Rocksteady Studios, back in charge of the Batman franchise for the newly announced Batman: Arkham Knight has revealed some details in the latest issue of Game Informer. The game will not have multiplayer, the next-gen consoles can support way more AI on the screen at once, and Kevin Conroy is back to portray the dark knight.
The decision not to include multiplayer is two-fold. For one thing, they don't think they need it and are looking to make the best single-player experience they can. In addition, time constraints simply require they focus all their time and effort on the story, which is understandable.
Rocksteady game director Sefton Hill said, "This is a single-player game. There is no multiplayer. Right at the start this was our vision. It's going to take all of our effort for all of this time. We don't have the time to do multiplayer.
"[We want to] focus on making the best single-player experience we can. We don't feel that it needs a multiplayer element. Warner Bros. backed that up right at the start."
I tend to agree with them on this-even adding a decent multiplayer component is okay, but really isn't necessary. The series has made its name with great, immersive single-player experiences, and that's where I think it should stay.
The next-gen consoles (the game is only on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC) offer some serious upgrades over Arkham Knight's predecessors as well, aside from improved graphics. The game can support way more AI enemies throughout Gotham and on the screen at once thanks to the new hardware.
"At any given time, there are between three to five times the number of thugs active in Gotham City than there were in Arkham City," lead AI and combat programmer Tim Hanagan told Game Informer, and the game also includes "riots of 50 or more on-screen characters."
The drivable Batmobile mentioned in the game's announcement also owes its existence to the capabilities of next-gen hardware, letting you smash through most objects and eject Batman into the Gotham sky.
Also of note is that the titular "Arkham Knight" does not actually refer to Batman, apparently. Rocksteady says it's a reference to the new "formidable foe" that will challenge Batman throughout the story. The villain is identified as a "militarized" version of Batman and will join other well-known v Arkham villains.
Batman: Arkham Knight does not yet have a release date having just been announced, but is due out some time this year.