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We talk about why Batman: Arkham Knight was our 2015 GOTY.

So last night, as I continued my quest to find every riddler trophy in Batman: Arkham Knight, I started to get a bit bored. I figured I’d jump into “New Game+” mode which unlocks upon finishing the main story. “New Game+” lets you relive the entire Arkham Knight story without the pesky having to collect everything over again. Anyone who hasn’t played it; Arkham Knight’s story is one worth combing through multiple times.

The game’s opening cinematic sees the body of the Joker being cremated right before our eyes. In fact the game doesn’t start until you hold down any button long enough for the flames to char the corpse. Yes it’s sadistic, but this time around I held down the buttons long enough to singe the body but never quite have it go up in flames. Even as “under my skin” finished its classic catchy tune, I still only managed to extra crispy the Joker’s body.

Once I decided to get on with the show, I noticed a distinct lack of Jim Gordon’s opening “this is how the batman died” speech. Instead, the game delivered another “oh sh**” moment when the Joker’s body appeared to laugh back to life and Mark Hamill’s voice delivered a new opening statement to the story.

Check it out below if you don’t plan on going through the game again:

For those of us who have gone through Batman: Arkham Knight, what have been your favorite parts of the game?

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Rocksteady’s Arkham Knight, the finale to their Batman trilogy is here and with it all the comic easter egg goodness. Warning before we get into the why and what not about the game’s relevance let me disclaimer you: this will be filled with spoilers. So if you care about that kind of thing and haven’t played the game or watched the cinematics on YouTube, turn away.

Just an update before we get started. Last week, Comics Beat put up a story about the press release sent out in regards to WB pulling the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight from store shelves and Steam. It was written in a way that made it seem as though Rocksteady was only at fault for the game’s catastrophic PC launch. The PC edition was ported and optimized for computer hardware by a different developer known as Iron Works. Rocksteady has since stated they’ll come in and devote resources to fixing the game with Iron Works, in fact yesterday they released a patch to remedy some of the issues. Yes, we’re in the age of pre orders putting out inferior and often times buggy product, but Rocksteady have had a great track record of working games and the controversy shouldn’t reflect solely on them.

If you’re going to San Diego Comic Con in a few days and want a limited edition Arkham Knight print, E3 shirt, and Batman: The Animated Series figure just follow us on instagram @ComicsBeat and I’ll post details later on.

Ok let’s get into the game spoilers in 3… 2… 1…

Batmobile

First, we have to acknowledge the elephant in the bathtub. Just about every review and comment from gamers who’ve  played Arkham Knight loathe driving the Batmobile in the game. These opinions aren’t entirely unfounded. Driving around in Batman’s car and having it handle like a lawnmower with an attached jet engine can be frustrating for two reasons. First of all; the car is just plain overused. More than 3/4 of the objectives in the game can’t be completed without the Batmobile. In fact the moment where the car is crushed by the giant drilling machine gave me a sigh of relief, only to be snatched out from under me by the addition of a back up car. Secondly, using the car wouldn’t be so bad if there was more of a learning curve to driving. Particularly in the Riddler track challenges that Batman has to complete in order to release Catwoman from the bomb collar. You’ll go from an easy straight forward track to executing barrel rolls in a sewer as you have to focus on steering and triggering puzzle elements in the level. Then there’s the tank mode, at the push of a button the car goes battle stations and takes on enemy vehicles . These sequences slow down the pace of the game but never enough to take you out of the story. Learning to transition between the sets of controls effectively takes time and patience. Both of which I have in spades… now excuse me while I put this quart of frozen ice cream in the microwave.

This all begs the question; would we have been better off not having the car in the game? No. Having the game on newer consoles like PS4 and Xbox One meant it was going to be bigger and better looking. It needed something new, something more forthright than switching between Robin or Nightwing during certain melee sequences. Driving the Batmobile was a logical progressive addition to the series. Could it have been better executed and more balanced with the story? Yes, but I’ll take Batmobile over no Batmobile any day.

