Arkham Knight's Dual Play means you can be the Batman and everyone else
If it was possible, Commissioner Gordon is looking greyer than ever. Gotham is facing an unparalleled attack. This is a face that's ready for Arkham Knight's M rating.
Two Face is only one of the big bads stalking Gotham and causing chaos for the World's Greatest Detective. The streets are filled with goons and it's all under the watchful eye of the Scarecrow.
The Scarecrow is even more terrifying this time around. The bombs he has planted on Halloween night means the evacuation of Gotham's citizens. All that's left are criminals, villains and the Arkham Knight's militia.
Catwoman is back and the Dual Play mechanic means we'll be able to switch to her whip wielding, smart talking ways. And yes, that's the closest you'll get to a smile in this trailer.
Robin is back in brooding form and the trailer already shows some of the fun ways you'll be taking down goons with his staff. It'll be interesting to see how the team works together in Dual Play.
Nightwing completes the trio of sidekicks. It will be the first time that Dick Grayson is playable in the main game as he was only available in the DLC for Batman Arkham City.
It's not just Batman who's at risk but - as the trailer is named - it's all who follow him. From the Commissioner to Oracle and Alfred, everyone is in danger.
Azrael returns for Arkham Knight and now his prophecy of a Gotham in flames is coming true as the Arkham Knight fills the city with chaos.
You and what army? Oh, yes, that army. The Arkham Knight arrives with a slew of soldiers and tanks. We're going to need a bigger bat.
There's no pesky morals to be found when it comes to the destruction of these nasties. Catwoman takes particular delight in yanking off their heads.
Testing out Batman's new Fear Takedown is going to be a fun exercise in goon torture. Once an energy bar has been filled, takedowns can be chained together in slo-mo in order to target your next unwilling victim.
Louise Blain is a journalist and broadcaster specialising in gaming, technology, and entertainment. She is the presenter of BBC Radio 3’s monthly Sound of Gaming show and has a weekly consumer tech slot on BBC Radio Scotland. She can also be found on BBC Radio 4, BBC Five Live, Netflix UK's YouTube Channel, and on The Evolution of Horror podcast. As well as her work on GamesRadar, Louise writes for NME, T3, and TechRadar. When she’s not working, you can probably find her watching horror movies or playing an Assassin’s Creed game and getting distracted by Photo Mode.
So Rocksteady was being extra teasery with its Batman Arkham Knight trailers over the weekend showing off glimpses of Nightwing and Catwoman and now we know why. The official trailer has landed and Rocksteady has revealed an all new feature known as Dual Play. Rather than constantly be wearing the Batsuit, we'll be able to jump between Batman's sidekicks during combat. According to the official press release, we'll be able to "seamlessly switch between The Dark Knight and his allies including Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman in FreeFlow Combat."
The trailer reveals some seriously fast paced brawling - many kapows, much boom - with the Dark Knight and his allies teaming up together with a series of slick moves. In one sequence, Batman lurks on a gargoyle above while Robin sneaks up on a guard below before the cowl clad hero sweeps down and the pair take the enemy down together. Another clip shows Robin's staff being used by the pair to great effect in effortless slo-mo. Dual Play will only be available during combat so probably no exploring Gotham as Catwoman but this means we'll be able to experience the different fighting styles of the Bat's nearest and dearest.
This is no mere DLC being revealed. The tweaking of the Arkham series FreeFlow combat is a big step. This will need to be utterly seamless to maintain the ridiculously satisfying flow. With the new Batmobile transitions and the small fact that this Gotham is five times the size of Arkham City, it's clear that Rocksteady isn't going to go out of this trilogy without a serious bang. See the trailer, complete with Batmobile versus tank and the return of the mysterious Azrael above.
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