Rocksteady have shared a host of new details about Batman: Arkham Knight, as relayed by our friend CabooseXBL. You can subscribe to Caboose on YouTube here. There is not much new in terms of spoilers, as usual, but new information regarding combat and other game mechanics.
Sefton Hill did mention some story related tidbits; for one, Commissioner Gordon has a bigger role in the game. Whether that means he will be a persistent ally NPC, or possibly even playable himself, we don’t know quite yet. Rocksteady also insists that Arkham Knight is not an existing character in disguise, so it seems safe to say that the developer has come up with a backstory for this character all on his own – unless, of course, this is misdirection intended to throw us off.
We have seen a lot of abilities from the Batmobile already, but it has even more features and abilities than has been shown so far. The vehicle toggles between pursuit to battle mode via L2/LT. Meanwhile, R2/RT fires guns in battle mode, and activates boost in pursuit mode.
The Batmobile has a combo meter, presumably allowing players to keep a combo going while Bruce switches from going in and out of the vehicle. There is also a new enemy type that only the Batmobile can beat. It throws out three strikes in succession, and can only be taken with shots while it cools down using grenade launcher.
Detective mode mapping has been affected by the Batmobile’s appearance. Detective mode can only be activated on foot, and for the most part, pressing LB/L1 will call the vehicle instead.
The Arkham Knight militia have specific positions in the city, that essentially serve as outposts. Batman will find it hard to travel through these areas unless you take the whole outpost out first.
Gadgets will be easier to use in this game. For example, the explosive gel is now merely contact sensitive.
You will always be able to counter any move in any situation, no matter how small the window of opportunity you are provided. This does not necessarily make the game easier, so much as it adds another layer of depth advanced players can take advantage of. Rocksteady has also made it clear silent and FEAR takedowns are separate, so you will have to use discretion deciding which one to use in which situation.
The studio does mocap 3-4 times a week, and is actually recorded by the devs themselves. Thanks to this shortcut, they were able to give enemies even more animations, allowing for nuances in each enemy type. For example, some enemies charge at you, requiring Batarang throws. We also already know about the new system allowing players to finish off or pick up enemies on the ground so that players do not drop their combos.
Lastly, Rocksteady rerecoded audio to take advantage of 8th gen capabilities, promising a richer game experience.
Batman: Arkham Knight will be released on June 2, 2015 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One video game consoles, and Microsoft Windows.
