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Ka-pow the 3 Arkhams for $10
Bundle Stars has a zlonking deal going on: $10 for three Arkham games on Windows PC. That's the extras-stuffed Game of the Year editions of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, while Batman: Arkham Origins comes with the season pass and the Black Mask and Online Supply Drop DLC. In other words, it's as tight with value as Adam West's Batsuit. (Sorry, Blackgate fans, it's not included)
Splinter Cell Blacklist game director now at Warner Bros. Montreal
Splinter Cell Blacklist game director Patrick Redding left Ubisoft recently to join Batman: Arkham Origins studio Warner Bros. Montreal, where he's working as a creative director on an unannounced project. An Ubisoft veteran of nearly ten years, Redding's previous role was as a creative director at Ubisoft Toronto, again on an unannounced project. According to his LinkedIn profile, Redding's switch to WB Montreal occurred sometime last month, but the news was confirmed yesterday by Arkham Origins creative director Eric Holmes. With Rocksteady revealed as the developer behind the recently unveiled Batman: Arkham Knight, whatever WB Montreal's working on is currently remaining cloaked. [Image: Ubisoft]
Batman: Arkham Origins team prioritizing DLC over bug fixes
The Batman: Arkham Origins support page is full of frustrated players after community manager "Mercury" wrote that the Origins development team would be focused on completing story DLC instead of fixing the game's numerous, game-breaking bugs. "The team is currently working hard on the upcoming story DLC and there currently are no plans for releasing another patch to address the issues that have been reported on the forums," Mercury wrote. "If we do move forward with creating a new patch, it will try to address the progression blocking bugs for players, not the minor glitches that do not prevent one from continuing to play. The issues that are not progression blockers will unfortunately no longer be addressed." Unfortunately, it's not the first bad news for bat-fans: those who purchased Arkham Origins on Wii U recently had the story DLC for the game canceled.
Batman: Arkham Origins story campaign DLC canceled on Wii U
Wii U owners won't be getting the upcoming Arkham Origins story campaign DLC, after Warner Bros. made the decision to cancel it due to a lack of demand. WB confirmed the news in a statement given to VG247, after GoNintendo published a supposed Nintendo of America email spilling the bat-beans. The Nintendo system and the latest Batman haven't been a dynamic duo, starting with WB not bringing multiplayer to the Wii U version for similarly quantitative reasons. WB's belated call to not give the Wii U further single-player content is curious, especially since there's other DLC from the game on the eShop, such as skins and challenge packs. The one ray of good in today's news is that, going by the email published by GoNintendo, Nintendo of America is issuing a full refund to those who bought the season pass, despite some of the DLC it covers already being out. Whether that decision is WB's or Nintendo's, it is at least the right one.
Batman: Arkham Origins review: Same bat-channeling
Death is no big deal in comics, especially when the protagonist is one so resolute, enduring and lucrative as Batman. The graveyards are more like timeshare opportunities, whether it's a hero or villain that's about to trade death for a well-timed resurrection some issues later. Handled indelicately, it can play like drama with a transparent veil, manufactured to extract what surprise and tension is left in an ongoing fiction that's subsisted over 70 years. We don't want these characters to go away, but we do need good reasons to stay. In Batman: Arkham Origins, we see a younger grimace beneath the cowl, years before Arkham Asylum became a surprising trap assembled by the Joker and Rocksteady Studios. Warner Bros. Montreal has the difficult task of following Rocksteady's brilliant Arkham City sequel, and they've chosen to go back to Batman's early years on the job. If there was any mystery as to who lives and who dies, it's doubly undermined by the story's nature as a prequel. That isn't to say it's poorly composed – Batman is beset by assassins on Christmas Eve, an ideal crossroads for psychopaths like Deadshot, Deathstroke and Harmfist (maybe not that one), and a good start for a conspiracy that gasps to life with every face-off. Batman's killer night is a bit too eager to fall back into old patterns, however, with the Joker soon broadcasting taunts from an unending supply of televisions. The critical path through Gotham City is feeling worn, even if tread by different, younger actors.
