All Articles: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Xbox Store Today: Battlefield 1 Early Enlister Edition, Batman Return to Arkham, Rock Band 4 Rivals, more

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We’ve got re-releases, expansions, and one of the first games to ever focus on The Great War in today’s Xbox Games Store update.

Rather than return to the well-trod battlefields of World War I, EA and DICE turned back the clock even further for Battlefield 1. The “Early Enlister Edition” is now available to download on the Xbox One, and it includes the full World War I shooter, as well as an assortment of bonus content.

Also available this week is Batman: Return to Arkham, which travels back to the beginnings of Rocksteady’s critically-acclaimed trilogy and adds in “fully remastered and updated visuals” and all the previously-released downloadable content.

Over on the Xbox 360 side of the Xbox Games Store, players will be able to continue Batman: The Telltale Series with this week’s launch of Episode 2: Children of Arkham.

Finally this week, Rock Band 4 will expand thanks to the release of the brand new Rivals expansion. Players will be able to tackle a campaign mode for the first time in “Rockudrama,” and they’ll battle it out with others online in “Rivals Mode.”

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)

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Battlefield 1, Batman: Return to Arkham, Lego Harry Potter 1+2, more added to PS Store

“Come on, boys!” EA and DICE are heading back to the frontlines in Battlefield 1, which launches this week for the PS4. The game will be available to download this Friday, but PS4 owners can get it early if they’re willing to spring for the Early Enlister Edition, which includes bonus downloadable content, or the Ultimate Edition, which comes bundled with the post-launch Premium Pass.

Also available to download this week is a pair of re-releases that will give PS4 players a chance to relive two of WBIE’s PS3-era successes. Batman: Return to Arkham will collect Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City as a single package with “fully remastered and updated visuals” and all previously-released downloadable content. And the Lego Harry Potter Collection brings together Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 with newly redone graphics.

Over on the PS3 side of the PlayStation Store, players will be able to continue Batman: The Telltale Series with this week’s launch of Episode 2: Children of Arkham.

Finally this week, Harmonix will launch the Rivals expansion for Rock Band 4. Players will be able to tackle a brand new campaign mode known as “Rockudrama,” and battle it out with others online in “Rivals Mode.”

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And a complete listing of this week’s new add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

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New Retail Releases: Battlefield 1, Civilization VI, Skylanders Imaginators, More

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While the Call of Duty franchise continues to push further and further into the future, EA and DICE are taking the Battlefield franchise back to The Great War for Battlefield 1. The shooter will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this week, and Microsoft is even offering a special Xbox One S + Battlefield 1 Bundle in two sizes… 500 GB and 1 TB.

Firaxis Games and 2K will return with a different sort of trip through time this week with Civilization VI. The strategy game will be released for the PC, and it’ll once again ask players to battle it out with famous world leaders and grow their civilization.

Skylanders fans will get the chance to try out a new entry in the franchise, as Activision will bring Skylanders Imaginators to the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One this week. For the first time, players will be able to design their own Skylanders characters with the brand new Imaginators system.

In what has become a regular occurrence in the New Retail Releases report, another batch of games will get the re-release treatment this week. WB Games will swoop down to save the day in Batman: Return to Arkham, a PS4 and Xbox One compilation featuring Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. The publisher will also package together Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 in Lego Harry Potter Collection, exclusively for the PS4. WayForward will give 3DS owners another chance to pick up Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, this time in a new Retail Edition. Finally, Harmonix will release the Rivals expansion for Rock Band 4 this week, and launch a special Rock Band 4 + Rivals Expansion pack for the PS4 and Xbox One.

A complete look at this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)

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Batman: Return to Arkham gets new release date and a Side-By-Side Comparison Trailer

WB Games has announced that Batman: Return to Arkham, the PS4 and Xbox One re-release of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, will be released on October 18. The compilation was previously scheduled to launch this Summer, but it was pushed back so developer Virtuos could have enough time to “deliver a polished Batman Arkham game experience.”

To show fans just how far the porting process to Unreal Engine 4 has come, WB Games also unveiled a new Side-By-Side Comparison Trailer today to showcase Return to Arkham’s “improved graphics, upgraded models, environments, lighting, effects, and shaders.” Arkham Asylum and Arkham City were originally developed using Unreal Engine 3, and the generational leap seems very apparent in the video embedded above.

Priced at $49.99, Batman: Return to Arkham will also include all previously-released downloadable content for both games.

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Batman: Return to Arkham has been indefinitely delayed by WB Games

batmanriddler1I guess Batman wasn’t prepared for this one…

WB Games has announced that Batman: Return to Arkham, a remastered compilation of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City for the PS4 and Xbox One, will miss it’s originally scheduled July 26 release date. Steve Grayson, one of WB’s community moderators, delivered the bad news on the game’s official forum by citing concerns about the quality of the game as it exists right now:

After reviewing the progress of the project, the team at WB Games has decided to delay the release of Batman: Return to Arkham to give the team at [Virtuos] Games additional time to deliver a polished Batman Arkham game experience.

Even though Return to Arkham was announced just five weeks ago, Grayson also revealed that WB Games isn’t ready to commit to a new release date just yet:

We do not have a release date yet and will be sure to communicate that once we are sure the game will be ready. We know this is disappointing news, but we feel the extra time will allow the team to create the best gaming experience for our fans.

On a slightly different Bat-Channel, Telltale recently announced they expect to launch all five episodes in their Batman series by the end of the year.

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Batman: Return to Arkham will bring the first two games to PS4, Xbox One this July

It’s almost fitting that WB Games’s big Batman: Return to Arkham announcement was spoiled by a series of leaks… the Batcave is often less secure than a child’s piggy bank.

The Dark Knight will indeed return this July in a two-game compilation that’ll bring Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City to the PS4 and Xbox One for the first time. The package is priced at $49.99, and it’ll include all previously-released downloadable content for both games. Virtuos will handle the PS4 and Xbox One upgrade, which will include enhanced and updated character models, environments, lighting, effects, and shaders.

Batman: Return to Arkham will be available in stores on July 26.

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Batman Is Forever: 4 Ways to Bring Back the Arkham Series

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Rocksteady sent us all on a wild ride back when Batman: Arkham Asylum first launched, finally giving the world a chance to properly squeeze on that rubber cowl and proclaim, “I’m Batman!” Two sequels (and a WB Games Montreal-helmed prequel and an Armature-developed side-scrolling spinoff) later, the future of the series is still very much up in the air now that its original developer has stepped away… or have they? Regardless, it seems likely that someone will continue the legacy of the Bat, but what direction could the series possibly take? Well… I’m glad you asked, hypothetical Internet stranger! (more…)

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Animated Batman: Arkham movie will be released this year

batmanarkhamasylumanimatedAccording to Hollywood Reporter, there’s a Batman: Arkham Asylum animated film coming, which will be based on the Arkham video game franchise. Jay Oliva, who is building a shared continuity of DC animated films beginning with this month’s Justice League: War, will direct the film. The new Batman: Arkham film is considered a “stand-alone, continuity-free project,” and is due to come out as a Warner Bros. home release sometime in 2014. Oliva was quoted as saying: “We can do original content, we can do New 52 [based on the New 52 DC line] stuff.”

As of right now, it’s unknown if the film will be based on Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, or Arkham Origins.

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