Warner Bros. Montreal confirmed the rumours today; Batman: Arkham Origins will be receiving a multiplayer mode… On most of its platforms anyway.
The multiplayer is being dubbed ‘Invisible Predator Online’ Mode, and will pit three squads of players against one another in 3 vs. 3 vs. 2 combat. One squad of three takes control of thugs under the command of familiar Venom-fueled strongman, Bane. The other three play as goons for the Clown Prince of Crime himself, The Joker. These two squads of three battle against each other in a turf war across the various multiplayer maps.
Who are the other two players then? Batman and Robin, naturally! The players taking control of the Dynamic Duo must patiently and stealthily try to take out the criminals as they struggle against one another, using their gadgets and predator abilities to avoid a quick death by gunfire. Both characters will retain their familiar skillsets from the series’ usual single-player gameplay.
It sounds like Warner Bros. Montreal has gone to great lengths to effectively balance each side of the conflict. Batman and Robin can be easily dispatched by the guns that the other players will carry, but the criminals won’t have the advantage of gadgets and predator skills on their side. The criminals will have enhanced vision, but unlike Batman and Robin, it will need to be recharged, and can’t be used indefinitely. Also, the heroes will rack up an Intimidation Bonus with every successful takedown they make, and if they get enough Intimidation, they win the match in lieu of the crooks.
This is no doubt a decision made in the wake of Warner Bros. Montreal opting to develop Batman: Arkham Origins instead of the previous two games’ developer, Rocksteady. Rocksteady famously put their foot down in the face of frequent rumours of Batman: Arkham City having a multiplayer mode leading up to the game’s release back in 2011. They claimed that adding multiplayer would just subtract valuable resources from the single-player experience they wanted to perfect. Nonetheless, Warner Bros. Montreal has stressed that Invisible Predator Online will not compromise the main single-player component of Batman: Arkham Origins, which is still the game’s key selling point.
Of course, this is all inconsequential if you’re planning to buy the game for Wii U. In a rather baffling move, Warner Bros. confirmed that the multiplayer component of Batman: Arkham Origins will not be present in the game’s Wii U edition, and will only be accessible in the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC editions of the game.
Their reasoning was that the Wii U lacks an adequate multiplayer install base at this time. Mind you, It’s possible that the multiplayer could be added to the Wii U edition post-release at some point (especially in the likely inevitable case of Wii U gamer outrage), a la the initially missing DLC component of Injustice: Gods Among Us‘ Wii U build. Still, this is a very disheartening omission for those in the Nintendo camp.
Batman: Arkham Origins releases for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U on October 25th of this year. The PlayStation 3 edition promises exclusive content, including bonus costumes that are not at all available in the other versions of the game. A simultaneously-releasing sidestory, Batman: Arkham Origins – Blackgate is releasing on the same date for 3DS and Vita.
As usual, Eggplante will be stalking all of your Batman: Arkham news, as it creeps forth.