Believe it or not, we here at GameXplain do play games that aren't made by Nintendo.
And one of my favorites is the Batman: Arkham series.
The team at Rocksteady captured the feeling of being Batman so well that it's hard not
to love.
So with the reveal of Batman: Arkham Knight, we couldn't help but break out the old analysis
machine.
Just what secrets and hidden details are there to find in the debut trailer?
There are a few details that we do know thanks to the interview with the developers in Game
Informer.
For one, unlike Arkham Origins, there will be no multiplayer.
This is a game that's completely focused on its story.
And that story picks up a year after the events of Arkham City.
Rocksteady has already confirmed that Scarecrow will be one of the main villains.
That certainly seems to be the case based on the narration at the beginning of the trailer.
It looks like the Scarecrow has made good on his promise in the secret message of Arkham
City.
By finding hidden radio signals and decoding the numbers, you could find a message from
the Scarecrow that states, "I will return Batman.
You will pay for what you have done to me.
Fear will tear Gotham to shreds."
And from what we can see of Arkham Knight, the Scarecrow seems to have kept that promise.
This is a city in the middle of evacuating its citizens while its cops wage an apparently
losing battle against the rampant criminals.
But just why is Gotham evacuating?
Is it because the Scarecrow's fear toxin has already been spread and these are the survivors?
Or is it only a threat for now and the city is evacuating just to keep everyone safe?
It's difficult to say, but looking at the state Gotham is in, it seems like it could've
been torn apart by more than just criminals.
At any rate, the police are being hunted down by goons who are also better equipped than
them.
It's the first part of Scarecrow's message that has us curious though.
Only hints of the villain could be found in Arkham City, but based on this Easter Egg,
it sounds like he may have been disfigured in some way after his run-in with Killer Croc.
We see no physical sign of Scarecrow in the trailer so what will he look like?
Could it be a major redesign?
Then there are the other villains.
Unlike Arkham City, where the factions of Two-Face, the Penguin, and the Joker were
at war with one another, here we see all three of them working together with Harley Quinn
filling in for Joker.
What changed to make them become allies?
Could it possibly be because they're all working for Scarecrow?
After all, the goons are seen wearing a vest with a skull on the back.
In Arkham City, it was possible to find a boat belonging to Scarecrow that had a kidnapped
cop stored aboard.
Painted on his shirt was a very similar skull emblem.
But the emblem also has the words 'Hell's Gate' printed on them.
This actually references one of the challenge maps in Arkham City that took place outside
Talia al Ghul's hideout.
We doubt it actually has any significance though there is another reference with Hell's
Gate.
It's actually a slight reworking of what Azrael told Batman at the end of his sidequest.
He stated that dark days were coming and that Batman would be the one to close the Gates
of Hell.
And that from the ashes of Arkham, fires would rage and Gotham would burn alongside Batman.
This could be interpreted as the Scarecrow controlling the Hell's Gate group, and it
being Batman's mission to shut them down.
But it could require his sacrifice since both he and Gotham would burn.
This burning theme can even be seen in the logo at the end of the trailer.
Even more intriguing is the confirmation that there will be a new original villain that
will premiere in the game.
Though just how integral this new enemy is to the plot is still unknown, we do know that
Geoff Johns helped Rocksteady in his creation.
Beyond the story and villains, there's a lot more information on how Arkham Knight will
play.
For one, the city will be five times the size of Arkham City, and the streets have been
made wider.
This means that the Batmobile will now be driveable.
That's awesome all by itself, but the Batmobile actually holds a clue to just how big we can
expect Gotham to be in Arkham Knight.
We see a map in the Batmobile that matches the southern tip of this map of Gotham.
And looking at the maps notes, we can see Arkham Island here.
The larger island to the north is actually where Arkham City took place.
So if we assume that the southern tip of Gotham is explorable, then it's possible that the
entirety of Gotham is available to players.
Maybe even Arkham Asylum.
The Batmobile has undergone a redesign since we last saw it in Arkham Asylum.
There it looked more like its appearance in the 1989 film or the animated series.
But this one takes more inspiration from the Tumbler in the Christopher Nolan Batman films.
