All Articles: Batman: Arkham VR

Batman: Arkham VR will swoop down on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive on April 25

Batman: Arkham VR was one of the higher-profile titles available during the PlayStation VR’s launch period last Fall, and now WB Games has announced it’ll be available for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive on April 25. A new “Announcement Trailer” for the game’s PC debut has been embedded above.

“Bringing Batman to VR was a very rewarding experience for us here at Rocksteady. The Dark Knight has always been an incredible character to work with due to his psychological depth, so it’s really exciting to use this immersive medium to delve deeper into his psyche than ever before,” said Sefton Hill, the Creative Director of Rocksteady Studios. “We’re thrilled that PC players can finally wear the cowl for themselves and take on the role of the World’s Greatest Detective with the addition of the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift versions.”

Batman: Arkham VR will support both the Oculus Touch and Vive Controller, as well as the PS4 DualShock 4, Xbox One Controller, and Steam Controller.

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New Retail Releases: PlayStation VR, Gears of War 4, Dragon Quest Builders, More

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The Oculus Rift and HTC Vive launched the “Great VR Arms Race” a few months ago, but virtual reality enthusiasts will get a much more affordable option this week with Sony’s release of PlayStation VR.

More than two dozen games will launch alongside the PS4’s VR headset, and there looks to be a little something for everybody including the superheroics of Batman: Arkham VR, the high octane racing of Driveclub VR, the robotic combat of RIGS Mechanized Combat League, and the gory stealth of Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. Square Enix will also bring Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration Edition to the PS4 this week, and the game’s PS4 debut will receive “Blood Ties,” a unique VR-compatible chapter.

Rather than shy away from Sony’s juggernaut, Microsoft is charging into the fray head-on with the launch of the “Standard Edition” of Gears of War 4 for the PC and Xbox One. While this version of the game doesn’t include the Season Pass, it does feature the same action-packed co-op campaign for JD Fenix and friends.

Square Enix will deliver a game that’s a bit more colorful than Gears of War 4… but no less post-apocalyptic… to store shelves this week with the PS4 launch of Dragon Quest Builders. Players will return to the time of the original Dragon Warrior and rebuild Alefgard (using a Minecraft-like crafting system) after the destruction caused by the Dragonlord’s monstrous allies.

Rather than dwelling on the cage match between Sony and Microsoft, we could turn our attention to WWE 2K17, which will be available this week for the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360. 2K’s latest wrestling sim stars Brock Lesnar, and it features a major focus on the popular NXT promotion.

Finally this week, Konami will package Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain together on the PS4 and Xbox One in Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience.

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

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Rocksteady officially “breaks up” with Batman to begin work on their dream game

batmanarkhamasylumanimatedWay back in December, Rocksteady’s Sefton Hill hinted that the developer wasn’t completely done with the Dark Knight. Fast forward to this year’s E3 Expo, and we now know that Hill was talking about Batman: Arkham VR, which will launch alongside the PlayStation VR headset this October.

But now it looks like it really is the end for Rocksteady’s pairing with the Caped Crusader. Speaking to Eurogamer, Rocksteady’s Dax Ginn has confirmed that Arkham VR has “gone gold” and that the developer is looking forward to a Batman-less future:

“We submitted [Batman VR to Sony] last week which was an awesome experience,” Ginn said. One of the developers celebrated the game ‘going gold’ by dressing up in a gold spandex suit and bringing in a golden boom box.

“I think there’s a little bit of sadness on the team,” Ginn concludes. “It feels like… breaking up? [The mood] is really split – there’s a feeling in the office like, it’s definitely time to do something else – we all accept that. But we all know Batman so well – we all feel comfortable in the Arkhamverse.”

With Batman officially in the rearview window, WB Games has decided to give Rocksteady the time and space to work on their “dream game,” which Ginn is looing forward to:

“To be honest I don’t really know,” Ginn says, although I’m not sure I entirely believe him. “We’re in a very enviable position where we have some time and space to decide what we’re doing next,” he continues. “We can sit back and think what our dream game would be, and we have Warner Bros.’ support to do that.”

