2015, what a year. It’s been a year where I spent many an hour retreating old games with shiny new visuals, but also one where I experienced gameplay and graphical fidelity unlike anything I’d seen in the thirty-five years that I’ve been playing video games. Here are some of the highlights of my gaming year.

PlayStation 4 exclusive The Order: 1886 broke new ground in interactive storytelling. A visual feast depicting characters and Victorian London with almost photo-real clarity, sadly it didn’t get the acclaim I thought it deserved.

Press coverage for The Order, instead of lauding the interesting story and beautiful visuals, decided to slaughter the game, deriding it for is brevity, excessive quick time events and lengthy cut-scenes. I think they missed the point, myself, but it meant that the game was practically stillborn. Such a shame.

Despite my misgivings based on playing a preview build, Techland’s Dying Light managed to reinvent the open-world zombie game that the developer practically invented with their Dead Island series. Intelligent, interesting and above all pretty frightening, Dying Light immediately took my top spot when it comes to surviving a virtual zombie apocalypse.

EA’s Battlefield Hardline didn’t quite do it for me. Whilst I salute Visceral Studios for trying something different with DICE’s Battlefield series, Hardline was perhaps too much of a departure. In swapping huge battlegrounds for urban cops and robbers, the game lacked the scale and excitement of it’s military-themed predecessors. By all accounts, still a good game, but not a good Battlefield game.

Cities: Skylines on PC was a pleasant surprise. The city building game manages to take everything that was wrong with SimCity (a game that I personally still enjoyed) and create a nigh-on perfect example of the sometimes embittered genre.

Easy to get to grips with, beautiful to look at and relatively bug-free, Cities: Skylines has become my go-to city building game. With the introduction of a day/night cycle later in the year, the game became even more beautiful to look at.

Ori and the Blind Forest provided a charming break from the AAA action-fests that dominated 2015. Taking more than a little inspiration from the visual style of Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli animated movies, Ori and the Blind Forest follows the trials of the orphaned guardian spirit, Ori.

It sends players on a magical journey and is full of emotion. At its heart, though, Ori and the Blind Forest is no more than an old-school platformer which with repeated plays felt more and more derivative. A great game if you are looking for something short and sweet.

As a gamer that likes a bit of story with my action, 2K’s multiplayer squad shooter, Evolve didn’t really do it for me. It’s nice idea, being a member of a group of mercenaries charged with hunting and killing a gigantic player-controlled monster, but it lacked that Left 4 Dead feeling of comradery.

I’ve returned to the game many times over the year and enjoyed my time with it, but there are plenty of other games that I’d sooner be playing. To all intents and purposes, Evolve is still a great game, but not necessarily my sort of game.

The classic fighting franchise, Mortal Kombat made it’s new-gen debut in 2015 with Mortal Kombat X. With new-gen visuals, the series gruesome finishing mores were too much for Australian censors which slapped it with an R rating.

With a great story featuring character both old and new, beautiful graphics and some fantastic gameplay, Mortal Kombat X is the best fighting game I’ve played in a long time.

In real life I’d say that two wheels are better than four when it comes to having fun on the road. I’ve never really found a game that has managed to capture the excitement of motorcycling. Milestone S.r.l.’s Ride comes close.

Building on their successful Moto GP franchise, the Italian developers have, with Ride, created a game that celebrates the motorcyclist, their machine and racing on the open road.

Whilst it was released in 2014, Dragon Age: Inquisition dominated my playing schedule throughout 2015 due to the great DLC release during the year that bought the amazing story to its conclusion. The game received seven expansions during 2015, from the beautiful and varied terrain in the Jaws of Hakken to the conclusion of Trespasser. The Black Emporium gave players opportunity to change their character’s face (something that my unfortunate-looking Inquisitor was in dire need of).

The crowd funded / developed Project CARS really upped the ante when it comes to racing games. It the tradition of Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport and GRID AutoSport, Project CARS is a driving simulator rather than an arcade racer.