Bats in the top of UK chart belfry
Batman: Arkham Origins topples GTA 5 to become the UK No. 1, although it does so with only around half the first week sales of Arkham City. Chart Track says Origins' opening week "almost exactly" matches that of first Arkham game Asylum. Some bat-stats: City shipped 6 million units by the close of 2011, and Asylum 4.3 million at last count. We should note those Origins sales do include the Blackgate Vita game, but no other platforms beyond Xbox 360 and PS3; the Wii U, packaged PC, and 3DS versions are all delayed in the UK until November 8. Holy technicalities, Batman! As for the rest of the charts, it's the kind of week where one big name game shifts all of the top 5 down one place - a bit quiet. However, everything changes next month, starting this coming week. We'll soon see the arrivals of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, Super Mario 3D World, A Link Between Worlds - and those are just the games coming out on consoles already out. In a word, next month is going to be loco.
Watch 17 minutes of Batman: Arkham Origins on this bat-channel
Warner Bros uncowled (it's a word) a walkthrough video of Batman: Arkham Origins, ahead of the dark knight's new adventure coming to retail shelves this week. WB Montreal Senior Producer Ben Mattes and Gameplay Director Michael McIntyre are your tour guides, taking you through a fulsome 17 minutes of the studio's prequel chapter in the Arkham saga. Spoiler warnings ahoy: The vid introduces iconic elements like the Batcave and Batwing, and takes you through a mission in which the Bat has to deal with a corrupt SWAT team who, like the villains, are also after the bounty placed on the hero's head. Arkham Origins swoops into stores on Friday, October 25, on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, and PC. UK heroes-to-be will have to wait until November 8 for the Wii U and boxed PC versions.
Troy Baker kills it with Joker monologue from The Killing Joke
Troy Baker, amateur opera singer and voice of the Joker in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins, gave a live demonstration of his vocal talents to New York Comic-Con attendees, and the results are ... well, skip to 2:12 in the above video and see for yourself. The speech Baker reads in the video is from a one-shot Batman comic called "The Killing Joke," written by Alan Moore. In the comic, the monologue begins while Joker tortures Commissioner Gordon by chaining him to a carnival ride and forcing him to view pictures of his daughter Barbara Gordon (who at the time was also Batgirl), naked and paralyzed from a gunshot wound Joker inflicted on her. So yeah, it's kind of dark material. If you watch before Baker gives his performance, you'll also see him describe the audition process. Apparently, Baker didn't even know who he was auditioning for until part-way through. "I remember that, walking into an audition and I think that, actually, it wasn't even Joker, it was a character whose name was just 'Jack,'" Baker said. It wasn't too long before Baker realized what he was reading, as well as the pressure he was under. Baker also sings a little jingle at the end of the video, which we'll recite for you now: "Some say I am good. Some say I am evil, even more so than the Sith. But I suppose you'll all find out on October 25th."
Report: Multiplayer-less Batman: Arkham Origins to cost $50 on Wii U
The Wii U version of Batman: Arkham Origins will be missing $10 from its price tag in addition to the absent multiplayer content planned for the 360, PS3 and PC versions of the game, Kotaku reports. Amazon's listing for the Wii U version is currently priced at $49.96. Publisher Warner Bros. explained in July that the decision to skip multiplayer for the Wii U version was made to focus "on platforms with the largest MP audience." Arkham Origins' multiplayer mode is being handled by Brink developer Splash Damage and will consist of a three-team fight for territory between the Joker's henchmen, Bane's thugs and Batman and Robin. The Joker and Bane gangs will be a three-piece effort, although a henchman can be swapped for a super villain if a player earns their way into Joker or Bane's shoes. Batman & Robin, however, will fight on as a gadget-wielding duo of justice.
No multiplayer for Wii U's Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman: Arkham Origins won't have a multiplayer component on Wii U, a Warner Bros. spokesperson has confirmed to Eurogamer. The decision reflects a desire to focus "on platforms with the largest MP audience." The competitive multiplayer mode, revealed today, features a three-way stand-off between Joker's thugs, Bane's boys, and Batman and Robin. The asymmetrical battle (more details here) is developed by Brink creator Splash Damage. Batman: Arkham Origins launches on Wii U, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on October 25. A spin-off game for PS Vita and 3DS, called Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, is currently in development at Armature Studio.
Be or beat Batman in Arkham Origins multiplayer mode
Despite holding a career-defining grudge against them, Batman has just gained a few bullets for the back of his game's box. Batman: Arkham Origins will ship with a competitive online multiplayer mode developed by Splash Damage, the studio behind Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Brink. [Update: The multiplayer mode will not be coming to the Wii U.] As entertaining as it would be to see 20 grimace-wielding Batmen swooping around, kicking each other and becoming hopelessly entangled in a flurry of overlong capes, Splash Damage has delivered a more structured and elaborate affair in Arkham Origins with a mode called "Invisible Predator Online." It's an asymmetrical turf war between eight players divided into three groups: three ruffians in Joker's gang, which shoot at three members of Bane's gang, while Batman and Robin stalk and incapacitate criminals on either side. Yes, this means you can kill the bat and watch him respawn moments later, but at least the game is true to the comics in how they treat death.
