Quebec grants $63 million to ‘Batman: Arkham Origins’ dev

By Ryan Fleming Published October 7, 2013

the director of batman arkham origins discusses birth a superhero collector s edition 13738170108141 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The government of Quebec announced this week that it has awarded WB Games Montreal $63 million in grant money and incentives, according to a report from GI.biz. In return, WB Games will increase its studio size by 100 employees over the next five years.

The first sum of $1.5 million will be used in the initial hiring push, as well as updating equipment as part of its expansion. WB Games Montreal is a new studio founded in 2010 that is best known for the unreleased Batman: Arkham Origins. This deal, along with the continued support of parent company Warner Bros. and Time Warner, confirms that it is poised to become a major development studio for years to come. Within the next five years, the studio is expected to employ over 500 people, and in the words of WB Interactive President Martin Tremblay, be “one of the best-known studios in the world.”

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The government of Quebec is among the most video-game-friendly in the world, and has continued to actively strive to make the province and the city of Montreal into one of the premier gaming hubs in the world. A similar grant of $400 million was recently announced for Ubisoft, whose Montreal studio is currently putting the finishing touches on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and more grants and incentives could be coming.

The province also offers tax credits to video game employers, a move it first began in 1997, which has helped Ubisoft expand its studio in the area. Quebec currently accounts for half of Canada’s registered video game developers with over 16,500 as of 2011. In Montreal alone, nearly 7,500 people work in the gaming industry, and more than a third of those are employed by Ubisoft alone.

In the U.S., more and more state and local governments are looking to the gaming industry to help create new jobs in the region, but the results have been mixed. Rhode Island, for instance, is still dealing with the fallout of its loan to Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios, which is now being investigated by the SEC.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

Gaming

Gotham Knights’ ending explained: Batman’s death, the Court of Owls, and more

The four heroes of Gotham Knights walking in a purple street below text of the game's title.

WB Games Montreal’s Gotham Knights, which finally launched on October 21, follows the adventures of Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, and Robin after Batman is killed. This bold move sets off an unpredictable plot that ultimately centers around two secret societies that want Gotham for themselves.
While the game’s middling reception and a plethora of performance issues might turn you off from picking the game up, Batman fans might still want to learn about its entertaining story. As such, here's a recap of what goes down in Gotham Knights and how it all comes to a head in its exciting ending.
Gotham Knights - Official Cinematic Launch Trailer
How does Batman die in Gotham Knights?
Gotham Knights kicks off by showing you exactly how Batman died. Ra’s Al Ghul ambushes Bruce Wayne in the Batcave, resulting in an entertaining brawl throughout Batman’s iconic base of operations. Batman sends out a call to his sidekicks, but none of them are close enough to help him in time. When it becomes clear that the only way to defeat Ra’s Al Ghul is by blowing up the Batcave, Batman does so and also kills himself in the process.
Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, and Robin arrive on the scene soon thereafter and find Bruce’s dead body. We then see his funeral, where Kane Industries CEO and Bruce Wayne’s uncle Jacob Kane gives a speech about how Bruce Wayne served Gotham City well. The former sidekicks quickly realize they now must defend Gotham City and decide to investigate Batman’s final case. Their efforts bring them to the murder scene of Dr. Kirk Langstrom, where they learn they need to infiltrate the GCPD to get a biometric key off his body.
There, they run into Talia Al Ghul, who’s burning the body of Ra and claims that she is not in charge of the League of Shadows anymore. From there, the case continues as the crew sets up a base of operations at the Belfry in Gotham City and confronts the likes of Harley Quinn and the Penguin, who is now reformed but knows about Gotham’s secret society.
The secrets of the Court of Owls in Gotham Knights
Penguin directs the Bat Family to The Powers Club, an old-money Gentleman’s Club in Gotham City. There, they find an entrance to an underground cave network and the Court of Owls, a secret society thought to just be an urban legend, even by Batman. They are led by The Voice of the Court, who eventually catches the heroes and throws them into a death pit. The heroes escape and obtain a key in the process.

