1 • GameOn Magazine Batman Arkham Special Edition What Can You Read Inside? About GameOn 4 About Warner Bros. Highlights Editorial Staff Interactive Entertainment 5 Origins Welcome to the Batman: Arkham Special Chief Editor - Steve Greenfield I Am Batman 6 Preview Edition of The GameOn Magazine. Editor - Kris West The Villains of the Arkham Franchise 10 Travel back to where You’re in for a treat in this issue as we supply you Games Critic - Ross D. Brown it all began. Fight with everything Batman and Arkham related included Games Critic - Chris Wakefield Batman: Arkham Aslyum Review as the Dark Knight our reviews of both previous Arkham titles, Arkham Games Critic - Joe Pring 16 before Gotham was Aslyum and Arkham City, our biographies for a Games Critic - Ryan Davies A Combat Revolution 22 overrun by criminals few of our favorite characters, and a few articles Games Critic - Matt Girdler and low-lifes. written by our crack team of detectives writers. Games Critic - Adam Woodward Batman: Arkham City Review 26 Games Critic - Thom Whyte Along with this, we have our Batman: Games Critic - Adam Barnes Batman Arkham: City - Arkham Origins preview fresh off the press Games Critic - James Bralant A Retrospective 32 Gadget Tips from this year’s E3 convention. Games Critic - Heather Cook Batman Arkham: City - A First Keep your eyes peeled Hour, First Impression 34 for our gadget tips So sit back, relax, switch off your Batmobile, Graphic Design - Steve Dawson sprinkled through- unhook your utility belt, pull down your mask Graphic Design - Kris West Interview with Batman: Arkham Origins Director, Eric Holmes 38 out the magazine to and enjoy the special edition magazine. gain some greater Research & Proofing - Ross D. Brown Batman: Arkham - Settings 40 insight into some of If you want to get your hands on our monthly Research & Proofing - Harrie Bailey the Caped Crusader’s copy of the magazine, you can simply click here for Research & Proofing - Emsey P. Walker The Baddies of Batman 44 best gadgets. the UK Kindle version, here for the International Batman: Arkham Origins Kindle version or here for the tablet version. E3 Preview 46 Special Thanks If you’d like to get in touch with us, you can drop Character Biographies 54 us an e-mail at [email protected]. Mark Ward - Warner Bros. Biographies Interactive Entertainment Batman: Arkham Origins Multiplayer 60 Find out some more Alternatively, you can find us on Gareth Williams - Premier Comms about your favorite Twitter @TheGameOnMag Warner Bros. Games Montreal Batman: Arkham Origins villians and heroes and Facebook at Facebook.com/GameOnMagazine Rocksteady Studios gamescom Preview 64 from Gotham City Batman: Arkham Origins including their pasts Blackgate Preview 68 and first apperances. The Editor 2 • GameOn Magazine Batman Arkham Special Edition 3 • GameOn Magazine Batman Arkham Special Edition ABOUT GAMEON ABOUT WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT GameOn Networking Ltd was founded in 1997 with the aim of providing “lag free” gaming In 1995, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment licensed out their first game property, Batman solutions for dedicated online gamers. Online connectivity in the late 90s was such that Forever. From there, they continued to license games based on Warner Bros. film and TV realtime gaming was beyond the reach of the average gamer, and so GameOn began hosting products to video game publishers such as Ubisoft, EA, Infogrames and the late, great, THQ. LAN parties throughout the UK. To date, GameOn has hosted almost 100 LAN parties. Come 2003, Warner Bros. Interactive co-published their first video game, In August 2008, GameOn began producing GameOn Magazine, an online PDF magazine Looney Tunes: Back in Action with EA. Two years later, in 2005, WB Games covering all aspects of gaming including reviews, previews, news and articles. The label was created and co-published The Matrix Online with Sega. dedicated magazine staff also provided coverage at high profile gaming events such as E3 and gamescom. In 2009, Warner Bros. purchased indie developer, Snowblind Studios. Later that year, Warner Bros. also purchases most of the assets of American publisher, Midway Games. In February 2012, GameOn Magazine launched in ebook form on the Amazon Kindle In 2010, they acquired majority stake in Rocksteady Studios, an indie development marketplace in both the UK and US and has since developed from strength to strength. studio operating out of London who developed Batman: Arkham Asylum and City. With the same quality coverage as always and dedicated writing and research staff the magazine has gained a loyal following and secured its position as one of the best selling Later in 2010, Warner Bros. Interactive opened a studio in Quebec, Montreal gaming magazines on the Kindle store. headed up by Martin Tremblay, also