The first official trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins has
arrived. It was only days ago that we were given a teaser with quick flashes of
the duel between Batman and Deathstroke. In this new, elongated version, we
discover that mobster Black Mask is the man behind the 8 assassins coming to
kill the Dark Knight. Confirmed among those eight are: Deathstroke and Deadshot
(he was also featured in a side mission in Arkham City, remember?). Following
the trailer is an advertisement featuring Deathstroke as a playable character
through pre-order through Amazon. It is assumed that he will be playable in the
same capacity as Catwoman was in City; with his own mini-missions and story.
Or, at the very least, he is available to use in the challenge maps, similar to
Robin and Nightwing.
Overall, not a whole lot of new details are revealed, aside
from a few little hints and unexpected objects like a bomb hidden inside a
toolbox with a Queen Industries logo painted along the top. Of course this
sparks any questions surrounding the involvement of Green Arrow in the game.
Will he be a playable DLC character? Will he just appear in a cameo role much
like Azrael in City? Or are they using Queen Industries because Wayne
Industries would have been too conventional? Too many questions, too few
answers. One thing is for sure: fans will welcome his inclusion in Origins
considering his huge success in Injustice, which may be the creators’ logic for
possibly including him in the game. Another reason could be because of Queen’s similarities
to Batman. If the creators were looking for another DC superhero to include in
the game, Green Arrow is the most logical, realistic choice, and would be on
par with the playable capacities of the game (as cool as it would be, having
Superman zipping around New Gotham doesn’t exactly stay true to what the two
previous games created).
Did anyone notice the way Batman took down the second thug?
Yeah, obviously. Pulling someone through the floor isn’t something you
regularly do, even if you’re Batman. If you recall, Arkham City’s first trailer
showed Batman bursting through a wall to grab his opponent, which ended up
being a usable takedown in the game, so I wouldn’t be surprised if, instead of
busting open grates, we’ll be busting through wood floors to takedown our
enemies.
And that’s about it. This trailer (much like the Hugo
Strange trailer for City) was all about the visuals, showcasing a villain that
can match Batman, not only mentally, but also physically. No gameplay. Very few
confirmed details about the game, but another reason to get excited, but who
wouldn’t, its an Arkham game that seems to be on the right path to surpassing
its predecessors.
But where the trailer failed to give any real information
about gameplay and the “feel” of the game, the game’s creative director, Eric
Holmes, did not: “the Arkham franchise is a lot of stuff done ‘okay’. Its about
certain things done to a great level of quality. We went through a bunch of
ideas”, he tells IGN, “and we picked a small number of the best ones we felt
would give the game its own identity, give it a meaning to exist.” Along with
discussing the importance of improving upon the foundations created in Asylum
and City, Holmes explains the game’s updated combat and upgrading systems,
describing the changes to your fighting styles that will give you feedback at
the end of each fight to help you improve your style. One thing also mentioned
is the addition of so-called “ninja” thugs, who will not only be able to block
your attacks but counter them as well. This was relieving to hear, considering
that after engaging the 80th group of thugs over the course of City’s story,
made me a little sick of the simple attack-counter combo.
As we know, the playable areas of New Gotham are twice the
size of Arkham City, with the ability to fast travel to many destinations via
the Batwing. Holmes commented on the scale of the city, stating that there are
many skyscrapers to give the city a more “vertical” feel (which was nice to
know considering the best part of playing open world Spiderman games was
climbing to the top of the Empire State Building, diving off and swinging a web
at the last second. Hopefully they can recreate that, although its not my
biggest concern). All of this and much more is discussed in IGN’s interview
with creative director Eric Holmes so check it out.
And for more information on anything Batman and Arkham
Origins, keep it here in the Heart of Gotham.
No comments:
Post a Comment