Batman: Arkham Origins has been officially announced, and confirmed as Game Informer’s May Cover Story. The game is being developed by Warner Bros. Games Montreal and will take place “years” before Rocksteady’s games, with the Dark Knight meeting in of his rogue gallery for the first time. The trailer for Game Informer’s coverage has also been released.
Armature Studio is developing a 3DS and Vita tie-in called Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, which will have a 2.5D perspective and will take place after the events of Arkham Origins where players can continue Batman’s story. Details from the Game Informer issue have been posted on NeoGAF for both the console and portable versions of the game.
Batman: Arkham Origins is set to release on October 25th, for the PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U. No release date has been confirmed for Blackgate.
Some details from the NeoGAF forum post include:
- The game takes place years before the previous two games, on Christmas Eve.
- Black Mask has put a bounty out on Batman’s head.
- Supervillains and top assassins from the DC Comics universe come to Gotham to get Batman.
- Batman needs to outsmart all his enemies, find out why Black Mask wants him gone, and also prove to the police that he is on their side.
- Using a younger Batman allows “the opportunity to refresh things a bit”
- Batman’s skills not as finely honed as in the previous titles, he also can push things too far, for example when trying to interrogate a thug he accidentally knocks him unconscious.
- Free-flow combat is still there “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it” said senior producer Ben Mattes.
- Glides, ledge takedowns and sleeper holds are back
- “Old Gotham” hasn’t been turned into an urban prison yet, and is only half the game world.
- Entirely new area across the bridge is called “New Gotham” and doubles the size of the game world.
- The Batwing will not be directly controlled but will fit into story sequences and also be a form of fast travel.
- New remote claw is similar to the grappler in Just Cause 2, can attach to two objects and they will be pulled together. This can be used to knock enemies into each other, slam objects into enemies, an explosive barrel can be attached to a perch then when an enemy walks underneath the rope can be cut with a batarang to drop the explosive onto the enemy.
- A new most wanted system allows players to go after villains not in the core narrative. The more of these missions done, the more GCPD will appreciate and understand Batman.
- Dark Knight system will provide a long list of tasks that increase in difficulty as the game progresses, but will not replace challenge mode.