Last year saw the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy finally come to a definitive end with the release of The Dark Knight Rises. Nolan’s last entry in the Batman franchise left the fanbase rather split since certain elements either seemed bloated, unnecessary, or entirely forced for the sake of it. However flawed Nolan’s final Batman movie was, the one thing that was clear was that it wasn’t the true end of the Batman franchise.
As expected, and long rumored, WB Games has announced the next entry in the Batman Arkham video game series. Titled Batman: Arkham Origins, the next entry in the rather successful Batman video game franchise will take us on an early adventure in the Dark Knight’s career, not so much that he was still wet behind the ears but had yet to meet some of his soon to be lifelong enemies.
Holy contradictory news Batman! Some interesting details have arisen concerning the future of the Batman: Arkham video game franchise that could be legit or simply a case of wires being crossed.
This may be a case of shocking and not so shocking news, but the Batman Arkham series is poised for a return once again. After the release of Batman: Arkham City in 2011, gamers eagerly anticipated the continuation of the series, even given the shocking ending, and now they’ll receive their wish but there could be a catch to it.
It’s unknown what developer Rocksteady will deliver to us next in the wake of Batman: Arkham City, but one thing that is sure is that writer Paul Dini won’t be a part of it. The driving force behind the classic 1990s Batman animated series and general scribe all other such awesome Batman material will be absent from future Batman games developed by Rocksteady.
This week brings us the always glorious event that is the San Diego Comic Con. Filled with comic book goodness and our first look at major films that get our blood pumping and in some cases make our hearts flutter, the SDCC is simply an awesome event that over the years has grown to become more game centric. While not becoming as major as other tradeshows such as E3 or even PAX Prime, the SDCC does bring its fair share of video game goodies, one of which may be the announcement of a new Batman game.
Last week something cool was released that comic book fans and movie geeks were eagerly anticipating: the first proper trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man finally debuted. Originally there was a small level of apprehension about Sony Pictures’ choice to reboot the Spider-Man film franchise, but in lieu of how bad the third movie was, I’ll never let Sam Raimi live down dancing and jiving Peter Parker and the poor Symbiote execution, such a thing needed to happen sooner rather than later.
Nailing down the tone and direction of a sequel is never an easy thing to do, especially when the sequel is the follow-up to a game based on a comic book icon and said game broke the stigma that’s associated with most licensed products. But generally speaking, Batman: Arkham City once again provided gamers with an incredible experience that took the Dark Knight on a harrowing adventure and more importantly wasn’t too lazy in the gameplay department.
The fact of the matter is that if you haven’t played the original Arkham Asylum, you missed out. If you did, you probably already own this game, and might have even wrapped it before me. Either way, this is a stellar title that absolutely everyone should have to play to continue holding the title “gamer,” “geek,” “nerd,” or even “Batman Fan.”
The Pros:
+Improved free-flow combat system.
+Enhanced 'side-quest' system, featuring all of Gotham's fave villains.
+Bigger, badder world of Batman to explore.
+One of the single most impressive Batman stories of any medium, ever.
+Awesome new gadgets that change-up the combat and stealth.
+Everything in the game has a purpose, time-line and consiquence, making even mundane collecting tasks become 'life or death' situations.
The Cons:
-Review scales simply don't go high enough to represent this game accurately.
ShogunGamer.com Rating :
10
It would probably be a little bit of an understatement to say that Rocksteady had a bit of a high bar to hurdle, expectations wise, when they decided to release a sequel to Arkham Asylum. It was a game that was heralded by many game critics as the best of the superhero (and for Batman I do use that term loosely) genre. Beyond that it was considered to be one of the best games of 2009, winning all kinds of awards on all kinds of gaming enthusiast sites, including a game of the year nod from Shogun Gamer.
Next Tuesday is going to be a special day for gamers since Batman: Arkham City is finally going to be available at retail. For the last two years everyone has anticipated the return of the Dark Knight and from what I’ve heard Rocksteady has once again delivered what is considered to be the best superhero/licensed/comic book game ever created. I’m sure Batman: Arkham City will have a few minor points of contention here and there (supposedly the boss encounters leave a bit to be desired), but everything was shaping up to be nearly flawless – that is until now.
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