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DC Universe Online highlights the creation of Batman
It's been 75 years since Batman's creation, and that means everyone is talking about the Dark Knight. More than usual, even. DC Universe Online has gotten in on the action with a series of short videos exploring how Gotham's protector was brought into the game, what players can do to really feel like a part of the bat-family, and what the future holds for everyone's favorite nocturnal billionaire aside from beating up clowns. The videos feature artist Jim Lee, voice actor Kevin Conroy, and various members of the DCUO development team looking at every aspect of the character in the game. There are three different videos past the break, but each one is fairly short -- you can watch them all at once or take them in chunks, whichever you'd prefer. It's a great dose of bat-nostalgia for fans of the game.
Batman Arkham Knight set one year later, 'five times larger' than Arkham City
The recently-revealed final game from Rocksteady in the Arkham series, Batman Arkham Knight, will feature "traffic-friendly streets" in a map that's said to be "roughly five times the size" of Batman Arkham City. Lead AI and combat programmer Tim Hanagan told Game Informer that "at any given time, there are between three and four times the number of thugs active in Gotham City than there were in Arkham City," and that larger riots in the game will have up to 50 characters wreaking havoc. Arkham Knight is set one year after Arkham City, in which Batman's foes have banded together to tear the Dark Knight's attention away from a crumbling Gotham City. The single player-only game will also include an arch-villain created from scratch by Rocksteady and DC Entertainment CCO Geoff Johns. Rocksteady's initial announcement focused on another big addition to the Arkham series: Players will get plenty of time in the driver's seat of the Batmobile, which can be fetched at the press of a button, can handle the jumps and boosts expected of the more reckless drivers among us and will eject Batman out of his seat at times. Kevin Conroy will return to voice Batman after Roger Craig Smith lent his voice to the character in Arkham Origins. Additionally, Nolan North will voice Penguin, Wally Wingert will voice Riddler, Tara Strong will continue as Harley Quinn and Troy Baker will voice Two-Face again. Speaking of Harley Quinn, Joker's popular sidekick will be playable via pre-order bonus content that includes four challenge maps. [Image: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment]
Kevin Conroy returns for Batman: Arkham Origins [Update: But not as Batman]
Update: Kevin Conroy will be in Arkham Origins, but not as Batman, despite his storied career with that character. Arkham Origins stars Roger Craig Smith as Batman and Troy Baker as the Joker, Warner Bros. announced on May 20. Original story: Kevin Conroy will be in Batman: Arkham Origins, and he's already spent 10 months in the studio recording those gruff-yet-dulcet tones. Conroy confirmed his involvement at Dallas Comic-Con, but didn't specify if he plays The Bat himself – not that he has to. He opened the panel with, "I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Batman." Because, you know, he is. NAG magazine reported in April that Warner Bros. had passed on Conroy for Arkham Origins. Conroy voiced Batman in both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, and he was the man behind Bruce Wayne in Batman: The Animated Series, Batman: Beyond and subsequent DC universe cartoon spin-offs. Arkham Origins is scheduled to launch on October 25 for Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Wii U.
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.
The Soapbox: MMOs waste millions on voice-over
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. A-list voice actors are not new to the video game genre. Over the last 20 years, video games have pulled from the same pool of talent as cartoons and commercials. But it really wasn't until last year with DC Universe Online that we started to see MMOs advertise the voice talent they had in the games. DCUO filmed multiple documentary-style videos to impress us with the level of voice-over work the game had. Although DCUO was the first fully voiced MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic made a point to tell us that it had over 200 different voice actors (300 if you believe IMDB) with over a thousand recording sessions for over 200,000 lines of dialogue. In the end, what's the pay-off? Six months after launch, the majority of players will threaten to leave a SWTOR pick-up group if the other players don't skip over the dialogue. Although a large portion of players did watch all the dialogue shortly after the game launched, all the players I spoke to said that the cutscenes started to grate on them before they'd even reached level 50. And even though DCUO was the first MMO to be fully voiced, SWTOR got away with advertising that it was first mainly because voice-overs were considered so insignificant by the MMO community that almost no one noticed the fib. And dare we even talk about the expense of recording 200,000 lines of dialogue? Is fan excitement over, say, Mark Hamill's Joker worth the cost of bringing him in on the project in the first place?
