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Posted on Wednesday, April 10th, 2013 at 02:15am by Paul (ral)
Batman: Arkham Origins video game revealed

It's been a hell of a day for video game fans awaiting news of a Arkham City follow-up! 

Warner Bros has announced that the next game in the Batman: Arkham franchise will be called Batman: Arkham Origins. Due for release on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U on October 25th 2013.

As previously suspected  Warner Bros. Games Montreal has taken over from Rocksteady Studios. WB Montreal has full access to Rocksteady's custom modified Unreal engine to capture the look and feel of the previous"Arkham" games. However, there is no word on whether the game will be available on any Next-Gen consoles.

The game will take place many years before the previous 2 games and will feature a "younger, less refined" Batman encountering super-villians for the first time.

From: http://uk.ign.com...assassinating-batman-in-arkham-origins
As previously noted, the Dark Knight will face eight assassins, including fan favorite Deathstroke, who have journeyed to Arkham City to kill him. We now know that Black Mask is responsible for putting a bounty on Batman's head, though exactly why will be a key mystery in the game's story. Also playing into the plot - Gotham City's acclimation to its rookie protector. Players will not only see a much more skeptical and potentially hostile Gotham City Police Department (aka the 'GCPD', which happens to feature a young Captain Jim Gordon), but younger and healthier versions of big bad guys like the Penguin - who apparently didn't always have the tail end of a glass bottle shoved in one eye.

Arkham Origins will feature similar gameplay to its predecessors, as new developer WB Montreal is very much intent on picking up where Rocksteady left off. That means perch-to-perch movement, gliding kicks and 'free-form combat' are all back. While the Montreal studio was free to develop its plot and new feature (like a 'Remote Claw', which allows you to target and pull two objects together), it leaned on Rocksteady for advice on technical and mechanical elements of the game.

Another new feature - quick travel via the airborne Batwing. Though not a controllable vehicle, Arkham Origins will finally eliminate one of the more tedious elements from Asylum and City, allowing Batman to move from point to point much faster than before - - provided he dismantles towers that jam his ability to call in his plane. (Unlike, say, Far Cry 3, these tower sequences will require a wide variety of skills and powers, including some that will have to be unlocked first.) It's a good thing Montreal is providing the Dark Knight with a quick method of transport - WB Montreal contends that Origins is nearly twice the size of Arkham City, adding an entirely new island, called 'New Gotham', to build upon the more familiar 'Old Gotham', which will still feature familiar locations like Amusement Mile and The Bowery.

The Montreal team intends to maintain the same world "density" despite doubling its size, adding ideas like 'Crime in Progress' (assist the GCPD and build your reputation) and 'Most Wanted' (track down non-assassin villains). In many cases these side quests will provide the upgrades to Batman's arsenal. These upgrades, combined with the game's existing XP system, funnel into the larger concept of the 'Dark Knight' system, which is basically the team's way of progressively adding more complexity and difficulty to Origins.

Origins will also put more emphasis on Batman's detective skills. Cases large and small will serve as a slower change of pace from action, allowing players to investigate crime scenes, gather evidence, analyze data and even return to those scenes with more information later in the game. Over time, as each case is solved, a full video narrative of the case will unlock, piecing together the crime.

You can view our Arkham Origins image gallery here: 
http://www.batman-online.com/.../Batman-Arkham-Origins_2013

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