What a day! First we got the inital announcement of Batman: Arkham Origins, which was followed by the press release and official website being announced, and now we have the first screenshots from the upcoming game. Game Informer has released the first screenshots (via Nintendo Everything) along with a few more story and game details.
Previously all that was said about the game’s plot was this – “Eight of the best assassins in the world have come to Gotham City for one night, Christmas Eve of all nights, to kill the Bat.” We now know that these eight assassins are lured to Gotham by the villain Black Mask (who briefly appeared in the Robin DLC for “Arkham City”), who is offering a substantial reward for Batman’s head. The assassins will also be joined by crooked cops in the GCPD looking to cash in on the reward.
The game will take place in an open world environment like “Arkham City” that spans into two areas, “Old Gotham” and “New Gotham.” New Gotham will feature classier areas with tall skyscrapers while Old Gotham will be the map from “Arkham City” prior to becoming an open prison. With the addition of “New Gotham,” the game’s map size has been doubled. There will also be ‘Crimes in progress’ side missions that players can choose to stop or ignore (as seen in previous superhero games). In addition, there is a ‘Most Wanted’ setting that will allow players to go after DC villains that aren’t integral to the main storyline.
We’ve also learned some details about the handheld follow-up, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate. The game will take place after the events of “Arkham Origins” and will see Batman going to Blackgate Prison in the wake of a riot that has broken out. It will be a side-scrolling game that features some of the same weapons and gadgets but won’t rely on an “experience point” system.
Batman: Arkham Origins will be available for the Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate will be available for the 3DS and PS Vita. Both games will launch on October 25, 2013.
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Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate