Splash Damage, the same studio behind Brink, is developing the first ever multiplayer mode in a Batman: Arkham title, and today, the studio is offering the first look at it.
As the studio describes, "Batman: Arkham Origins multiplayer takes the series' trademark Invisible Predator gameplay online, and allows you to play as Batman, Robin, or an elite member of The Joker or Bane's gang in exciting 3 vs 3 vs 2 multiplayer matches."
Robin looks like he works the same way as he did in Arkham City, even using the same weaponry (which opens a whole big can of worms as far as continuity is concerned, because that was the Tim Drake Robin, and this would have to be the Dick Grayson Robin, but we'll get into that later). Though, as a big Bat-fan, I'm still conflicted about his inclusion. I see the justification for it, as it's for multiplayer, and obviously you want options to play as different villains and heroes instead of nameless thugs and a palette swapped Dark Knight, but it just doesn't seem to mesh with the younger, more inexperienced Batman that developer Warner Bros. Montreal was aiming for.
Playing as the henchmen should be an interesting change of pace, as they'll have access to firearms, making them far more effective at a distance, which is a style of gameplay never really explored in an Arkham title before. Still, I'd rather play as the über strong man or clown prince of crime rather than one of their henchmen. Customers who pre-order Origins will get to play as Deathstroke in the campaign, so obviously it shouldn't be too difficult to incorporate him into multiplayer. Maybe down the road they'll offer up some of the game's other villains as possible options.
As seems to be tradition, Nintendo is set to lose out once more. Oddly enough, while Arkham Origins is slated for release on the Wii U, the multiplayer mode is not. For whatever reason, there's no plans to bring the game's multiplayer mode to the platform, and is only set to hit PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions.
You can take a peek at the multiplayer mode in the trailer below.
