{"id":1911,"date":"2011-09-11T13:47:43","date_gmt":"2011-09-11T17:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jokeruniverse.com\/?p=1911"},"modified":"2011-09-11T13:52:46","modified_gmt":"2011-09-11T17:52:46","slug":"edge-231-arkham-city-preview-dark-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jokeruniverse.com\/?p=1911","title":{"rendered":"EDGE #231 Arkham City Preview: Dark City"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDGE:\u00a0 THE FUTURE OF INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Article summarized from original print of \u201cDark City\u201darticle in EDGE #231 September 2011<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Trying to grasp the scope of the new ARKHAM CITY game, the people at EDGE say\u00a0 that though Batman is just as he was in ARKHAM ASYLUM with the \u201c\u2026same mixture of bruising strength and human fragility\u201d,<\/em> the developers have \u2026inverted the environment completely.\u00a0 The first game\u2019s poky madhouse has been plucked from Gotham Harbor and dropped into the rambling streets of the city proper.\u00a0 Concrete replaces carpets, interiors give way to exteriors, and brilliant, focusing claustrophobia is replaced by something that feels almost like an open-world games at times.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That being said, this new larger scope of the games will allow Batman to explore skills that were barely used or non-existent in the first game.\u00a0 Batman will now have a chance to use his forensic skills and analyze crime scenes. Not only that, moves are enhanced for Batman to deal with this new environment, like his new ability to break through flimsy walls to reach targets or the ability to take down two enemies simultaneously and most fun to use will be the ability to use the environment during a fight (rails, walls, lamp posts, etc.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rockteady\u00ae has also guaranteed that this environment will be filled with Batman DNA, \u201c\u2026we\u2019ve got Batman legacy stuff, obvious nods, and cameos only hardcore fans will notice. We don\u2019t force you to find them all, but if you come across a few, it makes the world feel more real.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Arkham City Trivia<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/span> When Rocksteady was working on the problem of waypoint markers they came up with an interesting solution.\u00a0 Now wherever you are on the streets of Gotham, if you want to know where the next mission kicks off, all you have to do is look at the sky, where a very familiar bat-signal will be pointing the way to you.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Adding to Batman\u2019s new ability to snoop into communications in the radio, Batman will also have a chance to interrogate thugs (before taking them down), to gather more information and he will also be able to temporarily team up with others in search of clues (like his volatile alliance with Bane while in search of the Titan venom shipments).\u00a0 Expect some interactions to be much more involved as it is the Riddler\u2019s challengers were Nigma has scale his style a notch from \u201cverbal abuse\u201d<\/em> and now sets traps and takes hostages guiding the Bat to a direct confrontation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A new addition to Batman\u2019s arsenal will be the REMOTE ELECTRICAL CHARGE<\/span> or REC<\/span> (\u201cIt\u2019s the only weapon Batman McGyvers into existence this time around\u201d) and it is basically \u201ca rigged shotgun that shoots an instant spark-splattered knockback to foes<\/em> (or worse if they are armored”).\u00a0 It will damage enemies\u2019 weapons, jolt enemies out of control (good for those wielding machine guns, see pic below), energize machinery, and turn nearby metal into magnets (useful for some of Riddler\u2019s trophies).<\/p>\n

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"Aren't you all shocked to see me here?" Batman using the REC<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Unfortunately, while the game has a lot of new gadgets and skills to add, it also takes away from some that had been useful in the past like the DETECTIVE VISION<\/span> that had be limited in this game to environmental analysis (while you could used it all the time in Arkham Asylum). And while you can use it for crime scene analysis, you will lose navigation tools like the compass and waypoints on your HUD. Better is just to leave it for when you really need it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\"arkcitypenguin\"<\/p>\n

As characters go, Rocksteady\u2019s\u00ae greatest achievement is the reinvention of Penguin where he has become a really TERRIFYING character while keeping his less that attractive personality and looks. This Penguin is \u201ca psychotic barrow-boy rather than a demented aristocrat, clad in a fur overcoat instead of tails, with a nasty woolly cardigan instead of his waistcoat. There is a hint of Bob Hoskins in him, along with a trace of vintage Pete Postlethwaite, and if you look closely at his Coke-bottle monocle, you\u2019ll discover that it actually is a Coke bottle\u2014a fragment of glass presumably wedged into his eye socket during a fight.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Another great addition to the game is Catwoman\u2019s character.\u00a0 Selina\u2019s \u201cinvoked as a palate-cleanser whose thievery missions apparently take up only ten percent of the overall\"batman-arkham-city-catwoman-gal\" game\u2014which still amount to around four hours.\u201d <\/em>\u00a0According to Ginn<\/em> from Rocksteady\u00ae \u00a0, \u201cthey wanted to showcase that she\u2019s different to Batman\u2026so she can stun people with her whip and crawl about the environment with her claws.\u00a0 When you\u2019re playing as Batman, you\u2019re always doing the right thing, when you\u2019re playing Catwoman, it\u2019s a chance to do the wrong thing. She\u2019s meaner: she targets the testicles when she fights. She\u2019s more than a cameo. She\u2019s like a special guest star.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Catwoman trivia<\/span>:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 <\/em>Rocksteady\u00ae \u00a0wanted to\u00a0 pay homage to ADAM HUGHE\u2019S iconic modern take on Catwoman\u2014a design that borrows the face of Audrey Hepburn.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The character of Robin, though present, is limited to only the challenge missions\u2014an indicator that they don\u2019t want to repeat the mistake made by Batman Returns.\u00a0 What Rocksteady has done with the character is interesting though, \u201cmutated by some canny after-hours spitballing into a thuggish, shaven-headed street fighter modeled on the UFC roster rather than the circus acrobats that inspired his comic incarnation.\u201d<\/em> It\u2019s good though that they restricted his intervention in the game since Batman does the best of his work when he works alone.<\/p>\n

And were would we be without our favorite Psychopathic Clown in the milieu. Here is a pic to entice you all:<\/p>\n

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