The Stories that made up Arkham Knight

After E3, we talked a bit about how “one-way” the streets that connect comics and video games can feel. Comics are more often tasked with bringing video games to books than gaming taking on the tales we love. Sure there’ve been a few games that have tried translating the language of comics in games. Most of the stories lucky enough to make the jump become cannon fodder for the activity/reward relationship games are built on. With Arkham Knight, Rocksteady, managed to translate pieces from a library of Batman stories containing 75 Years worth of history to build something that harmonizes with sitting down to play a video game .

Anyone that’s played previous Arkham games knows, like television, there’s always two plots to a story. While the surface of Arkham Knight is about stopping the Scarecrow from unleashing his fear cloud over Gotham; Batman was grappling with his Joker infection from the events of Arkham City. A disease that threatens to wipe away Bruce Wayne and replace him entirely with the consciousness of his worst enemy. It’s a story we’ve seen before in the Batman Beyond animated universe story, Return of the Joker. There it was Tim Drake of the future who felt the Joker take over his mind from beyond the grave.

Then there’s the Joker running down the events of his days of yore with the dark knight. If you played the game, those chilling moments in the Batman’s mind where Joker makes him relive the horror of paralyzing Barbra Gordon from Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke. Rocksteady captured that iconic moment in history nearly panel-for-panel. Knowing what would happen when Joker stepped through that doorway made it that much more intense for us and kudos on not diluting the madness of that moment for the sake of a friendlier rating. When the game first received it’s “mature” M from the ESRB, it wasn’t hard to guess we’d see some of the Batman’s most graphic moments played out in front of our eyes.

The sequence where Batman and Robin (Tim Drake) have to recover escaped Jokerized patentients in the movie studio cuts to a piece of comic’s history. It nods to the, A Death in the Family, story where Joker blows up second Robin, Jason Todd. Not only did it tell parts of those events, but it somehow made them more brutal. In Rocksteady’s version there would be no desert and no bomb. Instead they got around the revolving door of comic death by not actually killing Jason Todd. Joker would hold Robin in secret, warping his mind and turning him against the Batman.

Red Hood Story Pack

Joker’s torture created the Red Hood comic fans are familiar with today. Most of the events the actual Arkham Knight character puts Batman through during the game are calculated insider tactics only someone close to the Bat would know. Breaching Wayne security, informing Crane about Oracle, even calling the Batman “Bruce”; it all pointed to Jason Todd being the Arkham Knight. During the game’s penultimate moments, the Arkham Knight lifts his veil and reveals himself to Batman. So much of that moment and Jason’s motivations borrow from Judd Winnick’s Under the Red Hood.

There’s the lies Rocksteady told

An editorial I came across last night, over on IGN, read like an angry complaint letter to the game. I see how anyone invested in the Batman mythology could feel lied to. One should understand the ballsy chance Rocksteady took. In today’s age of “scoops” where secrets and mysteries just don’t exist; the developer risked agitating the audience and consciously chose to add mystique where there couldn’t have been any. It worked. We all guessed Jason would be under the Arkham Knight’s mask, but we took Rocksteady at their word when they said it would be an original character. Is being honest and upfront a requirement for making great games? Who knows. Though it’s hard to be angry at Rocksteady because the lies they have been telling since Batman: Arkham City have value. Remember when Mark Hamill came out and said voicing the Joker in Arkham City would be the last time he’d ever do it. Had the studio come out a year ago and said Jason Todd is the Arkham Knight, then it would have been easy to deduce the return of the Joker. After all he’s as intertwined with him as he is with Batman.

Sure by the middle of the game it’s bombastically obvious, Jason Todd is the Arkham Knight.  That wasn’t the surprise this game banked on. Had I known about the Joker in the game before it’s release then I would have lost that moment where I’m about to put the controller down for the night and then like a bolt of lightning to the system, I see the face of the Clown Prince of Crime alive and well (sort of). The shrill echo of Mark Hamil’s laughter comes through my speakers and no I’m definitely not turning in yet.