“We’re definitely letting go of that comfort blanket and putting ourselves in the position where whatever we do next is going to feel very different. There’s always an anxiety associated with change and that’s where we want to be. We want to feel uncomfortable because we want to make awesome stuff.”

Batman: Arkham VR will be released exclusively for the PS4 on October 11.

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Zelda: Breath of the Wild named E3 2016’s “Best of Show” by Game Critics Awards

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The Game Critics Awards has handed out their annual “Best of E3” honors for this year’s show, and unsurprisingly, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was named “Best of Show.” The massive open-air game also took home awards for “Best Console Game” and “Best Action/Adventure Game.”

Even though Battlefield 1 secured the most nominations, only one other game was able to collect more than a single award, and that was Civilization VI, which was named “Best PC Game” and “Best Strategy Game.” This year’s “Special Commendation for Graphics” went to Sony’s God of War reboot.

All told, 13 games (and the PlayStation VR headset, which won for “Best Hardware”) were honored this year by the Game Critics Awards. The full list of winners can be found after the break. (more…)

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Battlefield 1 blows away the competition with five nominations from Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2016

e3expologoThe Game Critics Awards has announced their annual Best of E3 nominations, and DICE’s Battlefield 1 has asserted its greatness with five nominations, including one for “Best of Show.” Battlefield 1’s other nominations include “Best Console Game,” “Best PC Game,” “Best Action Game,” and “Best Online Multiplayer.”

Five other games will compete with the historical shooter for top honors including Dishonored 2, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Sea of Thieves, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Titanfall 2. With four nominations apiece, Dishonored 2 and Horizon: Zero Dawn will surely provide some stiff competition for Battlefield 1.

The Game Critics Awards will announce the winners for Best of E3 2016 next Tuesday, July 5. A complete list of this year nominees can be found after the break. (more…)

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PlayStation VR will launch on October 13 and several surprising games revealed

playstationVRSony’s next big thing, the PlayStation VR, made a splash during their 2016 E3 Press Conference. Firstly, the consolemaker announced that the virtual reality headset will be released on October 13, 2016 at a price point of $399. Sony also showed off several trailers for upcoming VR projects, including a few surprises.

So be sure to take a look at trailers for Batman: Arkam VR, the first person shooter Farpoint, Here They Lie, and Star Wars: Battlefront – X-Wing VR Mission after the break. (more…)

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Sefton Hill hints that Rocksteady might have at least one more Batman game in their future

Rocksteady recently released a new episode in their Arkham Insider video series ahead of next week’s launch of the Season of Infamy expansion for Batman: Arkham Knight. In addition to giving players a sneak peek at a quartet of returning rogues (Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter, and Ra’s al Ghul), Brand Marketing Producer Dax Ginn also sat down with Game Director Sefton Hill to discuss the studio’s work on the Arkham series as a whole. But their pleasant chat may have inadvertently lead to a hint about the franchise’s future at Rocksteady:

Ginn: Sefton, for you, it must be a very emotional time. because this isn’t just the end of Batman: Arkham Knight, it’s sort of the end of Rockteady’s time with the Arkham trilogy. What’s going on in your head at the moment?

Hill: It’s been a very emotional and exciting journey for us. I’ve always said it’s a tremendous privilege and honor to be the custodians of the Batman universe and to live this for nearly ten years To be thinking about the big guy and all the adventures and coming out with new and exciting things we can do in that world. That huge period of time has been amazing, energizing, emotional… it’s been incredible. I really hope the fans are happy with the work we’ve done… that we’ve been able to let people become the Batman and really enjoy his world for such a long period of time.

Ginn: So Sefton, are you saying categorically that this is the end of the road for Rocksteady and Batman?

With a hopeful lilt in his voice, Hill began to reply, “Well…,” before being cut off by a supposed camera malfunction.

Ever since Arkham Knight’s initial announcement, representatives from Rocksteady have always asserted that it would be their final Batman game. While Hill’s “Well…” isn’t proof the studio will stay tuned to that “Same Bat-Channel” on future projects, it is certainly an interesting statement to make.

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