Batman: Arkham Asylum

Eh zijn dit trouwens niet de stemmen van de cartoon serie?

 

preview van joystiq.. ik ben overtuigd

click to enlarge
Judging by the recently released trailer and screenshots, you probably have the same expectations of Batman: Arkham Asylum that we did heading into a recent demo of the game. That is: it looks like nothing more than a Batman beat-'em-up. The truth: it's a full-fledged Batman game, complete with stealth, gadgets, investigations, and, yes, fisticuffs.

Having seen the game played in its current state, we were struck by something we've termed "The Pure Effect," thus named because we first experienced it upon seeing Disney Interactive's superb off-road racer, Pure, for the first time. The effect is not a subtle one. It generally causes those who encounter it to exclaim (hopefully internally), "Where did this game come from? I've never heard of these guys. This looks ... really good." And so was our first encounter with Arkham Asylum.

Our demo kicked off with the cinematic sequence seen in the trailer, which is entirely real time, as are the rest of the game's cut scenes. It's also running on Unreal Engine 3, but you wouldn't know it, seeing as the entire game world doesn't look laminated and large parts of it don't suddenly pop into existence.

It's also somewhat interactive. The Joker's strapped to a vertical "Hannibal Lecter" gurney under heavy guard and – controlling Batman's forward movement – you escort him through the (many) security checkpoints as he's processed. During this sequence, you're free to look around at the various things happening in the background – other inmates struggling, some yelling at Batman, until you reach the main lift leading to the asylum proper. There you have to wait for Killer Croc to be escorted past. He's huge, menacing and, as you can see in the screenshot gallery, thoroughly re-imagined.

That's not to say that this Batman game is out to change everything about the comic's universe, or how it looks and sounds. Paul Dini, a writer on Batman: The Animated Series and season one of Lost, is penning the game's plot and dialogue. The latter is voiced by Batman: The Animated Series veterans Kevin Conroy (Batman), Mark Hammil (The Joker) and Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn – a character created by Dini) with the promise of "more to come." The look of the game itself is original, drawing inspiration more from the current Batman comics than any of the films.

Frankly, while flashy, the combat looked fairly routine.


Before we knew it, we were getting our first glimpse of the game's hand-to-hand combat. Batman was surrounded by several thugs and the Warner Bros. rep piloting the demo was able to dispatch them stylishly using simple direction / attack button combinations. Enemies also telegraph the fact that they're about to attack by means of blue sparks above their heads; if you time your attacks properly, Batman executes a reversal. Frankly, while flashy, the combat looked fairly routine.

What happened next, though, wasn't. Following a trail of chattering gag teeth (one of the game's means of leaving "bread crumbs" to direct players) Batman made his way to the electric chair chamber, where Mr. Zsasz, a B-grade member of Batman's rogues gallery, had strapped a guard into the chair and was threatening to flip the switch.


After receiving a situation update from Oracle – who provides such information to Batman from her command center in the Batcave – it was time for a different type of gameplay. At this point, we were shown the game's "detective mode." (Cue a resounding "Yes!" from fans.) This mode let the Dark Knight play to his proclivity towards gadgetry and the fact that, well, he's the world's greatest detective.

Detective mode X-Ray vision
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Zooming in on characters in this mode reveals info about them, including their names and even their heart rate. Every character in the game has a unique name and, to some extent, backstory. It was clear that the guards Batman was looking at were gravely concerned about their co-worker, as indicated by rapid heart rates.

A full-on assault being out of the question, our demo pilot glanced upwards, revealing a number of objects that Batman could grapple to and perch on. Silently doing so, he made his way behind and above Zsasz, at which point on of the game's many contextual prompts came up. In this case, it was a glide kick. Pressing "A" sent the Caped Crusader swooping down, kicking Zsasz to the floor where he could be neutralized with a quick choke-out.

Even given our instinctual distrust of licensed games and PR-speak, what we saw had us impressed.

In another scenario, The Joker released Joker Toxin into a decontamination room, trapping guards and an inmate above the rising gas. What followed was a matter of reaching the guards and hoisting them to safety. Of course, the inmate was screaming for help. We were told that he could be left for his fate, but that saving the bad guys in such predicaments would eventually unlock an Achievement. So Batman did, although not without roughing him up a little.