Watch Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy record for Arkham City, destroy the fabric of reality
This voice acting-oriented episode of Inside Rocksteady Studios is the first time we personally have ever seen either the Joker or Batman's voices come out of real human bodies, and suffice to say that oh man is it weird.It's almost like Batman and the Joker are providing voiceovers for Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, instead of the other way around. Seeing the Joker's spooky laugh come out of a hunched-over Mark Hamill is an image that'll stick with us for a while, and his cheshire cat grin didn't help much either. The video also features Stana Katic (Talia in Arkham City and Detective Becket on Castle), but seeing her perform isn't so much of a head trip, considering that it's basically just Detective Becket with an undercover accent.
Batman: Arkham City copies available early at Times Square TRU event
The Times Square Toys R Us location will hold an event on Monday, October 17, where 500 copies of Batman: Arkham City will be available a day early. The first 100 customers who pre-purchase a copy of the game through the store's "Personal Shopping Department" (starting now, we guess?), will receive a ticket reserving their copy, and can have their game autographed by Jim Lee (co-publisher at DC Entertainment), Kevin Conroy (the voice of Batman) and Sefton Hill (B:AC Game Director from Rocksteady Studios) at the event. The other 400 copies will be available for purchase at the event, which officially starts at 4PM, but who knows when people start lining up? The event will include photo ops with actors dressed up as Batman and Catwoman, and game demos. Obviously, keep your eye on the prize. You could get Batman: Arkham City a day before everyone else, or those with Amazon Prime who longingly stare out the window for any glimpse of the UPS man.
Arkham City's Animated Series Batman skin is exclusive for GameStop PowerUp Rewards members
That stylish Animated Series Batman skin (complete with the white triangles for eyes) is now officially, and apparently only available as an exclusive from GameStop, according to information on the company's store. Players who have a PowerUp Rewards membership (that card and Game Informer subscription GameStop's employees are always trying to sell you) will get access to the skin, a replica from the classic 1990s Batman: The Animated Series. Of course, Kevin Conroy, who voices the Bat in the games, started his tenure as the World's Greatest Detective in the series, so putting his voice and this costume together again will be a nice homecoming for fans. There was also a rumor going around that the same skin would be a GAME exclusive overseas, but that company is apparently offering Robin as a playable character, a bonus already revealed for Best Buy in the US. In other words, pick your pre-orders carefully out there, people. [Thanks, Alan!]
Batman voice actor says Arkham City will have 'future episodes'
Professional Batman voice provider Kevin Conroy recently spoke to Comic Booked about his illustrious past and apparently infinite future with the franchise. On the subject of Rocksteady's upcoming Dark Knight simulator, Batman: Arkham City, Conroy shared some promising news: "The thing about Arkham City is that it's going to be an ongoing game," Conroy explained. "You're going to be able to download future episodes of it, so it's going to be going on for quite a while. I've been recording it for a while." This news is noteworthy for two reasons: First, we're big proponents of having access to Batman unending, so the prospect of downloadable post-launch "episodes" is attractive, provided we're talking about full-on Gotham adventures and not just challenge rooms. Second, if Conroy's been recording Arkham City vocals for "a while," he must have vocal chords crafted from raw adamantium. Seriously, have you ever tried doing a Batman impression? Have you ever tried doing it every day for two decades?
Massively takes on the heroes of DC Universe Online
Holy non-disclosure agreement, Batman! Yes, Robin, you are right. We can now talk about DC Universe Online. Sony Online Entertainment, Warner Bros., and (of course) DC Comics have collaborated to make one of the first physics-based action MMORPGs. Now with the NDA lifted, we can finally give our impressions of this ground-breaking online game. A few of Massively's staff members have beta-tested DCUO for about a month now. We have been biting our tongues for just about as long as we could. We have seen the highs and lows of this game. Making an MMO with proven mechanics is hard enough, but when a developer delves into unexplored territory, there are always huge risks. As with any game in still in production, not everything will be perfect. I will keep this in mind as we step into this DC Universe. Prepare to be amazed by the exhilarating graphics, excited by the high-octane mechanics, confounded by surprising glitches, and flabbergasted by the astonishing voice work. Step past the cut for the whole story and the screenshots I took as I was playing through the first six levels of DC Universe Online! %Gallery-109487%
Exclusive Interview: DCUO's Game Director Chris Cao
What gamer hasn't wanted to be a superhero at one time or another? Superheroes and comic books have been a part of gaming culture as long as computers. Of course, everyone has wanted to be Superman soaring through the skies of Metropolis, or Batman scaring the pants off the criminal underworld of Gotham City. Sony Online Entertainment has teamed up with Warner Bros. and DC Comics to bring this world -- nay, this universe -- to life. On November 2nd, DC Universe Online will blast its way to game store shelves everywhere. DCUO gives fans of comic books, action video games, and MMOs a reason to come together and celebrate this incredible amalgam of genres. Create your own superhero! Thrill to the art of Jim Lee! Soak up the voice-acting of Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy! On top of that, if you preorder this deliciously intense action RPG, you will have exclusive rights to a token that will allow you to join a 2v2 PvP arena as the caped crusader himself, using his abilities, gadgets, and fighting style. Plus you'll get all the other preorder bonuses like confetti bombs and batarangs. Massively snagged an exclusive interview with DCUO Game Director Chris Cao about this groundbreaking game. Up, up, and away! (OK, that was cheesy. Just hit "read more" to read our lengthy interview after the break!)