Project CARS copped a lot of flak for being virtually unplayable on a gamepad. With a decent steering wheel and shifter, however, the game is in a league of its own. Add a couple more monitors for a panoramic view of the track and it’s just like being there, sitting in a race car.

May 2015 finally saw the release of one of the year’s most anticipated games, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This is the game that I still return to when I game in my own time. CD Projekt RED polished up the gameplay that they had been developing over the last two games and dropped players in a gorgeous open-world.

The vast world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt offers player hours and hours of adventure, which the developers augmented with 12 free DLC packs and an expansion called Hearts of Stone.

Warner’s Batman: Arkham Knight managed to polarise the fans. Not a game that I had to review, but one that I purchased myself, on PC. Whilst the console version was, for the most part, celebrated, the PC version was not. PC gamers reported performance issues and missing effects indicated a badly-ported console to PC game.

Running Batman: Arkham Knight on a PC-rig bordering on the un-natural, my 32 gigs and 2xSLI GTX980 machine never really had any problems running the game, much to the ire of my peers. Still the PC version was a massive fail for both Warner Interactive and nVIDIA, whose Gameworks code seems to be a root cause of many of the problems. To this day, Batman: Arkham Knight still doesn’t run as intended on PC.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour kicked of EA Sports’ annual barrage of sports sims. The franchises two-year break allowed the developers to rebuild the game using Battlefield’s Frostbite engine and even including the Battlefield 4-themed Paracel Islands course.

I found the fantasy courses in Rory McIlroy PGA Tour more interesting than the real-life course which is probably because I don’t follow the game on TV. Still, PGA Tour is a good game and a was a great start to the 2015 EA Sports season.

I feel that I’d played every game that’ll ever be made. Most games wear their inspiration on their sleeve to such an extent that they seem like no more than derivative rehashes. Original gaming experiences are few and far between. Sony’s Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture is one of the most original games that I’ve played in a long time.

Derided as being no more than a walking simulator by those that fail to be engaged by the game’s subtle storytelling, Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture is an apocalyptic game with a difference. Set in a deserted English village, the game reveals the tragic events that befall on the people at the end of the world. It’s a very British horror story in the vein of Nigel Kneale’sQuatermass and one that keeps you thinking about it long after you’ve switched it off.

The PlayStation 4 exclusive Until Dawn was a bit of a surprise. Perfectly capturing the teen slasher movie look and feel, the game put the lives of a group of friends trapped in a mountain lodge in the hands of the player. Everyone that I spoke to about the game had a different experience with it. Not the longest game out there, but certainly nigh-on perfectly formed.

2015 saw the release of a game that seemed to have taken forever to arrive. Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain arrived in a storm of controversy that, for a change, had nothing to do with the game’s female lead wearing next to nothing. The launch was overshadowed by the seemingly very public, and rather unprofessional, spat between the game’s publishers, Konami, and the Metal Gear series’ creator, Hideo Kojima.

Regardless of the politics surrounding the game, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a superb effort, with the open-world gameplay taking the series’ tried and tested mechanics to a new level.

As accomplished as it is, I thought that Microsoft’s Forza Motosport 6 failed to live up to the excitement of 2014’s Forza Horizons 2.

Still a beautiful game, possibly the best-looking racing game ever, Forza 6 felt held back by the real-life locations that we’ve seen countless times before. The end result is a very accomplished game, but one that still feels a bit sterile.

Destiny: The Taken King proved to be more than just an expansion for Activision’s acclaimed shooter. Destiny’s second year of adventure kicked off by wiping Game of Thrones actor, Peter Dinklage’s much-maligned voice-over work from the game and replacing it with that of Uncharted’s Nolan North.

The inclusion of a revised leveling system, more akin to traditional role-playing games in Destiny: The Taken King as well as new missions, locations and a sinister new foe makes the game feel fresh again.

