Arkham City Origins details

Rocksteady isn't doing this one.... whaaaaat ?!

Whether in movies, television, comics or video games, when Batman needs a change of pace, creative teams tend to lean towards the iconic hero's formative years. That's precisely the case with Batman: Arkham Origins, just announced this morning for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC. Since the game's reveal, Game Informer's cover story has gone live, providing us with some critical new details in the next Batman adventure, due out October 25.

As previously noted, the Dark Knight will face eight assassins, including fan favorite Deathstroke, who have journeyed to Arkham City to kill him. We now know that Black Mask is responsible for putting a bounty on Batman's head, though exactly why will be a key mystery in the game's story. Also playing into the plot - Gotham City's acclimation to its rookie protector. Players will not only see a much more skeptical and potentially hostile Gotham City Police Department (aka the 'GCPD', which happens to feature a young Captain Jim Gordon), but younger and healthier versions of big bad guys like the Penguin - who apparently didn't always have the tail end of a glass bottle shoved in one eye.

Arkham Origins will feature similar gameplay to its predecessors, as new developer WB Montreal is very much intent on picking up where Rocksteady left off. That means perch-to-perch movement, gliding kicks and 'free-form combat' are all back. While the Montreal studio was free to develop its plot and new feature (like a 'Remote Claw', which allows you to target and pull two objects together), it leaned on Rocksteady for advice on technical and mechanical elements of the game.

Another new feature - quick travel via the airborne Batwing. Though not a controllable vehicle, Arkham Origins will finally eliminate one of the more tedious elements from Asylum and City, allowing Batman to move from point to point much faster than before - - provided he dismantles towers that jam his ability to call in his plane. (Unlike, say, Far Cry 3, these tower sequences will require a wide variety of skills and powers, including some that will have to be unlocked first.) It's a good thing Montreal is providing the Dark Knight with a quick method of transport - WB Montreal contends that Origins is nearly twice the size of Arkham City, adding an entirely new island, called 'New Gotham', to build upon the more familiar 'Old Gotham', which will still feature familiar locations like Amusement Mile and The Bowery.

The Montreal team intends to maintain the same world "density" despite doubling its size, adding ideas like 'Crime in Progress' (assist the GCPD and build your reputation) and 'Most Wanted' (track down non-assassin villains). In many cases these side quests will provide the upgrades to Batman's arsenal. These upgrades, combined with the game's existing XP system, funnel into the larger concept of the 'Dark Knight' system, which is basically the team's way of progressively adding more complexity and difficulty to Origins.

Origins will also put more emphasis on Batman's detective skills. Cases large and small will serve as a slower change of pace from action, allowing players to investigate crime scenes, gather evidence, analyze data and even return to those scenes with more information later in the game. Over time, as each case is solved, a full video narrative of the case will unlock, piecing together the crime.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/09/assassinating-batman-in-arkham-or...