DC Universe Online promises "all-star voice cast"
Just a few days after the preorder bonuses were released and beta signups began for DC Universe Online, Sony Online Entertainment unveiled the central lineup of voice actors for the game. Some of the names are familiar and unsurprising, but still nice to have confirmed. Mark Hamill will be voicing The Joker once again, and Kevin Conroy returns as Batman. SOE highlighted the two returning actors with a short video on the DCUO site entitled "The Voices of the Game." Fans of Joss Whedon's work were interested to see several familiar names in the list: Gina Torres as Wonder Woman, James Marsters as Lex Luthor, and Adam Baldwin as the voice of Superman. Michelle Forbes rounds out the cast list list as the voice of Circe. John Blakely, SOE's Vice President of Development, says "We're excited that not only will Mark and Kevin bring their talent back to the DC Universe as part of DC Universe Online, but we've hit the jackpot with a full cast that are veterans of movies, TV shows and games that our fans are crazy about."
DC Universe Online voice cast revealed, studded with stars
Who would have thought that one of the strongest voice cast lineups we've seen in a good, long time would come from an MMORPG? Check out some of the talent Sony Online Entertainment managed to wrangle for its upcoming superpowered outing, DC Universe Online: Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy will reprise their frequent roles of The Joker and Batman, respectively. You may remember the sounds of their pipes from Arkham Asylum, as well as any other animated Batman project from the past 15 years. Former Firefly stars Gina Torres and Adam Baldwin will voice Wonder Woman and Superman, respectively. Though you probably didn't need that "respectively" bit, due to your understanding of gender. James Marsters will voice balding mastermind Lex Luthor. After playing Spike in Buffy, Brainiac in Smallville, Captain John in Torchwood and Piccolo in the recent Dragon Ball movie, this should be a nice notch in his nerd-fame belt. Wonder Woman's adversary, Circe, will be voiced by Michelle Forbes, who provided the voice for Dr. Mossman in Half-Life 2. She's also been in every sci-fi show ever made. All of them. Seriously.
DC Universe Online creative director answers questions from the fans
One of the upcoming SOE titles we're hoping to hear more about is DC Universe Online -- the superhero MMO that will build on the DC Comics legacy. DC Universe Online's Creative Director Chris Cao recently did a video interview with DCUO Source that explains how the devs have approached the game's design. Cao fielded a number of questions posed to him by the fansite's readers -- How will player feedback impact the game's development? Will there be voicework in DCUO from the actors who've voiced characters in the various DC animated series and video games (specifically, Kevin Conroy)? How will DCUO handle secret identities? All good questions. For the answers, check out the video interview with Chris Cao at DCUO Source.[Via MMORPG.com]
POW! BIFF! New Batman: Arkham Asylum screenshots
click for high-res gallery Though we've taken a trip through the game's moody milieu and become acquainted with its fan-approved voice cast, one thing remains ambiguous about 2009's Batman: Arkham Asylum. Just what exactly is the pointy-eared protagonist doing in there? The latest batch of screenshots proves most elucidating: Batman's in there doing his thing, which often involves inconspicuous maneuvering in the dark and unapologetic violence inflicted upon disturbingly bulky henchman. See for yourself in the gallery below. %Gallery-39919%
Batman: Arkham Asylum gets Hamill's Joker, Conroy's Batman
Eidos and Warner Bros. have confirmed that Mark Hamill, the voice of The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, will reprise his sadistically animated take on the Clown Prince of Crime in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Additionally, the Caped Crusader himself will be voiced by Kevin Conroy, recognized as the voice of Batman in numerous animated series and games. While we remain largely undecided regarding Rocksteady Studios' "graphically distinct" take on Bruce Wayne's alter ego (spoiler! - Ed.), today's news brings us dangerously close to being pulled off the fence as we continue to wait for Batman: Arkham Asylum to ship next summer for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