In a seemingly desperate move to shake their alleged misogynistic reputation, EA’s FIFA 16 includes, for the very first time, a selection of Women’s international teams. I found it to be a rather welcome move, making the 2016 entry more than just a roster update with a few token gameplay changes.

EA Sports’FIFA 16 is also the best looking entry in the series, the developers really starting to embrace the new-gen console’s graphics abilities.

Rock Band 4 re-introduced a new-generation of gamers to the rhythm music game. As I said in my review, Rock Band 4 was likely borne out of necessity over anything else as the die-hard Rock Band fans replaced their PS3s and Xbox 360s with new-gen consoles.

Rock Band 4 really doesn’t bring anything new to the table, apart from freestyle solos, which allow you to basically go mad with your instrument and still make a sound that seems like real music. Despite the lack of innovation for this fourth outing, Rock Band 4 is still an excellent game. The fact that you can still use your old instruments and previously purchased music make the game an essential purchase for fans.

I wasn’t particularly happy when I found out that Rise of the Tomb Raider was being release, initially anyway, as an Xbox exclusive. I’d been playing the Tomb Raider reboot on PC, with all its exquisite graphics cranked up to the max. I just could help but think that the Xbox One version’s visuals could be anything other than a disappointment.

Of course, I was wrong. The Rise of the Tomb Raider development team had been working closely with the guys at Microsoft to ensure that the latest adventure of Lara Croft looked nothing short of fabulous on the Xbox One. Whilst lacking a bit in the story department, the inclusion of more tombs to raider was welcome, even if the puzzles are still a lot easier that they were back in the day.

Likely in response to Harmonix and their rebooting of the Rock Band franchise, Activision countered with their Guitar Hero Live. Whereas Rock Band was essentially the same as before, it was all change for Guitar Hero.

With an almost retro feel, Guitar Hero Live uses real-life video from the point of view of the guitar player to put you right into the performance. The Guitar Hero TV experience allows players to stream official music videos and play them on the redesigned Guitar Hero guitar.

Fans of post-apocalyptic role-playing games got everything they could wish for with the release of Fallout 4. Not only does the game offer players a vast world to explore and a superb story, but you can also spend literally hours building things.

In previous games I’ve often wondered why the developers littler the world with useless objects. In Fallout 4 I could break items down to material and create all sorts of things from essential water purification systems to rather extravagant outdoor lighting.

In the build-up for the release of the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, the release of EA Games’ Star Wars Battlefront was perfectly timed. The free DLC, The Battle of Jakku, offered players their first peek at a key new location from the film.

With visuals plucked straight from the movies, Star Wars Battlefront, pressed all the right buttons for me and many of us that had been waiting nearly forty years to step into the movies. Many, however, were a bit upset with the lack of content included in the retail package and the price tag that EA put on the game’s season pass.

When it comes to over-the-top action, the Just Cause series turns it up to eleven. With Just Cause 3 Avalanche Studios took what was best about the other games- blowing shit up, and basically made the game all about that. The result is a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but offers players a crazy amount of fun.

You can spend hours in Just Cause 3 just designing mayhem. Be it tying stuff together and watching what happens or putting rocket mines on cows’ butts and having them fly about before exploding in a red mist. Naughty, but nice.

I’m still putting the finishing touches together for my Call of Duty: Black Ops III review. A far cry from last year’s Advance Warfare, Black Ops III has, in my mind, finally pushed the series too far away from its original premise and turned Call of Duty into a sci-fi shooter.

With an enjoyable if incomprehensible single-player campaign and a multiplayer experience that feels borrowed from Titanfall (but without the big robots), Call of Duty: Black Ops III really jumps the shark, giving us a fun, if totally brain-dead entry in to the series.

