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Amazon discounts over 1,000 digital PC games
Amazon kicked off its Digital Games Mayhem sale, discounting over 1,000 downloadable PC games. Okay, we didn't count to make sure the retailer had that many games on sale; we were too busy adding the Rockstar Ultimate Collection to our online carts. The bundle features 12 games from the developer at 85 percent off ($25.49), including L.A. Noire, GTA 4 and GTA Vice City. The sale also knocks 75 percent off the Metro Franchise Pack ($12.49), Saints Row Franchise Pack ($18.75) and Batman Mega Bundle ($22.50), the latter of which includes Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Arkham Origins in addition to Origins' season pass. As for individual games, Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn is 40 percent off ($14.99), Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut is 55 percent off ($11), NBA 2K14 can be downloaded at 68 percent off ($9.59) and Civilization 5 is 46 percent off ($16.24). All deals in the Digital Games Mayhem sale are good until May 31. [Image: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment]
Batman Arkham Collection packs three Batmans into one box
The Batman Arkham Collection will arrive on November 22 in the UK, Warner Bros. announced today. The bundle packs the two Rocksteady-developed Arkham games, Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City along with WB Games Montreal's Batman: Arkham Origins into one batsuit. Arkham Asylum and Arkham City will both be included as download codes for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the collection, with the PS3 bundle also receiving the Knightfall DLC pack for Arkham Origins. The PC version of the bundle will feature Game of the Year editions of either game, which grants players bonus DLC like Harley Quinn's Revenge for Arkham City and six additional maps for Arkham Asylum. Those two games are in a bundle of their own, which GameStop unveiled in September. We've contacted Warner Bros. to see if the Arkham Collection will arrive in North America as well.
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.
Wii U, 3DS and boxed PC Batman: Arkham Origins delayed in UK, not North America
The Wii U and boxed PC versions of Batman: Arkham Origins have been delayed to November 8 in the UK, CVG reported. The Xbox 360, PS3 and digital PC versions of the game will still launch on October 25. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate has also been delayed to November 8 on 3DS, but not on Vita. That's not the case for North American players, however. A Warner Bros. representative told Joystiq that "Batman: Arkham Origins will launch on all platforms in North America on October 25." Warner Bros. did not provide a reason for the delay for its UK audience.
WB Games Montreal investment to create 100 new jobs
WB Games Montreal will add 100 new jobs as it continues to grow beyond its original scope, receiving $1.5 million from the Quebec government. Announced in 2010, the studio was positioned to work on social and mobile projects, but is now on the verge of releasing its first triple-A game, Batman: Arkham Origins. "By the end of five years, it'll be 2018, there should be 500 people here and I think we'll be one of the best-known studios in the world," said Warner Brothers Interactive President Martin Tremblay. The studio currently has 325 employees, according to CTV. The WB Games grant comes hot on the heels of another major investment by Quebec in publisher Ubisoft. The $373 million CAD ($362 million USD) Ubisoft investment is expected to add another 500 new jobs to the region by 2020, bringing Ubisoft's employee total in Quebec to 3,500.
WB Games Montreal gets $1.5 million investment from government
Quebec's government has invested $1.5 million in WB Games Montreal, developers of the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins, as part of a five-year, $63 million expansion which will create 100 jobs at the company. WB Montreal Studio Chief Martin Carrier predicted the studio would play host to 500 people and "be one of the best-known studios in the world" by 2018, CTV News reports. Premier Pauline Marois, who announced the grant, also said that the game development scene in Montreal was the top market in Canada, and that Montreal itself is one of the top three cities in the world leading game development.
Batman: Arkham Origins UK collector's edition revealed
Batman: Arkham Origins' collector's edition for the UK swooped out of the shadows this morning. Priced at £79.99, the box includes a Batman and Joker bromance statue, artbook, dossiers, two downloadable skins and a metal case. The PS3 version also includes the Knightfall pack. The Batman: Arkham Origins Collector's Edition for the kingdoms united is only available for pre-order at Amazon UK. The North American collector's edition will be revealed next week.%Gallery-195556%
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.
Batman: Arkham Origins challenge mode has a Deathstroke
A leaked pre-order image tipped us off yesterday and the press release past the break confirms it: Deathstroke is a playable character in Batman Arkham Origins. He'll be unlocked in the game's challenge mode, and all who plunk down cash early will enjoy some exclusive maps and character skins associated with him. Deathstroke is seemingly a leading man in the video game world now, with Batman: Arkham Origins his second role of the year after Injustice: Gods Among Us in April. His real name is Slade Wilson, a mercenary and assassin created by teenage cartoonist Gary Wilson in 1980.
