Gamescom 2014: Batman: Arkham Knight Hands-on Preview – Arise, Dark Knight

Gamescom 2014: Batman: Arkham Knight Hands-on Preview – Arise, Dark Knight

14
Richard Walker

Batman: Arkham Knight is undoubtedly one of 2015's most hotly-anticipated games. Before its recent delay, it was one of 2014's most hotly-anticipated games. Whatever the case, it's hot. And now that we've had a chance to play it, our anticipation for Rocksteady's third Arkham game has exploded our thermometer. Yes, it was the exact same demo we'd already seen during E3, and yes, it meant we knew exactly what to expect. And no, it didn't dull our hands-on experience with the game one iota. This is Batman, in the purest, most uninhibited sense. Anything the caped crusader is able to do, you can do with little to no restriction.

It goes without saying then, that Batman: Arkham Knight sees the Bat acting as an unrestrained force of nature, able to go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants. Although he'll stop short of killing, of course. With the Batmobile at his beck and call, as well as a slew of fluid new moves and smart gadgets, playing as the Dark Knight has never felt more empowering.

As in the E3 demo, we start proceedings outside the ACE Chemicals plant, surveying our surroundings and ogling every tiny detail that Rocksteady has poured into its impressive rendition of Gotham. Whether its the thousands of lights stretching into the distance, or the incidental scuffs and scratches on Batman's cowl, the visual fidelity is remarkable. A member of Rocksteady's dev team at our side, we refrain from slowly rotating the camera and drooling over Arkham Knight's gorgeous vistas, and decide to press on with actually playing the game.

The task at hand is to rescue ACE chemical workers being held hostage by the Arkham Knight's military thugs, who Batman will need to knock down a peg or two. Swooping into action with a glide kick, we're immediately back into the game's freeflow combat, which thankfully feels a great deal tighter than it has in previous Arkham titles. If you thought that Arkham Origins' freeflow combat felt 'off' somehow, you'll be pleased to know that Bats' fighting prowess is well and truly back on point for Arkham Knight.

Bats has a number of new options at his disposal during a brawl in Arkham Knight, which can initially be overwhelming. Button prompts for special moves and finishers seem to pop up quite frequently, suggesting an environmental takedown or a Batmobile assisted knockout round. You can even snatch away weapons from enemies as a deliberate move rather than a counter attack, and grab objects littering the area to hurl at your foes. As ever, skill is a factor in these encounters, so picking up an item requires careful aim, or you'll just throw it in a random direction, making it look like Bats is losing his marbles.

Executing environmental takedowns is supremely satisfying, however, making Batman feel like an unstoppable powerhouse as he mashes an opponent's head into an electrical junction box or pulls on a suspended light fitting to bring it crashing down from the ceiling onto a hapless foe. It opens up a whole array of moves that you simply didn't have before, transforming fights into instances whereby you not only defeat thugs, but find the most stylish way to do so.

Fear takedowns also add to your stealth options, as you're now able to tackle up to three bad guys in quick succession, whether it's from above or by popping out of vents below. Pulling off a fear takedown is easy, initiated with a single button press followed by a slow-motion window to line-up your aim and a subsequent button press to chain together each strike. Within seconds you can even the odds, and savvy, observant players will know to tackle the most potentially dangerous targets first.

Getting behind the wheel of the game's Batmobile is also a joy, although having to hold the left trigger to engage its combat mode takes some getting used to, when we've been using that as a brake in countless racing games for years. Instead the Batmobile's brake is mapped to a face button. It seems that being able to toggle between modes via a face button could work better, freeing up the left trigger as a brake. It could be that the final control system for driving the Batmobile hasn't been finalised yet, so it might still change. Despite fumbling with the controls, the iconic vehicle is still great fun, proving versatile against unmanned drone tanks and handy when there are steel doors or walls to be pulled down.

Combat in the Batmobile works in a similar way to freeflow, with successive direct hits feeding into a combo multiplier that in turn grants missile barrages and heavy shots. Aim and strafe carefully, and you'll find that you can wipe out the Arkham Knight's tanks in seconds. No doubt the militarised villain will have more formidable hardware to throw at you later in the game, so mastering your combat skills in the Batmobile may be an essential requirement.

As we approach the latter part of our hands-on demo, we encounter some puzzles that were seemingly excised from the E3 showing, with us having to switch between the Batmobile and the Dark Knight's detective vision to identify and destroy canisters spewing toxic gas from broken pipes impeding our progress. The Batmobile also comes in handy for pulling a broken elevator counterweight blocking passage through to the next area, where we find a living hostage still being held captive after finding several ACE chemical workers laying dead among the rubble and ruptured gas pipes.

A confrontation with Arkham Knight and more of his goons ensues, as the Batmobile loiters in the background ready to pump some non-lethal rounds into the enemies we've marked. One final combat encounter later, and we rescue the hostage and return him safely to Commissioner Gordon outside the ACE chemicals facility. We head back into the compound to crack more heads, but time soon catches up with us, and our tantalising time with Arkham Knight draws to a close.

Coming away from Batman: Arkham Knight, it's more than evident that Rocksteady is going above and beyond to make this the ultimate take on the Dark Knight. From driving the Batmobile to the fluidity of traversal and combat, it seems that the template set in Arkham City is being pushed out in every conceivable direction (it's five times the size of Arkham City, for starters), making for an open-world Batman game that's dense, detailed and genuinely beautiful to behold. There's still a little bit of refinement required in certain aspects, like the aforementioned Batmobile controls, and we did notice some screen tearing, but given Rocksteady's track record to date, we're not entirely sure how Batman: Arkham Knight can possibly fail.

Batman: Arkham Knight is slated for release on Xbox One, PS4 and PC in February 2015.

Comments
14
  • Still waiting to hear about a collectors edition.
  • Hold up, this is a new game rather than a remastered 360 game!!! I get the feeling 2015 is going to be a great time for the X1/PS4 as top quality games will start rolling out & this current craze of remastered ports will hopefully disappear.
  • Glad to hear that combat's been tightened. The combat in Origins just felt wrong compared to Asylum and City's combat.
  • @3 I agree i failed to counter even when the button flashed it felt off to be honest can't wait for Batman WOOOOOT!!!!!!
  • I need a solid release date on this since apparently the 24th isn't final yet the site still says it is.
  • see now because this got delayed i delayed my x1 purchase, when this comes out im straight down that fucking shop buying the console and this. :) day one for this definitely.
  • @6. Maybe you should get your X1 the day before. Just to update your console and not have to wait.
  • A must buy for 2015. Not only will it seem to be the best title in the Arkham series, it may just become one of the best games in video game history.
  • no need to read the review, pictures already make me want it.
  • Had it pre-ordered as soon as it was possible!
  • OMG my underpants just flew across the room.......
  • Game looks great. Cant wait to play this on Xbox One
  • I really can't wait for this. Rocksteady has really done the Batman universe justice with just about everything including the story and its exciting to see what kind of villain they create with the Arkham Knight. It's easily one of my most anticipated games in a long time.
  • Robin and Nightwing need to be in the story this time. Robin was in AC for two seconds and it was one of the best parts of the game. Batman without his partner is only half the story.
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