark Knight system is slightly more behind the scenes, though it’s still important
- Dark Knight system provides a lengthy string of tasks that slowly goes up in difficulty as the game progresses
- The team wants to avoid boring tutorials while still training players to be masters of predator and combat systems
- Complete a certain number of counters or silent takedowns to receive XP rewards or a specific upgrade
- Dark Knight system doesn’t replace challenge mode
- Team wants to make challenges more meaningful
Game demo
- Takes place about an hour into the game
- Batman is perched above Jezebel plaza
- Black Mask’s assassins have stirred up the local thugs
- No towering walls keeping villains in check and many citizens call Arkham City home since there isn’t a prison
- Amusement Mile hasn’t been flooded
- Batman is looking to find out why Black Mask is trying to kill him
- Batman decides to go to the party to track down Penguin, who hears about everything
- Eventually, Penguin gives some intel on a murder at Lacey Towers
- Claw grips Batman’s ankle and drags him out of the room before he can finish his questioning
- Batman reaches for the door, but his arm is stomped by a mysterious figure
- Batman ends up suspended upside-down from the rafters
- Deathstroke circles Batman with a drawn sword
- Batman blocks and disarms Deathstroke, using the sword to cut himself free
- Thanks to Penguin’s tip, Batman goes to Lacey Towers
- The cops say it’s a double homicide
- One victim is supposedly Black Mask
- Inside the apartment, Batman sees Black Mask’s girlfriend strung up on a chandelier
- Black Mask’s assumed body is laying face up across the room
- Batman goes into first-person detective vision to examine the situation
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