After last year’s critically panned game, I was surprised to find that the Victorian London-based Assassin’s Creed Syndicate shared most of its gameplay with the very similarly styled Assassin’s Creed Unity. It was interesting to find that whilst one game was derided regarding awkward controls, this new, much-lauded entry seemed to share most of the same mechanics.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate did, however, work right out of the box on both console and PC. Personally I found the brother / sister team of Jacob and Evie Frye not as interesting as previous protagonists (notably Edward Kenway, who they will forever have trouble following) and the setting, Victorian London a bit too familiar and not as exotic as, say, the pirate-ridden Caribbean.

Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six: Siege, for me, suffers in a similar way that many found with Star Wars Battlefront. In leaving out the traditional single-player experience, the game just did sit well with me. Here was a full-priced game to all intents and purposes missing half of its content.

Don’t get me wrong, the multiplayer experience in Rainbow Six: Siege is very well honed, but with only a handful of maps, I’d hardly have called it complete. Add the real need for online co-operation into the mix and you’ve got a game that can really only be played within your circle of friends.

It was the year of the remaster and resurrecting games that were originally released in previous years I’ve deliberately left them out of the list above. I took a look at Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, DMC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition, Borderlands: The Handsome Jack Collection, Journey, God of War III Remastered, Rare Replay and Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection. With the exception of Journey and Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, none of the others really did it for me. Rare Replay was an interesting trip down memory lane, but there was no way I was playing a thirty-five-year-old game for hours. Borderlands: The Handsome Jack Collection was good, but these where game that were still fresh in my mind and, quite frankly, looked just as good on the last-gen consoles.

2015 has been an epic gaming year, with the release of many games that we had been waiting quite some time for. There was very little to be disappointed with, either, with most games living up to the hype, the notable exceptions being Star Wars Battlefront (which could never have lived up to that sort of hype) and the disappointing PC port of Batman: Arkham Knight.

I’m going to close this feature with a list of my top games for 2015:

Best Story –Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture

Best Graphics – Star Wars Battlefront

Best Shooter/Combat Game – Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Best RPG – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Best Sports Game – FIFA 16

Best Music Game – Guitar Hero Live

Best Racing Game – Project CARS

Best Action Game – Just Cause 3

Best Sci-Fi Game – Fallout 4

Best DLC – Dragon Age Inquisition: The Jaws of Hakkon

Best Remaster – Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection

Game of the Year – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Here’s to a great 2016!

The post 2015 – A Gaming Year in Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

When I was a child and obsessed with Pokemon (I even started a Pokemon club at school), I renamed everything in accordance with the Pokemon universe from pokeclub to pokepopcorn. After a while though I realised this was a mistake; popcorn couldn’t be pokepopcorn unless there was something uniquely pokemon about it.

Batman: Arkham Knight, the third and final chapter in the Arkham series is just like my attempt to rebrand everything under the rubric of the game. The phenomenally animated Batman and his Gotham City attempt to make everything a Batman-themed adventure. Batmobile, batarang, batwing, batsuit… it goes on, not only in the stuff that makes up the game but in the way that the game uses them to create a unique and powerful experience.

That’s because in a large sense Arkham Knight is the combination and agglomeration of different games that by themselves are epic in scope and potential.

What you get in this one package is Assassin’s Creed: Batman, Need for Speed: Batman, Uncharted: Batman and a few others thrown in for good measure. The genius of Rocksteady Games then is not in the individual components (with the potential exception of the Batmobile, which I’ll come to in a second) but how well they’ve been put together into a continuous and interconnected game world.

The meat of Arkham Knight isn’t so different from the rest of the series.

Batman, in a direct sequel to Batman: Arkham City, is again faced with a terrifying evil against which only he can stand up to, by beating people up, sleuthing against one of the many super villains in the Batman universe and generally growling at people he loves and people who will soon get a Batmobile-assisted beatdown.

In addition to the story there are the usual side quests, AR challenges from Alfred and Riddler challenges, far too many of which centre on the Batmobile. There’s a good amount of content to get through, and if you want to get the real ending of the game you will, annoyingly, need to do so.

