Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
Mark Hamill as the Joker? ****in' awesome. Hopefully he's still got the laugh down.
Mark Hamill as the Joker? ****in' awesome. Hopefully he's still got the laugh down.
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Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
Conroy still has the best Batman voice, IMO.
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Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
To even think about casting anyone else would be foolish.Comment
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Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
Conroy is amazing as Batman. Having those two back makes me even more exciting.Comment
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Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
1UP Interview
1UP: What inspired the design for Batman's costume in the game? It looks like a cross between the body armor from the Batman movies and his look in the comics.
David Hego: For Batman's costume in Batman: Arkham Asylum, we wanted to create something unique. Being tightly linked with the graphic-novel license allowed us to explore deeply into Batman's outfit through time in the comics. We wanted to resurrect the classic blue-and-gray costume and give it a new, refreshing edge. We worked with DC Comics' WildStorm studio and ended up with an updated version of his classic costume: sharp and modern, but still with the feel and spirit of Batman's graphic novel style.
1UP: Considering the legions of fanboys will who grill you for getting the smallest bits of minutiae wrong, how daunting is it to make a game in the Batman universe?
Sefton Hill: To be completely honest, I hadn't really thought about it until you said that! As huge Batman fans, we're focused on delivering the Batman experience we've always wanted to play. The team's always had a strong belief in the direction for the game, having listened to a lot of Batman fans and people from Warner Bros., and DC right at the start of the project. After deciding on the direction, we locked ourselves away and have focused on delivering this vision. We decided early on to be bold and deliver a Batman experience we truly believe in -- we hope you enjoy the vision of the game when you get to play it.
1UP: We've already seen Killer Croc and the Joker. Will there be more major bad guys, and if so, of all of the villains you've added from Batman's rogues' gallery, who's the most obscure psychopath you've given a significant role?
SH: There are certainly a good few more surprises to come! Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to talk about them at this time, but rest assured there's an exciting group of supervillains you'll be up against. Perhaps not as many as has been reported in some places -- as it'd be impossible to make a coherent story with the hundreds of people I've seen who are appearing in the game! -- but we have a great cast and they all play a significant part in the story which is important to us. There will certainly be more revealed in the coming months, but we're also holding a few big surprises back for people to discover when they get their hands on the game.
1UP: The Joker's design is straight out of the comic books, but how much of his personality was influenced by TV/movie versions of The Joker? Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill, even Cesar Romero?
SH: I was brought up on the TV and big-screen interpretations of the Joker, but when you read the source material, you realize that all of these guys are really just capturing the magic of the Joker in the comics. As the arch antagonist, he's been great to work with from a design point of view -- a character capable of pulling off the most outrageous atrocities and making you laugh at the same time. There are still places in the game where the Joker makes me genuinely laugh out loud even when he's putting me through hell!
1UP: Besides Commissioner Gordon and his daughter, Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Oracle, can we expect to see any of Batman's allies: Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, Huntress, and so on? Is Alfred in the game? Better yet, are there any chances to play as characters other than the Dark Knight? Maybe an alternate story as the Joker, like Separate Ways from Resident Evil 4?
SH: As you mention, Batman's working with Gordon and Oracle on this one, but he starts trapped on Arkham Island and will be leading the fight back on his own. The odds are pretty much stacked against Batman right from the start.
1UP: From everything we've seen so far, the sleuthing aspects that actually turn you into a master detective are the most novel -- and potentially promising -- elements in Arkham Asylum. We've seen games like Condemned and its sequel handle similar gameplay concepts. How will these investigative portions play out with Batman? Will there be multiple solutions to any one "puzzle"?
SH: The detective mode allows Batman to scan his environment at any time. This is an important part of being Batman, because no one tells Batman what to do -- and no one will ever tell the player what to do. You need to work it out for yourself using your detective mode and forensics tools to track various evidence trails throughout the asylum and hunt down different suspects. The detective mode's also used to track the Joker's henchmen, allowing you to switch to X-ray and monitor your prey from high up in the rafters before dropping in to take them down.
1UP: The hand-to-hand combat could be fun, but it also could draw away from the atmosphere and the exploration if it gets too frustrating. How will you make sure that fighting in Arkham Asylum's enjoyable instead of a chore?
SH: This has certainly been one of the biggest challenges of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Our goal was to create something that was original, made you feel like Batman right out of the box, but then had the depth and breadth to keep you playing and excited hours later. I think it's quite easy to make a system with depth, much harder to make a system that's accessible and fun, and a real challenge to do all three.