The argument about this not being an original story is also flat. When you look at all three Arkham games as a whole, it’s probably the most original Batman story in recent years; next to Scott Snyder turning Gordon into the new dark knight. Sure, Arkham Knight borrows a lot of notes from several DC Comics stories, but that’s the way it should be. DC could sell tons of books to gamers who’ve never read comics by marketing the list of “stories that inspired the game”. Lies equated to an end result that has potential to boost two industries. That’s a fair trade for any negative PR they’ll get.

This Arkham universe remained true and defied the convention of comic’s revolving door of death where no one ever really dies. Joker was dead and using him in Batman’s head was a brilliant way of still being able to keep him in the series without betraying the events of before. If Rocksteady isn’t lying and THIS is the end of their Batman run then they went out on a better note than what Christopher Nolan did.

In the end, they lied. So what? The Golden State Warriors lied and now they’re NBA champions. Tom Brady did the things with deflated sports balls and he’s married to a supermodel. A story about a fictional comic book character is allowed to be marketed any way it sees fit to make money in a gray world.

Batman: Arkham Knight is a gorgeous end to the character. One where he loses in the end, not a loss he’ll live with either. It’s an ending we could never get in comics or film. The existence of the Arkham universe is finite and it gave Rocksteady a freedom no one else has had with the character. Sure they took some liberties with our attentions over the last two years but in the end we got the Batman game we deserve.

Following a huge wave of complaints about Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Knight‘s PC Port performance, publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has suspended sales of the title.  These complaints included tales of sluggish performance and a total inability to get the game to work.  Warner Bros. issued a statement on its community message boards last night:

Dear Batman: Arkham Knight PC owners,

We want to apologize to those of you who are experiencing performance issues with Batman: Arkham Knight on PC. We take these issues very seriously and have therefore decided to suspend future game sales of the PC version while we work to address these issues to satisfy our quality standards.  We greatly value our customers and know that while there are a significant amount of players who are enjoying the game on PC, we want to do whatever we can to make the experience better for PC players overall.

Thank you to those players who have already given valuable feedback. We are continuously monitoring all threads posted in the Official Batman: Arkham Knight Community and Steam forums, as well as any issues logged with our Customer Support (support.wbgames.com). If you purchased your copy of the game and are not satisfied with your experience, then we ask for your patience while these issues are resolved. If desired, you can request a refund at help.steampowered.com (Steam refund policies can be found here: http://store.steampowered.com/steam_refunds) or the retail location where you purchased the game.

The Batman: Arkham fans have continually supported the franchise to its current height of success, and we want to thank you for your patience as we work to deliver an updated version of Batman: Arkham Knight on PC so you can all enjoy the final chapter of the Batman: Arkham series as it was meant to be played.

This debacle conjures an extreme case of deja vu, as developer Rocksteady’s last Batman game, Arkham City, had similar performance issues when it was released on the PC even though it was released a month later than the console versions of the title.  The game was purportedly delayed to perfect the title’s highly touted DirectX 11 features, which included more realistic physics and a greater level of game world detail.  Despite this extra month, those who pre-ordered and patiently awaited the game’s release found that DirectX 11 features caused the game to run sluggishly on even the most advanced contemporary machines.  It took months for a patch to be released, and even now, almost four years later, some users have issues enabling the advanced graphics features.

Every time a AAA title is released on the PC, message boards and subreddits flutter with cautionary comments that warn users to avoid pre-ordering.  In the digital era, major game publishers like Ubisoft, EA, and Warner Bros. release titles before they’re fully functional and bug-free, relying on zero day patches and periodical hotfixes to produce an acceptable product after the consumer’s money has landed in their coffers.  This isn’t a new problem.  People should be well aware of what they’re getting themselves into when they pre-order digital games nowadays and by continuing to pre-order, they’re perpetuating an unacceptable and unsustainable business model.

It’s almost here. In just a few short hours gamers will be back in Gotham City. Today, Rocksteady have released the final trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight. One that shows off most of the characters we’ll see and some of the combo takedowns Batman & friends we’ll be able to pull off in the game.