Copperhead is in Batman: Arkham Origins and this time she's a lady
Reptilian DC villain Copperhead was unveiled for Batman: Arkham Origins at San Diego Comic Con, but not as you may remember him ... because he's a she now. Origins features the character's new womanly guise, as per DC Comics' New 52 revamp. As Newsarama reports, DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns told panel attendees the lady Copperhead is coming to "mainstream" New 52 books shortly after Origins hits shelves. What you're seeing in the trailer, according to Warner Bros. Montreal Creative Director Eric Holmes, is the culmination of a stunt woman, a Cirque du Soleil performer, and a martial artist, combining efforts to capture Copperheads's slithering, venomous motions. Copperhead joins a host of other baddies out to get the young caped crusader in Arkham Origins, which is set to swoop onto PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and Wii U on October 25. %Gallery-194127%
Batman: Arkham Origins 'Deathstroke' DLC also coming to Wii U
After being conspicuously absent from the original announcement's press release, confirmation of Deathstroke's playable presence in the Wii U version of Batman: Arkham Origins comes to us from the land down under. Warner Bros. has affirmed in a statement to Aussie Gamer that the pre-order DLC found in other versions, which also bundles extra maps and costumes, is also included on the Wii U, as made evident by the above advertisement. Also made evident: Batman is going to need a new cowl.
Reconstructing crimes in Batman: Arkham Origins
Warner Bros. Montreal is bringing a new side-mission distraction to Batman: Arkham Origins that will pique the interests of those who've enjoyed the forensic focus of Rocksteady's games. At E3 I put on my detective cowl to try out the new "Crime Reconstruction" mechanic. It began, as it so often does, on a rooftop on a cold Gotham night. As Batman, I saw a police helicopter rise from behind the ledge, ordering me to surrender. Even if I wanted to, a gunshot took the helicopter down before I could respond. It spiralled out of control, tailspinning several stories into the icy street below. Confused, I swooped down to look for survivors. The helicopter was wrecked, and I found a body flung a few feet away: the dead pilot. This is where the crime reconstruction began. First I analysed the body in Detective Mode with the Evidence Scanner, which takes in all of the crime scene's data in hyper-quick time to play Columbo within seconds. As I scanned, I saw the helicopter's crash trace back in time, in suitably cool-looking virtual blue bittiness. As it replayed, I saw the copter take out a first-story ledge before crashing into the earth below. Scanning the body, I learned he died on impact, and not from the gunshot. %Gallery-191292%
Batman: Arkham Origins PS3 'Knightfall' content detailed
The Batman: Arkham Origins 'Knightfall' content for the game's PS3 version consists of challenge maps tied to the Knightfall storyline, as well as the Azreal-themed suit and the "early television show skin" revealed in Sony's E3 conference. Origins Senior Producer Ben Mattes told Joystiq the maps are "specific to the Knightfall storyline" and will include "appropriately themed characters and enemies." The piece of Knightfall content developer Warner Bros. Montreal is "really excited about" is the early television show skin, AKA the 60s Batman skin of the KAPOW! and BLAM! era. So, did Warner Bros. Montreal consider bringing in a certain Adam West to provide vocals tied to the skin? When asked about that possibility, Mattes took a long pause before simply restating, "Early television show skin." Holy skirting the question, Batman! On the subject of specific versions, Mattes also confirmed to us the Origins will have specific functionality on the Wii U, but he wasn't prepared to go into details. "We're not talking about specific features but we're encouraging people to imagine," Mattes told us, "We obviously paid to attention to the Wii U platform and what sort of functionality makes sense for that platform." We also asked him about whether or not the Wii U would receive the same DLC as other versions, given the speculation about the system possibly not receiving the Deathstroke content. Mattes told us WB Montreal is "not yet talking about" DLC and its relationship to the different platforms.