That tank-like design is not just for show though as revealed by Rocksteady.
Like we see in the trailer, it can be summoned at any time by Batman.
However, it will smash through anything in its way to meet him.
This includes other vehicles, traffic signs, and even building corners.
Entering and exiting the vehicle won't take long either.
As we can see in the trailer, Batman can eject himself from the Batmobile at any time.
Rocksteady confirms that he'll immediately be able to glide or use his grappling hook
to maintain his momentum.
The major question for the Batmobile though is just how much use will it see.
Will it only be used for traveling around Gotham, or will there be missions built specifically
around it?
It very well could be the latter since we see him giving chase to Two-Face at the end
of the trailer.
Combat in Arkham Knight looks like it will be expanding as well.
The developers have confirmed that there will be new moves and takedowns and even more thugs
to use them on.
Some riots could potentially have up to fifty characters on screen.
But what has us interested are the moves Batman uses against the goons in the trailer.
He starts the fight by disarming a guy holding a Molotov cocktail.
We can't see what he uses to destroy the bottle, but it's safe to say it was a batarang.
The truly cool thing though is that he does this from the air, something he was never
able to do in the previous games.
Is it possible that you can now throw projectiles while gliding?
After disarming the thug, Batman tosses him into the others.
Air takedowns in Arkham City always had Batman pouncing on an enemy and knocking them out.
Maybe they've been expanded so that he has more options on what to do with their body?
We can even see hints on exactly how the freeflow combat has been expanded.
When Batman goes to takedown the guy with the baseball bat, he slams him through a car
window to finish him off.
Maybe he can now use the environment to take down enemies as well?
Now, we know what you're thinking.
Because this trailer is pre-rendered, anything we see in combat could just be to spice up
the movie.
But we don't think that's the case.
Everything Batman does is in line with the actual gameplay other than the potential new
moves.
The best example of this is him using his cape to disorient the thug with the knife
before knocking him out.
As we mentioned before, we actually see some of the villains that will be found in the
game, and many of them have gotten an updated design.
The first is Harley Quinn who once again has a new outfit.
This one appears to be a combination of the ones found in Arkham Asylum and City though.
The most significant change is that she no longer has the black makeup around her eyes
or at least not as much to make it look like a mask.
Penguin has also been updated slightly.
He no longer wears his coat, and his head is now completely shaved.
Two-Face looks to have the least amount of change since Arkham City.
They've improved the detailing on his scarred side, making his look appear closer to the
Dark Knight version of him than ever before.
Of course, the villains aren't the only ones with a redesign.
Batman himself has a brand new suit that is much more armor like now.
He even has a body suit beneath the actual batsuit.
This could be for extra protection since the outer layer flexes with him, creating openings.
It looks to explain how he can be so agile while staying protected from harm.
Okay, we're almost done here, but it's worth mentioning that Harley Quinn will act as pre-order
DLC.
Whether she'll have her own side-story like Catwoman or just be available in the Challenge
Rooms like the Joker is still unknown though we think the latter is more likely.
But we also get a small taste of how she'll fight.
She doesn't seem as agile as Catwoman though she's probably quicker than Batman.
She can disarm the police with her kicks, but what's really interesting is that she
uses a counter to deflect a policeman's punch, rolls over his back, and kicks the other officer.
Could this be a new double counter just for her?
Or is it another example of how freeflow combat has evolved.
Maybe you can now evasively counter an enemy to attack another before returning to finishing
the first off?
Finally, it's been confirmed that the voice cast of Arkham City is returning with Kevin
Conroy back as Batman, Nolan North as the Penguin, Wally Wigbert as the Riddler, Tara
Strong as Harley Quinn, and Troy Baker as Two-Face.
With the Riddler back, it's safe to say that his trophies and puzzles will be too.
And that's everything we could find in the debut trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight.
Rocksteady has done a wonderful job with Batman in the past, and they're promising that this
will be their final game in the series.
We can't wait to find out more and see just how this saga comes to an end.
If you liked this video, be sure to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at GameXplain.
Thanks for watching and be sure to stay tuned for more on Batman and other things gaming
too.