Warner Bros. will release remastered versions of “Arkham Asylum” and “Arkham City” in a bundle, called “Batman: Return to Arkham,” for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The bundle will feature the first two versions of the “Batman Arkham” games with enhanced graphics and effects.
The bundle will also feature all of the post-release DLC of “Arkham Asylum” and “Arkham City.” The prequel “Batman: Arkham Origins” and “Batman: Arkham Knight,” however, will not be included. Rocksteady is expected to release enhanced versions of the two latter games in the future, depending on how well “Batman: Return to Arkham” will be received by gamers.
According to Digital Spy, the games have been remastered via Unreal Engine 4. It is the first time that the “Batman Arkham” series tried the engine. The enhancements will provide better models, upgraded environments, effect shaders, improved lighting and more.
The official trailer showed the enhanced features of the games, which will still showcase the same storyline and characters that players loved years ago. Scenes of the Dark Knight in action, as well as many of his foes like The Joker, Catwoman and Two-Face, among others, were shown in their digitally enhanced forms.
“Batman: Return to Arkham” would be a great way for the game developer to rake in more cash from old games, instead of investing more to create a new one. Fans may also be excited to listen to actor Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” franchise, voice play The Joker in the upcoming version. He has been portraying the master villain in Batman games and TV shows for decades.
VentureBeat wrote that “Batman: Arkham Asylum” was originally launched in 2009. “Arkham City” released in 2011. Both games were playable on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and were well-received by gamers. “Arkham Knight” was released in 2015 for PS4 and Xbox One.
For now, the remastered games will only be available via the bundle and not individually. There may be solo versions coming to Xbox Live and PSN soon.
In the past months, there have been plenty of remastered games, originally intended for PS3 and Xbox 360. Previously, titles like “Gears of War,” “Tomb Raider” and the “Uncharted” trilogy have received enhanced treatments. There are also rumors that “BioShock” will also feature an HD collection soon.
The bundle, “Batman: Return to Arkham,” will launch on July 29 for about $58. More updates and details are expected in the following weeks.