Batman: Arkham Origins doesn't feature Kevin Conroy after all
After some confusion, we've clarified Kevin Conroy doesn't feature in Batman: Arkham Origins at all. Origins Senior Producer Ben Mattes told Joystiq, "We've got Roger Craig Smith, he's our Batman. Troy Baker, he's our Joker. Kevin Conroy, he's not part of this game." Initial reports indicated long-time Batman voice actor Conroy wasn't in Origins. He then announced at the recent Dallas Comic Con that he'd been working on "the next Arkham" game. Shortly after, Craig Smith was officially unveiled as Origins' younger Batman, leading to speculation Conroy might be involved in some kind of retrospective role. However, it now emerges Conroy was apparently talking about another Arkham game in development, perhaps at series dev Rocksteady Studios - Warner Bros. Montreal is the studio behind Origins. That would seem to be backed up by Spong's report from last month, which noted a Twitter account ascribed to Conroy tweeted "Confusion in Dallas! I am in new ARKHAM GAME coming soon, NOT ARKHAM ORIGINS coming this fall." The tweet was deleted shortly after being posted - we're not sure if the world's greatest detective is needed for this one.
Batman: Arkham Origins stars Roger Craig Smith as Batman, Troy Baker as Joker
Warner Bros. revealed Batman: Arkham Origins is fronted by two of gaming's most prominent voice actors. Roger Craig Smith is confirmed as the caped crusader, and Troy Baker is his nemesis, the Joker. If you don't recognize the names, you'll definitely recognize their previous work. Craig Smith's immense portfolio includes Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed, Chris Redfield from Resident Evil, and he's the current voice of Sonic. While he's never starred in anything Batman related, he does have superhero experience. It is for the other side, however; he's played Captain America in both games and animations. Baker is similarly prolific. While he recently graced our screens as Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite, his past work includes Sgt. Matt Baker in Gearbox's Brothers in Arms, Snow from the Final Fantasy 13 line, Kai Leng from Mass Effect 3, and Vincent from Catherine. When we profiled Baker around this time last year, he shared his love for all things Batman on the back of starring in Arkham City. "Being a part of Arkham City was just incredible - because I'm a huge Batman fan," Baker told us, "And to play Two-Face and Robin after growing up watching The Animated Series was a banner moment for me." The news follows apparent confirmation long-time Batman vocalist Kevin Conroy does star in Origins, but how he features remains to be seen. We know Origins deals with Batman's "initiation into that insane world" of the other Arkham games, so perhaps Conroy's role is something retrospective. Even if Conroy doesn't play the dark knight in any sense in Origins, to fans he's still the goddamn Batman. Bat-click here to check out our preview and the new trailer.
Year Wane: The challenges facing Batman in Arkham Origins
Batman: Arkham Origins follows the world's most enduring vigilante after just two years on the job. The developers at Warner Bros. Montreal, taking over from Rocksteady Studios and their critically acclaimed construction of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, want to convey a "rawer, scarier Batman." He's all growl and grimace in the cutscenes, dangling squirming henchmen from clock towers until they turn verbose, but in play his rookie temper is more difficult to detect. The prequel is a tricky proposition, especially when it concerns history that's been dissected again and again across comics, movies and games. It's harder to conjure narrative tension while it's colored by the inevitable outcome, and that draws greater scrutiny on mechanical expansion and refinement. Why does this younger Batman make for a better Batman game? %Gallery-188830%
Arkham Origins tease features Deathstroke ballet
This Batman: Arkham Origins tease features no gameplay, no real concept of how the game will differ from the excellent Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. What it does feature is grizzled Batman in a CGI fight ballet with Deathstroke, and that's good enough for this morning.
Report: Batman Arkham Origins doesn't feature voice actor Kevin Conroy
Batman mainstay Kevin Conroy is reportedly not voicing the caped crusader in Arkham Origins. According to South African magazine NAG, Warner Bros. Montreal passed on Conroy, who played Batman in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, as well as most of the hero's animated adventures across the last 20 years. NAG says the developer wanted another actor to portray Origins' younger version of the dark knight.The report adds up with WBG Montreal's approach to the upcoming prequel. In a Game Informer interview, DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns explained Origins is about "Batman's initiation into that insane world" of the other Arkham games."It's called Arkham Origins and it really is the introduction of what Arkham means," Johns told Game Informer. "Arkham evokes a sense of insanity and chaos embodied in the twisted minds and colorful villains of the Batman universe. That had to start somewhere."As revealed earlier this month, Batman: Arkham Origins swings onto retail shelves this year; the bat-time is October 25, and the bat-channels are PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC. Companion game Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate drops onto the Vita and 3DS on the same day.
