The series of Batman Arkham has established itself over the years as the best video game transposition ever dedicated to the iconic Bat Man DC Comics. From the progenitor Arkham Asylum until Arkham Knighteach episode has achieved great acclaim from critics and audiences, becoming symbols of the licensed games.
To this day, fans still fondly remember the games made by Rocksteady Studios And WB Games Montreal (the latter developer of Batman Arkham Origins), who have been able to conquer the public with their engaging stories, freely explorable evocative scenarios and a combat system that is as immediate as it is satisfying. But the brand has become so loved also thanks to various anecdotes, background stories and particularities that have further consolidated its myth. Below, here five curiosities about the Batman Arkham series that you may not know.
It is possible to escape from Arkham City
Batman Arkham City is generally recognized as the best episode of the series, capable of taking the concept of the previous Arkham Asylum and elevating it further in an even wider context, with Batman enclosed within the walls of the city of Arkham arose in the heart of Gotham City. But although the whole adventure was set within this huge neighborhood, in truth through a glitch it was possible escape Arkham City and thus reach new areas of Gotham. Rocksteady had in fact programmed a very low resolution model of the city, the same one seen in the background of the main game, and although empty it can be reached and explored by players thanks to this bug.
The cloak was animated by only one person
One of the coolest visuals of the series is the Batman cape, equipped with extremely realistic movements and animations that have always made it a spectacle not only for the eye, but also to be used in combat. Well, the extraordinary work done on the cloak is thanks to a single developer. At the time of Arkham Asylum, in fact, Rocksteady had a team of about forty people, which is why he entrusted the creation of the cape to a single person, capable of giving life to over 600 animations that allowed the symbolic garment to reach a out of bounds realism.
Happy Birthday from the Calendar Man
In Arkham City there are curious Easter egos connected to theCalendar man, one of Batman’s lesser-known antagonists and usually commits crimes during the most important holidays of each year (such as Christmas or Thanksgiving). By interacting with him on these and other dates related to holidays, it is possible to unlock secret dialogues in which the Calendar Man will tell about the crimes committed on these occasions. But that’s not all: by setting the console’s internal date to December 13, 2004a further secret dialogue is unlocked which alludes to the birth of Rocksteady Studiosfounded on that very day.
The weight of the Batmobile
There Batmobile is one of the key features of Arkham Knight and plays a key role in terms of gameplay. However, in the technical field it brings out some particular curiosities aimed at underlining the technological progress made by Rocksteady between one game and another. Batmobile assets require approximately 160mb to process, where a Xbox 360 needs 256mb to process a whole game. If the Batmobile was used on the old console Microsoftwould in fact melted the platformnot being able to handle the weight of the vehicle and all the assets connected to the characters and the game world.
Batman’s identity
We are well aware that the rich philanthropist industrialist takes on the role of Batman Bruce Wayne, a fact kept completely hidden from the world. In Batman Arkham Knight, the last episode of the series, the secret identity of the hero is revealed by the Scarecrowat a key moment in history. It’s about the first time ever that in a Batman video game his true identity is revealed to the public, thus contributing to giving even more narrative depth to the Rocksteady series, which has gone further than any other videogame production in the past.
And after the trivia, it’s time to find out why Batman Arkham is still the best superhero video game. Not only the Arkhams though: find out with us how many Batman video games exist.
