Apparently, a writer at Kotaku has played about 15 minutes of Arkham Knight. Hearing this news has given me a vast mixture of emotions ranging from anger, sadness, envy, and ecstasy. Thankfully, that writer did not hold out and decided to share some juicy details regarding the gameplay.
The report contains a pretty elaborate narrative regarding what they were able to experience, but I’ll try to cut the bulk and provide the most essential details. First off, let me begin with Batman’s new swag, most notably, the Batmobile.
– The Batmobile has two modes: 1) Battle Mode, which was already introduced to players with that short and sweet clip that depicted the Batmobile’s transformation into an offensive tank decked out with lots of nonlethal weaponry. 2) Pursuit Mode, which is seemingly the Batmobile’s default mode, as it allows the Dark Knight to chase down enemies at high speeds…. hence the name.
– The Batmobile is not simply meant to be a mode of fast travel, but a very vital tool to be utilized during gameplay. One situation in the demo called for the player to use the Batmobile’s grappling hook to lift up a broken down elevator. It can also be used for certain takedowns during free-flow combat via its remote control feature.
– Batman has a new gadget called the Bat Scanner. True to its name, Batman uses it to scan a building he is surveying. The description is vague, but it brings to mind a little drone that flies around the vicinity.
With that out of the way, let’s get into some interesting plot points.
WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
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Still here? Let’s get into it.
The building that Batman scans with his trusty Bat Scanner holds a character that the writer surmises is Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight himself. The exchange reveals to us that the Arkham Knight is under Scarecrow’s employ and maintains a complicated grudge against the Bats. The quick exchange goes as follows:
Arkham Knight: Batman dies. Tonight.
Scarecrow: Why do you hate him so much?
Arkham Knight: You will never understand.
Later on in the demo, Arkham Knight and Bats finally meet face-to-face. Upon arrival, AK barks instructions to his thugs, telling them to avoid shooting the Bat symbol on his chest as it is the most heavily armored part of the costume. Though not explicitly mentioned, but presumably during a cut scene of a dialogue between the two, AK says something that seems to suggest that he knows Bats very well:
Always defending the weak and the helpless. That’s what I like about you. You’re predictable. And that’s why we’re gonna win. We know your move before you do. We know how you think!
Far be it from me to question Rocksteady’s approach, but I feel like that might have revealed a little bit too much about the plot and their newly-created titular villain. If we are to presume that Rocksteady is drawing from Batman’s rich history of grudge-bearing characters, I can think of at least 2 that may work. There’s Hush, who was introduced in Arkham City to no satisfying conclusion and then there’s Jason Todd, which works in the Arkhamverse as Tim Drake is the current Robin, making no significant mention of Todd before him… unless you count one of Robin’s challenge maps where Joker quips, “Didn’t I kill you?”
Overall, this has both saddened me and excited me. Saddened because of the delay and excited because of its serious promise.
What do you think? Too much Batmobile involvement? Who do you think is Arkham Knight? Let me know.
Source – Kotaku