That said, racing through the umpteenth Riddler challenge doesn’t feel so much of a burden when Gotham has never felt so real, with top-notch graphics in the PS4 version of the game. Unconstrained by last-generation hardware the graphics have taken a large turn upwards for the better as rain glistens convincingly off Batman’s suit and every 3D model is stunningly rendered. The game even includes a gallery section to show these off.

It really feels like the first true “next-gen” games for graphical fidelity and accurateness.

Further, the 3D beat-em-up combat is still a joy, and is easily the best out there. It feels very similar to last year’s Shadow of Mordor, which itself leant heavily on previous Batman games. Just like that game, there are a huge number of unique and weighty fight moves you’ll need to remember to make sure the Bat survives each encounter.

New to Arkham Knight is the ability in some fights to team up and switch between Batman and his allies, including Catwoman, Nightwing and Robin. Most of the allies feel very similar to Batman, but it makes for a nice variation in style if not in tone.

Combined with its stealth mechanics, fantastic open world traversal (including now being able to call on the Batmobile at any time by simply pressing L1) and compelling story Batman Arkham Knight feels like a mature, considered end to the series.

I was constantly amazed at the number of tiny, incidental details that the game threw up, from grunts reactions to seeing Batman to almost unnoticeable elements on textures and 3D models.

One major caveat to this game, which is otherwise more polished than an army recruit’s boots, is that the world of Gotham totally lacks internal consistency. An important person is kidnapped and needs immediate rescuing? Never mind, there’s time to infinitely play the Riddler’s challenges, let alone that the game is meant to take place over a single night that lasts well over 12 hours of real-world time.

Other Missions call for you to use a specific tool where others would suffice – in particular too often the Batmobile is called for; seemingly to exist to justify the time, expense and introduction of the Batmobile into the game.

Also, the idea that Batman doesn’t kill strains the very edge of belief after seeing dozens of men run into at speed by what is effectively a high-speed armoured vehicle.

These examples of ludo narrative dissonance (the difference between the narrative and the gameplay) may not worry most players but sometimes jar what otherwise might have been one of the best games ever and so it is disappointing these addressable concerns weren’t more fully considered.

That so many games have been put together so well is one of the greatest feats of Arkham Knight, but it necessarily entails a certain level of complexity.

It is a sign of slightly unfocused design that the game feels the need to remind you of what button to press almost every time one of your combos is needed. There are at least four distinct control schemes, from fighting to travel to mobile Batmobile and the Batmobile tank mode.

I found myself sticking to a core group of abilities and techniques that worked for me almost all the time.

While this game was reviewed on PS4 where the frame rate was a locked 30FPS, I would be remiss to point out that the PC version has been removed from sale due to the number of issues that the port faced.

The developers have publically stated that they are committed to fixing the bugs and the first in a line of updates is already out, but for now only time will tell whether that commitment is codified into real action, or whether like Assassin’s Creed Unity the game is never really brought into a playable state. So if you are planning to buy this game right now, your only option is the console version.

Also, prepare for your eyes to water at the $60 Australian price tag for the game’s season pass, which is fast approaching the cost of the full game itself.

Batman: Arkham Knight is an achievement on so many fronts. One of the must plays of this year it is already a strong contender for game of the year 2015.

Other games will have a struggle to match its looks, its storytelling and sheer determinism to be great. Truly an achievement, the game is a bittersweet end to the series, not only because the story is (definitely) closed, but there is no more of this game left to play and unlike my pokepopcorn of early primary school, Arkham Knight has earnt the right to call everything by its, indelible, bat-shaped mark on all it touches.

The post Batman: Arkham Knight Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

“This is how it happened, this is how the Batman died.”

Batman: Arkham Knight raises the stakes for The Dark Knight like never before as he faces the ultimate threat against Gotham City. The intense, atmospheric foundation of Batman: Arkham Asylum, which escalated in the devastating conspiracy against the inmates in Batman: Arkham City, culminates in the ultimate showdown in Gotham City in which players can explore a completely open and free-roaming game world.