After a couple of different prototype systems, we eventually created the FreeFlow combat engine featured in the game. This system's built around four core combat controls: Strike, Counter, Stun, and Evade -- with the real skill deciding when and how to use and combine these moves. On top of this, you can also use Batarangs, Batclaw, throws, and takedowns, so there are lots of moves to choose from. All these moves can be combined together with each other in any way to create huge combos, but even the simple early combos look great. There's a great depth to the system, and it also feels great the first time you play it.Go Noles!!! >>----->Comment
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Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
New trailer
...Go Noles!!! >>----->Comment
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Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
Wow, great find on the trailer!
Voice work is exceptional! Looks like this game is going to rock!Comment
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Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
Gamespot Impressions
First off, the characters are brilliantly voiced by Batman regulars, including Mark Hamill as the Joker and Kevin Conroy as Batman, while the dialogue has been penned by Paul Dini, the scribe behind many Batman and Superman animations, as well as the TV series Lost. Dini came over to London at the beginning of the game's development and helped to flesh out the overall story alongside the development team as well as give the dialogue an element of authenticity. His work is certainly felt throughout the game, particularly in helping the Joker become an irritatingly likable villain. The Joker spends the entire game using the prison's speaker system to taunt both Batman and the goons he's taking out, with some highly entertaining results.Arkham Asylum is essentially a third-person action game, but we got to see many different gameplay elements during our visit to Rocksteady. The combat is based on hand-to-hand combat at the beginning of the game, and a combo system encourages you to link moves together to earn more points. This results in experience points, and there's a basic role-playing game system that lets you use your points to upgrade either your weapons, such as the batarang, or Batman himself. The basic fighting moves include punch, kick, and flinging your batarang, but you can vault over enemies if you find yourself cornered. It's also worth noting that the health system isn't regenerative while you're in combat, but you can earn health back at the end of a fight if you're victorious.
There are also stealth elements to the game, although Hill is quick to emphasise Batman's power in these situations. "We didn't want a stealth system where you go in, learn the patrol patterns of the enemies, and then use trial and error to get past them. Batman is a powerful character--he spends time looking at a situation and then approaches it how he feels best." He demonstrated this in an open section of the prison, where numerous henchmen were patrolling with guns. He took Batman through the ventilation system, pulling off the grate and then sneaking up behind the first guard for a silent takedown. He immediately fired off a grapple line and ascended to the top of a stone gargoyle to survey the area. Engaging Batman's detective mode, we could see an X-ray of the room, with red and blue skeletal outlines indicating enemy targets and friendly NPCs respectively.
Heading towards one of the isolated enemies, Batman jumped off the gargoyle and used his cape to float through the air before delivering a lethal kick to the enemy's head. This made enough noise to startle the other enemies in the area, and Batman was able to use this intimidation to his advantage. Hill moved Batman around the room to position himself above another enemy, and in a spectacular coup de grace, he used the grapple line to leave the enemy dangling in midair for everyone else to see.Arkham Asylum is a character itself in this world. The environment changes as you progress; for instance, posters asserting Warden Sharp's authority are defaced by the Joker and his graffiti-loving crew. There are some great comedic touches, such as when the Joker leaves mechanical chattering teeth around the prison, as well as more sinister prison traps, such as gas chambers and electric chairs. In one scene, a prisoner was electrocuting one of the guards in a chair; in another, toxic gas was being let loose on the guards and the prisoners. You're the good guy, so you still have to save the odd criminal, although Batman is badass enough to beat them unconscious once they've been lifted to safety.
Arkham Asylum is stuffed full of unlockable items, and it will be well worth exploring the environments if you're a completist. As we watched the game being played, we saw Batman collecting a Riddler question-mark bonus. In addition, meeting characters in the game unlocks biographies that can be read later. There also seem to be challenges that you unlock by playing through the main game, although the developer was coy about revealing just what they are. Batman will also be able to upgrade his arsenal by collecting experience points, and it was hinted that the batarang can be upgraded to take out multiple enemies with one throw. Hill also spoke of an explosive gel weapon later in the game, which can be detonated remotely.
In case our enthusiasm isn't already apparent, we were left really impressed with Batman: Arkham Asylum. The savvy script and excellent voice acting are sure to please Batman fans, while the combo fighting system and stealth elements look like they'll be great fun. The game is already looking incredibly impressive visually--hopefully an indication that it's nearing completion in time for its Q2 2009 release window. Eidos has promised us a hands-on with the game in the coming months, so hopefully we'll be visiting Arkham again for a more in-depth look shortly.Go Noles!!! >>----->Comment
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Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
The description of that gameplay sequence in the second quote sounds amazing.
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Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
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Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
I can't wait.Comment
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Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum
SICK.Comment
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