known as WB Games Montreal, who would later go on to develop Batman: Arkham Origins. Later in 2012 GameOn lauched the colour version of the magazine via Magzter store which is avilable on Android, iOS and Windows. For more information on Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, any of their subsidiaries, Intellectual Properties or Titles, please visit www.warnerbros.com For more information, please visit www.gameonmag.com 4 • GameOn Magazine Batman Arkham Special Edition 5 • GameOn Magazine Batman Arkham Special Edition I AM BATMAN There are many reasons to enjoy the Batman: the kind of feat only achievable by a Arkham series of games: A well-rounded human being with the right tools, training combat system, a cast of excellent supporting and at the peak of physical ability. characters, a rich open world, an abundance of side-activities and many more. The gadgets also provide a great deal of depth to the experience. Solving puzzles and For me though, there is one aspect that following clues in detective mode changes makes the experience so epic for me, and the pace of proceedings, providing a more that reason is a simple one: I am Batman. thoughtful aspect of gaming amongst the high adrenaline combat and tense stealth Both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City sections. Tools such as the remote control really let me walk a mile in the boots of batarang, disruptor and grappling hook the Caped Crusader, the Dark Knight, the provide you with the tools to cope with World’s Greatest Detective. It goes so much any situation and make up for Batman’s further than the skin of the character, the lack of ‘traditional’ superpowers. way he looks and the way he moves. For me, the thing Rocksteady have nailed on The fact that our hero’s abilities and gadgets the head is how it feels to be Batman. stretch the bounds of believability to their limits, but never beyond breaking point, is Controlling the Batman just feels right, as you the main factor that underlies the success run through the streets, scale sheer surfaces, of both games in capturing the essence of glide amongst the rooftops and rappel between Batman. There is a real sense of power there, buildings. The sense of maneuverability but behind it, a sense of vulnerability. is dead on; not quite superhuman, but 6 • GameOn Magazine Batman Arkham Special Edition 7 • GameOn Magazine Batman Arkham Special Edition and satisfying, as the Dark This is never more apparent than when Knight dodges, block, strikes facing off against armed opponents. and throws with perfect timing Sure, ol’ Brucie has a few tricks up and unprecedented precision, his sleeve. The batarang can stun an ending in brutal, but distinctly unwary opponent and the grappling non-lethal, takedowns. hook can pull the gun from his hands, but when two or three enemies with Miss one beat though and the guns are around it is very easy to get combo is broken, and when the Batman killed in an open fight. Hell, Batman gets hit, it hurts. Clad even baseball bats can cause a problem! in his body armour he can This is most evident in the combat and stealth take a bit of damage, and it’s certainly Despite the fact that Batman is mechanics. Hiding in the shadows, Batman is possible to muddle your way through extremely skilled and powerful, this a nightmare incarnate. Henchmen cower and a fight, trading blows back and forth. sense of weakness is constantly at the panic as their cohorts disappear, picked off You’ll feel it though, because tough as he back of your mind when in a scrap. You one-by-one by a (seemingly) deadly, unseen is, behind the Bat lies Bruce Wayne, and aren’t Superman, invulnerable to all force, while our hero watches, waits and Bruce Wayne is just a man. If your skill with few weaknesses. You aren’t even strikes. Patience and timing are your friends fails you, failure is very much an option. The Flash, mostly human but with a here, and it few special abilities. You are Batman, really feels just and all the stands between you, death plain badass to Gadget Tip and failure is an armoured breastplate, clear an area a couple of gadgets, the environment of enemies in around you and your ability to fight. this manner. When I play Arkham City and Get spotted Arkham Asylum: I AM BATMAN. though, and the Being Batman feels awesome. fists start flying. Batman is highly Provided that this balance of power trained, highly and vulnerability remains intact, and skilled, strong if Warner Montreal have crafted this and agile; more latest experience with the same level of than capable Special Batarang that can be controlled after being released, making love and respect that Rocksteady have of taking on it useful for hitting switches and objects out of reach. Brake and poured into the franchise so far, then I numerous flip controls provide high levels of maneuverability.