For the first time in the series, players will able to experience the ultimate and complete Batman experience with the newly introduced Batmobile that  has been uniquely designed to be fully drivable throughout the open game world and capable of transformation from high speed Pursuit Mode to military grade Battle Mode.

“The Batman: Arkham series is one of Warner Bros.’ most popular and critically acclaimed video game franchises, and with Batman: Arkham Knight, we are giving players the game they have always asked for,” said David Haddad, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.   “Batman: Arkham Knight is the culmination of Rocksteady Studios’ dedication to deliver both an amazing narrative tale and thrilling gameplay experience from beginning to end.”

“Rocksteady has been truly honored to bring to life the rich universe envisioned by DC Comics in the Batman: Arkham trilogy of games,” said Sefton Hill, Game Director at Rocksteady Studios.  “With Batman: Arkham Knight being the conclusion to the series, we wanted to give players a story filled with unforgettable moments, ambitious new features such as the Batmobile and an epic open-world Gotham City that allow them to live the complete Batman experience.”

The fate of Gotham City hangs in the balance as Scarecrow is joined by the Arkham Knight, a completely new and original character in the Batman universe, as well as a roster of Super-Villains including Harley Quinn, The Penguin, Two-Face, Firefly and the Riddler.

Joining The World’s Greatest Detective are his closest allies, Commissioner Gordon, Oracle, Alfred, Lucius Fox, Catwoman, Robin and Nightwing. Throughout the game, players will be introduced to enhancements to the signature features of the Batman: Arkham series, such as stealth, forensics, navigation, and FreeFlow Combat. In addition, the new Dual Play feature is available in specific areas of the game and allows players to seamlessly switch between The Dark Knight and his fellow heroes including Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman.

Also available is the Batman: Arkham Knight Season Pass, which will deliver regular new content for six months post-launch:  A new prequel story expansion, Batgirl: A Matter of Family; new story objectives featuring legendary Super-Villains invading Gotham City; missions that allow players to take on the role of Batman’s key allies; iconic Batmobiles from Batman’s 75-year history that can be driven on custom-built race tracks;  legendary Batmobile skins; advanced challenge maps; and alternative character skins.

The Batman: Arkham Knight Premium Edition includes the main game and the Season Pass.

Those playing on PlayStation 4 will also have access to exclusive content, including the Scarecrow Nightmare Missions Pack, Classic TV Series Batman and Batmobile Skins and the Justice League 3000 Batman Skin.  Batman: Arkham Knight is now available as both a digital download and in retail stores.

The post The Trilogy Concludes with the Released Batman: Arkham Knight appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today revealed the launch trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight.  With the highly anticipated game launching Wednesday, June 24th, 2015, the trailer highlights what it takes to Be The Batman and features the recently released track “Mercy” from Muse’s seventh studio album, Drones, which debuted at Number One on the ARIA Album Chart last week. 

Batman: Arkham Knight brings the award-winning Batman: Arkham trilogy from Rocksteady Studios to its epic conclusion.

Developed exclusively for the new generation of consoles and PCs, Batman: Arkham Knight introduces Rocksteady’s uniquely designed version of the Batmobile. The highly anticipated addition of this legendary vehicle, combined with the acclaimed gameplay of the Batman: Arkham series, offers gamers the ultimate and complete Batman experience as they tear through the streets and soar across the skyline of the entirety of Gotham City.

In this explosive finale, Batman faces the ultimate threat against the city that he is sworn to protect, as Scarecrow returns to unite the super criminals of Gotham City and destroy the Batman forever.

Batman: Arkham Knight is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license and will be available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC.

The post Batman: Arkham Knight – New Trailer Featuring “Mercy” from Muse appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment has recently released a new gameplay video for Batman: Arkham Knight.

