My need for this game’s release just went from a 10 to a 10.5.
When you’re REALLY excited for a game’s release, one of the things that can just about kill ya is the anticipation. Sometimes waiting for a release date can seem endless! The third and final installment in the Arkham series (officially titled Batman: Arkham Knight ) isn’t set to hit store shelves ‘till the end of the year (or possibly 2015 if recent speculation is to be believed). There is, however, a silver lining. Being that we are in such an early stage of the game’s development (and have such little information) any morsel of detail thrown our way seems like a seven course feast!
Take the recently released gameplay trailer, which gamers and journalists alike instantly gobbled up like it was our last meal.
The trailer starts off by treating us to a slightly more fleshed out look at Arkham Knight ’s dark story line. We already knew the plot revolved around the Scarecrow assembling some of the baddest baddies from Gotham’s gallery of rogues, in an attempt to bring down the Bat once and for all. Fortunately, this new footage gives us a peak at the full effects from the very streets of Gotham itself. In what looks like a scene from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy (or perhaps the panels of the No Man’s Land comic), the city has delved into a state of mass hysteria and panic (as a result of the criminal element overrunning it). For the first time, we get a chance to see just how awesome a next-gen Gotham is going to look from the ground up, showing off a level of next-gen polish never before depicted in the series. Another awesome little tidbit was a glimpse at the new Batmobile in action. So far, we had only heard rumors of what it could do (or watched it in pre-rendered cut scenes). Now we got a chance to see it zip around in real-time, utilizing its thrusters to achieve inverted wall jumps and blasting through obstacles with its sweet looking weapons system.
But despite the updated visuals and powerful new tech, one addition still steals the show!
I must say, the more I see of Batman’s new adversary, the more I’m intrigued. Batman himself certainly received a bit of a makeover since we last saw him swinging around the rooftops of Arkham City prison. In what looks to draw heavily from the new 52 reboots, the Caped Crusader looks to be wearing his most weaponized suit of armor to date. Combine that with an unhealthy mental instability he’ll be dealing with this time ‘round (due to the death of his clown counterpart) and this iteration of the Bat should prove to be the most formidable we’ve ever seen.
I say “should,” as apparently that doesn’t mean a damn thing to the new villain, the Arkham Knight. He appears to not only have access to a set of advanced resources of his own (his armor looks suspiciously similar to Batman’s doesn’t it?), but he obviously has the skills to back it up as well! By the end of the trailer, the most well-trained crime fighter in all of DC is literally lying on his back, helpless at the hands of this mysterious stranger. No easy task, but he pulls it off! How the hell did that happen? Who is this guy?! HAVE I BECOME OVERLY EXCITED WHILE TYPING THIS?!!
Probably…but I don’t care.
Kevin Conroy (the voice of Batman since the days of The Animated Series ) was recently asked for details regarding the plot of the new game. While he was naturally tight lipped (after WB got on him for leaking his involvement in the upcoming project last summer) he did provide one little tease. “Fans will be ABSOLUTELY blown away with the story” he said. Based on what we’ve seen so far; I’d say Conroy was right on the money (as usual).
So let’s just hope those release date delay rumors are just that, as I don’t think I can wait ‘till the New Year for this baby.