PC virtual-reality fans can now experience a much more refined version of the previously PlayStation VR-only Batman Arkham VR.

Now available for both HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, Batman Arkham VR, developed by Rocksteady, the same outfit that brought us all the Arkham games- bar the lack-lusterBatman: ArkhamOrigins, invites us to become the Batman.

After a rather harrowing sequence, where the game casts you as a young Bruce Wayne witnessing the unfortunate event that inspired him to dress up as a bat, you get to don the cape and cowl.

For years, I’ve been playing the wonderful Batman Arkham games, walking in the shoes of Batman as he takes on the unsavory denizens of his beloved Gotham City. But it is only playing as the Dark Knight in Batman Arkham VR that I felt like the Batman.

After the introduction, a characteristically unamused Alfred suggest that you sleep in a bed rather than on the piano that find yourself awaking on. Your hapless butler suggest that you meet him “downstairs”. Oh yes, to the BATCAVE!

Fitting the Batsuit is pretty awesome. And the developers know it is. They provide you with a mirror for you to pose in, the reflection perfectly matching the movement of your head and the Vive controllers in your hands. I could have spent an hour posing menacingly in that virtual mirror.

From there it’s on to the amazing Batcave, complete with a waterfall. You can also see Batman’s huge dinosaur and coin trophies, a tip of the hat to his 1940s adventures in the comics. There’s also a working Batcomputer and Batman’s forensic lab.

A trip in either the Batmobile or the Batwing (which is, sadly, only a method of fast travel – you don’t actual fly or drive anywhere), finds you at a crime scene. Like in the main Arkham games, this VR outing acknowledges part of the Batman mythos often overlooked by Hollywood – that Batman is the world’s greatest detective. Setting up a crime scene works so well in VR as we witness the crime projected over a deserted alleyway.

The clues take us on a trip around Gotham meeting many of its colourful occupants.

The visuals really show what happens when a AAA studio get hold of VR kit. The graphics are incredible totally immersing you into the world of the Batman. Looking at the fine detail of thePenguin’s face as I looked at it up close was like a trip to a virtual Madam Tussaud’s wax museum. It was like he was really there, swinging upside-down in front of me.

Batman Arkham VR makes use of some advanced VR rendering methods:  Fixed Foveated or Nvidia MultRes Shading. Both methods result in the same outcome, with the game rendering the centre of image at a higher resolution as the outside, matching the natural differences in which we see images in front of use compared to those in a peripheral vision. In graphical processing terms, this optimizes the display, resulting in a better framerate, and thus a better VR experience.

Batman Arkham VR basically amounts to an hour-long interactive prequel episode ofBatman: Arkham Knight. But it is one of the most entertaining hours of VR that you can experience right now.

The post Batman Arkham VR (HTC Vive) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment yesterday announced Batman: Return to Arkham.  The new title bundles Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, two of the most critically acclaimed videogames on the last generation of gaming consoles.  Both are being remastered for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One using Unreal Engine 4, a first for the award winning Batman: Arkham series. 

Remastered by Virtuos, this set offers fans a chance to play the first two Batman: Arkham titles including all Game of the Year edition bonus and downloadable content from both games, now with improved graphics, as well as upgraded models, environments, lighting, effects and shaders.  Batman: Return to Arkham will be available 27th of July 2016.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is where it all began. Originally developed by Rocksteady Studios and released in 2009, the game pushed the envelope for action, adventure and super hero games and exposed players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure taking them to the depths of Arkham Asylum.  Featuring an original story, gamers can move in the shadows, instill fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City’s most notorious villains, including Harley Quinn, Bane, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy and Scarecrow, who have taken over the asylum.

Batman: Arkham City is Rocksteady Studios’ 2011 follow-up to Batman: Arkham Asylum.  The game builds upon the intense, atmospheric foundation of Batman: Arkham Asylum, sending players soaring through the expansive Arkham City – the maximum security “home” for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds.  Featuring an incredible Rogues Gallery of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals including Catwoman, The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze and many others, the game allows players to experience what it feels like to be The Dark Knight and deliver justice to those confined within Arkham City. 

The post Batman: Return to Arkham Releasing for PS4 and Xbox One! 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.