Play Station Official Magazine - UK (2019-12)

027

Laura Francis Ian Dean

F

reshfroma Saturday

morningviewingof

thenewJokermovie,

it justfeelslikea great

timefora newBatman

game.It’sfairtosaythat

Batsingames,justlikethe

movies,hasbeensomething

ofa mixedbag.Butthetitles

intheArkhamseriesare

gold-standardentriesthat

makeBatmanVengeance

feellikea Scarecrow-

inducednightmare.

Witha cryptictweetfrom

WBMontrealonBatmanDay,

it seemsthattheremaybea

brandnewBat-gameonthe

horizonfromthesameteam

thatbroughtusArkham

Origins.It’srumouredtobe

basedupontheBat-family

generally,withmanyplayable

heroes.A co-optitle,perhaps?

Ohyes,theDarkKnightis

risingagain.

ButI hopeWarner

Montrealdoesn’ttryto

reinventtheBat-wheel.

Mybiggesthopeis thatthis

newentrywillincorporate

whatmadethecomicsso

original.I hopefora more

mature,nuancedexploration

ofthedualidentitiesof

BatmanandBruceWayne,and

themanyrelationshipsaround

him–somethingtheTelltale

gamesdidreallywell.Finding

thatperfectbalancebetweena

deepdiveintothepsycheof

BruceWayneandhigh-

octane,action-packedevents

astheBat,I believe,is a must.

Butit’sa toughtightropeto

walk.OftenevenArkham

Knightstruggledwith

balancingstoryandaction.

RETURNOFTHEBAT

WarnerMontreal,however,

succeededbeforeinthis

respect.ItsArkhamOriginsis

arguablyoneofthebest,and

mostChristmassy,Bat-scripts

intheseries.It mayhave

lackedKevinConroybutit

madeupforit withstellar

set-pieces,inventiveboss

fights,anda storyconfident

enoughtoslowtheactionand

letthecharactersbreathe.

I alsohopethisgame

doesn’ttrytooverridethe

Arkhamlegacywitha

smatteringofnewideasthat

dragusawayfromthecore

mixofcombat,puzzling,

andmetroidvania.

A reimaginingofBatman’s

rogues’gallerytoowouldn’tgo

amiss,andif wearetowalkin

theBat-bootsofRobin,

Batgirl,TheHuntress,and

morewe’llneeda healthy

lineupofvillains.Butperhaps

therealreasontogetexcited

is thatwe’reallBat-fans.

W

hatisit withEA

anditsrefusalto

remakeitsclassic

games?While

mostpublishers,including

SonyandCapcom,have

rubbedtheirsleepyeyesand

awokentothedesiretoplay

oldgamesincurrent-gen

clothing,EAremains

resolutethatitsback

catalogueshouldremain

untouched.Andit’skilling

me.NotleastbecauseI have

tolistentoOscarmoan

everysingledayaboutthe

lackofMassEffectonPS4.

It feelscriminalthatwe

can’texperienceclassicgames

fromacrosssucha venerable

publisher’sportfolio,titles

suchasFreedomFighters,

DesertStrike,oranyofthe

SSXgames–anSSXtrilogy

collectiongivena PS4coatof

paintrunningat60fpswould

beunstoppable.

Ofcourse,there’sprobably

somecomplexbusiness

reasonfornevergoingback.

It’smorethanpossiblethat

there’sa licensingminefield

behindmanyofthis

publisher’sbestgames–the

JamesBondtitlesinparticular.

Butthere’sanideological

reasontoo:EAasa company

doesn’twanttolookback.

Thepublisher’sformerCOO

PeterMooreoncestated:

“Remakes,becauseofwhowe

are,andthisbroadportfolio

ofintellectualproperty...you

addallthattogether,I don’t

knowwherewefindthetime

todoremakes[...]We’rea

companythatjustlikesto

pushforward.”

EAREPLAY

TogiveEAcredit,itsrefusal

toconsiderremakes–though

itwillreleasesomeremasters

in 2020 – meansit can’tbe

accusedofcashinginonour

nostalgia.WhyremakeDead

Spacewhenit couldcreatea

brand-newgameorIP?

Intakinga stanceEAis

essentiallysayingit values

newexperiencesover

rehashingexistinggamesfrom

itsbackcatalogue.Inmany

waysthecompanyneedsto

becommendedforwantingto

explorenewideasandbeing

preparedtopaythepricefor

it –howevermuchwe

dislikedAnthem,atleastit

wasanattemptatcreating

somethingnewforthis

generationofconsoles.

Still,a remadeMassEffect

trilogyis a no-brainer,if only

tokeepOscarquietinhis

cornerofOPMTowers.We’re

a ficklelot,wegamers.Maybe

EAcan’twineitherway?

I CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR

MORE ABOUT THE NEW

BATMAN GAME – I’VE GOT

HIGH HOPES FOR IT.

I’D LOVE EA TO REMAKE

MASS EFFECT, BUT IS THE

PUBLISHER MORE PRINCIPLED

THAN THAT?

WRITER BIO

A passionate Bat-fan, Laura Francis is still looking for that perfect mansion,

complete with underground Batcave, to move into. Right now she’d settle for

somewhere with a Batcupboard under the stairs.

WRITER BIO

Your nostalgic desire for a remade youth means we’ve had not one but two

new Bubsy games. However much Ian Dean loves his new MediEvil, there needs

to be balance in the universe, so we’re due a remade Rise Of The Robots.

The Dark Knight will be rising again on

PlayStation, hopefully building on past strengths

Are remakes needed or should developers

spend more time on new ideas?

OPINION