Batman: Arkham Knight is getting some stellar early reviews. Will you be one of the thousands to crowd retailers at midnight tonight?

Ours just arrived, but I will not be able to get to it until later this week. To make it up; I’ll do a special giveaway for anyone going to SDCC, details this weekend. Stay Tuned

Fights and free comics weren’t the only things dropped Saturday night. WB Games, who are set to release the highly anticipated Batman: Arkham Knight game responded to fan and media criticism about their recently announced season pass option by giving away a few more details on their forums.

We now know a few more things about what your $40 will get you:

Batgirl: A Matter of Family
An all new prequel story expansion in an entirely new location where you play as Batgirl for the very first time in the Arkham series – check out the first render of Batgirl.

The Season of Infamy
Play as Batman in all new story missions featuring legendary super-villains invading Gotham City, with new story arcs, missions and gameplay features.

Gotham City Stories
Play as Batman’s key allies in narrative missions extending their storylines, from both before and after the events in Batman: Arkham Knight.

Legendary Batmobiles with Themed Tracks
Drive the most iconic Batmobiles from Batman’s 75-year history, on custom-built race tracks, each themed to that Batmobile’s specific era. Every Batmobile will be drivable across every race track.

Crimefighter Challenge Maps
Engage in a series of new challenge maps utilizing the unique play styles of Batman and his allies.

Character Skins
A variety of skins from across the eras for Batman, Robin, Nightwing and Catwoman.

No word on how the content will be spread out over the 6 month period they previously announced. The game’s developer, Rocksteady, did mention that they’re still working on developing even more add-on for the game which will be announced as soon as the studio “ramp on” development of the content.

Batman: Arkham Knight is set to release June 23, 2105 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Here it is:

Batman: Arkham Knight developer, Rocksteady are ending their Arkham series with a nuke. Today’s trailer shows off a new feature for the series. This time around players will have the ability to switch between characters from the Bat-family. The trailer shows Nightwing and Robin executing co-op attacks on enemies. Previously these characters have only appeared as DLC for the game’s challenge maps, but now their going to be a part of the campaign narrative.

In addition comic fans will recognize the character known as Azrael. No word on if this version is Jean Paul Valley, who took over the mantle of the bat during the Knightfall storyline in the comics. So far all the marketing materials points to a bold move from the developer that may spell the demise of Batman.

Batman: Arkham Knight comes to the PS4, Xbox One, and PC June 23.

We’ll talk more about this latest trailer and the Silent Hill cancelation this evening, in the meantime what are your thoughts about this new Batman trailer?

Swiftly following yesterday’s news that Batman: Arkham Knight would be rated “M”, Rocksteady has released a brand new trailer that cements the overall premise of the capper to the developer’s “Arkham trilogy” (Origins doesn’t count according to them).

And yes, that is John Noble (Fringe) playing the Scarecrow.

One of the year’s most anticipated games is the conclusion to Rocksteady’s epic Arkham trilogy, Batman: Arkham Knight. Today the ESRB announced the game has earned an “M” for mature rating. Previous entries Arkham Asylum and Arkham City both earned T for teen ratings. The news came as a surprise to game director Sefton Hill because it wasn’t the studio’s aim to make an M rated game.

In a statement from the company, the studio acknowledged that the rating would cause some younger players to miss out on the experience but ultimately the choice was made to avoid diluting the story Rocksteady wanted to tell. “It would have been wrong to water down the game and deliver a story we didn’t believe in to keep the game ‘mass market’ or enable it for more people. We feel that’s the wrong way to go about it. We said we love the story and we don’t want to jepoardize that.”

Both of the studios previous Batman titles were regarded as some of the generations best games. While the level of violence and language could have been seen as excessive for a conservative mass market, the games never jumped the lines that a Grand Theft Auto or Mortal Kombat did to get their M ratings.

One has to wonder and maybe get a little more excited for what we’ll see when the game releases on PS4 and Xbox One in June.