The Official Batman: Arkham Knight Gameplay Video – “Time To Go To War” is a continuation of the Official Batman: Arkham Knight Gameplay Video – “Officer Down.” See more of the Dark Knight in action in this extended gameplay walkthrough, as he pays a visit to Scarecrow’s safe house and battles the forces of the Arkham Knight’s militia.

Batman: Arkham Knight brings the award-winning Batman: Arkham trilogy from Rocksteady Studios to its epic conclusion.

Developed exclusively for the new generation of consoles and PCs, Batman: Arkham Knight introduces Rocksteady’s uniquely designed version of the Batmobile. The highly anticipated addition of this legendary vehicle, combined with the acclaimed gameplay of the Batman: Arkham series, offers gamers the ultimate and complete Batman experience as they tear through the streets and soar across the skyline of the entirety of Gotham City.

In this explosive finale, Batman faces the ultimate threat against the city that he is sworn to protect, as Scarecrow returns to unite the super criminals of Gotham City and destroy the Batman forever.

Batman: Arkham Knight is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license and will be available in Australia and New Zealand on June 24th, 2015 exclusively for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC.

The post Batman Arkham Knight – ‘Let’s Go to War’ Trailer appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment have just released a live action video from the upcoming Batman: Arkham Knight game. 

Directed by Tim Cronenweth and Jeff Cronenweth (director of photography for Gone Girl, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Fight Club), with Trent Reznor serving as music consultant, the Official Batman: Arkham Knight Trailer – “Be The Batman” features “The Wretched” by Nine Inch Nails and showcases everyday people being determined, courageous and fearless as they rise to become the Batman. 

Batman: Arkham Knight brings the award-winning Batman: Arkham trilogy from Rocksteady Studios to its epic conclusion.

Developed exclusively for the new generation of consoles and PCs, Batman: Arkham Knight introduces Rocksteady’s uniquely designed version of the Batmobile. The highly anticipated addition of this legendary vehicle, combined with the acclaimed gameplay of the Batman: Arkham series, offers gamers the ultimate and complete Batman experience as they tear through the streets and soar across the skyline of the entirety of Gotham City.

In this explosive finale, Batman faces the ultimate threat against the city that he is sworn to protect, as Scarecrow returns to unite the super criminals of Gotham and destroy the Batman forever.

Batman: Arkham Knight is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license and will be available on June 24th, 2015 exclusively for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC.

The post ‘Be the Batman’ Trailer Reveal for Batman: Arkham Knight appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment confirmed the voice talent behind some of the most notable characters in Batman: Arkham Knight, the epic finale to the award winning Batman: Arkham trilogy from Rocksteady Studios.

Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) joins the cast as James Gordon, Ashley Greene (The Twilight Saga) as Barbara Gordon, John Noble (Sleepy Hollow, Fringe) as Scarecrow and Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights, Hart of Dixie) as Nightwing.

Banks, Greene, Noble and Porter join an ensemble cast that includes fan-favorites Kevin Conroy, who returns as Batman; Tara Strong as Harley Quinn; Troy Baker as Two-Face and Nolan North as Penguin.

Batman: Arkham Knight is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license and will be available on June 24th, 2015 exclusively for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC.

Batman: Arkham Knight brings the award-winning Batman: Arkham trilogy from Rocksteady Studios to its epic conclusion.

Developed exclusively for the new generation of consoles and PCs, Batman: Arkham Knight introduces Rocksteady’s uniquely designed version of the Batmobile. The highly anticipated addition of this legendary vehicle, combined with the acclaimed gameplay of the Batman: Arkham series, offers gamers the ultimate and complete Batman experience as they tear through the streets and soar across the skyline of the entirety of Gotham City.

In this explosive finale, Batman faces the ultimate threat against the city that he is sworn to protect, as Scarecrow returns to unite the super criminals of Gotham City and destroy the Batman forever.

The post Voice Cast for Batman: Arkham Knight Revealed appeared first on Shane the Gamer.