The final area we were shown was meant to demonstrate some of the game's more open-ended scenarios (which will include "large" outdoor areas). Batman entered a large room occupied by several gun-wielding thugs. Entering "silent predator mode," he was able to sneak about the room, quietly opening ventilation covers and the like. For the purpose of the demo, we were shown a skill purchase – defeating enemies rewards Batman with XP, which can be spent on new moves and weapon upgrades – which was, in this case, was the ability to hang upside-down from a perch and silently snap up an enemy.

Predator mode silent takedown​

As the other enemies took notice of their comrade's predicament, Batman used the situation to take them out one at a time (like the warehouse sequence from Batman Begins). He dropped down onto one, knocking him unconscious. He quietly popped open a floor panel and snuck up behind another, silently yanking him down.

Using the detective mode's X-Ray vision, he tracked another thug – who was emitting "whiskey fumes" according to the screen (there's a visible trail, and this element will evidently factor more heavily into later gameplay) – but this time Batman was spotted. Rather than risk death going up against an armed enemy, he used his grappling gun to break his foe's line of site in a decidedly Assassin's Creed moment.

We saw Batarangs used several times (holding the "throw" button follows their flight, much like the glaive from Dark Sector) and were told that Batman will utilize other tools, including an aerosol explosive for breaking through walls and even fingerprint analysis.

Aerosol explosive in use​

Warner Bros. told us at the conclusion of the demo that it is confident this will be (and we quote) "the best Batman game ever," and that its goal is to make a game that, if all of the licensing were stripped away, would still be a triple-A action title. Even given our instinctual distrust of licensed games and PR-speak, what we saw had us impressed -- and thinking this could be a rare occasion where it all comes together to make a really good game.

 

Mhm, ''The best Batman game ever'' huh? Ben benieuwd.

 

Dit zijn inderdaad de stemmen uit The Animated Series. Mark Hamill als de Joker, je kent hem vast beter als Luke Skywalker.

Geniale game denk ik, ziet er goed uit en de verhaallijn is eindelijk echt in de goede sfeer!
Zie er keihard naar uit als echte fan!

Hoop alleen heel erg dat de besturing anders is dan die van Batman Dark Tomorrow van de oude XBOX.

 

Eidos is de uitgever (nu dus Square Enix) .. Rocksteady is de ontwikkelaar

 

Het ziet er best allemaal enorm goed uit, nu hopen dat de game zelf ook zo zal zijn..
het vechten ziet er in de trailer best wel cool uit!

 

@ Fardo: post je dat ook ff op oldskool

Ziet er erg goed uit!

 

edit: Wacht eens, dit werd gepresenteerd als nieuwe plaatjes, maar ik zie dat ze al op de vorige pagina staan.
Never mind dus.

 

Ze zijn wel mooi though.

 

Ja, zeker!

Ben benieuwd naar het spel zeg!

 

ziet er wel tof uit jammer dat ze hem niet hellemaal op de films hebben gebaseerd
zoals de chief of police gordon en de batmobile

 

Mja, de batmobile moet gewoon oldschool zoals in de comics en animatieseries. Niet voor niets dat een blik met oude stemacteurs is opengetrokken. Vind het wel best zo! Nu is het nieuwe design van de batmobile wel erg cool, maar denk dat ik de oude gewoon beter vind passen. Een beetje fout, dat moeten alle superhelden gewoon zijn.

 

Ik ben wel blij dat ze niet naar het filmuniversum hebben gekeken, in verhouding met de comics is dat toch wel redelijk beperkt. Juist leuk dat er nu obscure comics villains inzitten en de "oude" batman met zn grijze pakje en de "oude" joker etc

 

Ja, exactly my thoughts. Dat grijze met zo'n fout geel ogo is gewoon kick!

 

jij bedoeld deze

 

To the Adam West Mobile!!

 

ja is jammer dat die er niet in zit

 

Ja, die. Die is zo vet!

 

OMG, wat een verschil van vroeger en nu!

 

Ik ben juist blij dat hij op de strip is gebaseerd