Rocksteady On Batman: New Gadgets, Navigation Focus

Batman: Arkham City

With one of the year's most anticipated games merely days away, Batman: Arkham City developers have taken the time to answer some fan questions over at the European PlayStation Blog.

First, they tackle the upgrades and additions. When asked if there will be more upgrades in Arkham City, the answer was simple: yes. While Arkham Asylum had 20 upgrades, the sequel has 33, and game director Sefton Hill adds that there "a lot of ways to develop your skills." As for gadgets, you will start with all the gadgets you earned in the first title, and the developers have tossed in four new ones. So while you'll start with stuff like the Batarang and Explosive Gel, you'll experiment with new gadgets like the Remote Electrical Charge (REC) and the Freeze Blast.

But one of the more interesting responses came when Rocksteady was asked- "What are the biggest refinements you've made to Batman's controls, gameplay mechanics, and overall "feel" since Arkham Asylum?"

"The biggest thing we’ve focused on is his navigation and his ability to get around Gotham City, making that as exciting and fun as possible. The game is much bigger, a larger expanse but also much more vertical. We worked a lot on the glide system; when you’re gliding you can pull R2 to throw Batman into a dive. And as you hurdle towards the ground you can build momentum to propel you around the city. You can also get a grapple boost upgrade that boosts you off ledges and rooftops. And you can combine these two moves, the dive and grapple boost, to get around Gotham City without even touching the ground, if you get good enough.

What’s really nice is that you have to constantly be evaluating your surroundings like Batman would: where to dive, where to move as you weave through back alleyways and over the tops of buildings. It gives you the feel of being Batman in Gotham City. We wanted to live up to that promise."

Does anyone else feel all tingly inside?

Related Game(s): Batman: Arkham City

Tags: batman arkham city, rocksteady, batman sequel

10/14/2011 10:43:31 AM Ben Dutka

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