Using that key, they find information about how the Court of Owls murdered the brother of Judge Elena Moreno as she tried to stop construction at Gotham City’s Chelsea Tunnel. Sneaking into that build site, the Bat Family comes across feral zombified creatures called Talons, who the Court of Owls revived with an element called Dionesium. After escaping the tunnel, Talia reveals that Dinoseum has the same properties as the Lazurus pit, causing the League of Shadows to declare war on Gotham.
She asks the heroes to take down the Voice of the Court to stop the conflict, and they comply. After more investigating, they learn that Bruce’s uncle Jacob Kane is the Voice of the Court and knows Bruce was Batman. He escapes in the chaos of the League of Shadows, murdering many Court of Owls members at a masquerade. Penguin then calls, asking for the heroes’ help, but it turns out to be a trick, and whoever you’re playing as is sedated and brought to the Court of Owls’ Labyrinth.
The Labyrinth is a massive mechanical stage that, combined with toxic gas, makes the captured hero hallucinate and question whether Batman actually cared for them. Eventually, the captive hero breaks out of the illusion, but the Court of Owls starts to attack Gotham City more publicly. The Bat Family decides it’s time to take down Jacob Kane and work with Renee Montoya and Judge Moreno to get a warrant for his arrest.

Gaming

Gotham Knights Knighthood guide: how to unlock the glider and other traversal abilities

Batgirl gliding in Gotham Knights.

There are numerous ways to get around the city in Gotham Knights, but the most efficient method is locked behind a separate progression system called Knighthood. Early on, players can utilize the Batcycle, grappling hook, fast travel, or even travel on foot to get around. While these methods work just fine, you'll want to gain access to the enhanced traversal system by reaching Knighthood. These different means of getting around look different across the four playable characters. For instance, Batgirl can glide, while Robin utilizes a teleporting device created by Justice League technology.

But how exactly does Knighthood work and what do you need to do to unlock the new traversal abilities? Here's what you need to know.

Gaming

Gotham Knights lives up to Batman’s legacy much better than I expected

Nightwing prepares to fight enemies in Gotham Knights.

Like the Bat Family itself, Gotham Knights has the tall task of stepping into its predecessor's shoes. The Batman: Arkham games are considered some of the best superhero video games ever made and have gone on to influence countless other titles with their stories, world design, and combat. No matter who developed Gotham Knights, following those games up in a brand-new game in a different universe with changed combat mechanics and without Batman was going to be a tall order. As WB Games Montreal also hasn’t put out a game in nine years, this game is also the studio’s big chance to prove itself during a time when WB Discovery is going through heavy restructuring.
The cards are stacked against Gotham Knights, and early bits of gameplay highlighting significant changes to gameplay and incorporation of RPG mechanics seemed a bit questionable in the wake of the lackluster Marvel’s Avengers. Thankfully, after going hands-on with Gotham Knights for about two hours, the experience is shaping up to be an enjoyable superhero romp, even if it doesn't end up being quite as groundbreaking as the likes of Batman: Arkham Asylum was 13 years ago.
The Bat Family's feuds
My Gotham Knights demo took me across four different parts of the game and allowed me to go hands-on with all four playable characters. To start, I took control of Nightwing as he investigated the death of Kirk Langstrom and is surprised by the sloppy work of the cops and the appearance of The Freaks, one of the gangs that roam Gotham in the wake of Batman’s death. This part of the game allowed me to get used to the investigation mechanics -- which have players scanning clues in the environment -- as well as combat. Nightwing felt like the most standard of the four characters, although this may be because I controlled him during an early, tutorial-heavy section of the game.

Instead of the Batman: Arkham series’ highly influential single attack and counter system, Gotham Knights opts for more complicated combat that involves light and heavy attacks of the melee and ranged variety. Instead of dodging, players can counter. This might take some getting used to for longtime superhero games fans, but it works well enough as the fundamental backbone of combat. Players can also use special "momentum abilities" to deal extra damage, reminiscent of the Flow system in the latest Saints Row. After that, I jumped forward in the story and into Robin's shoes.
That mantle still belongs to Tim Drake in this game, which I appreciate as an early 2000s comics reader. I snuck into Blackgate Penitentiary to get intel from Harley Quinn, who winds up sending Robin on a wild goose chase of fighting enemies and gathering intel to get a book of leads Harley gathered for Batman. Tim’s a more stealth-focused character, although I didn’t find sneaking to ever be too effective during my time with Gotham Knights as enemies are clustered together and aerial takedown opportunities weren’t as common. Hopefully, other sections of the game are better tailored to that playstyle.
Harley ultimately escaped, so next it was time for me to explore the open world and complete challenges connected to taking down Harley Quinn. I chose Red Hood for this task, who stands out as the most distinct (and my current favorite) character in the game. He uses mystical powers granted to him by the Lazurus Pit to jump around the skies of Gotham and is very effective at mowing down enemies with heavy hitter (but nonlethal) guns. Hopping around Gotham as Red Hood feels very distinct to this game. Gotham Knights' open-world exploration and crime-busting also feel more natural and enjoyable as a single-player experience than the War Zones in Marvel’s Avengers.
Gotham Knights - Official Red Hood Character Trailer
The Harley Quinn-related challenges are heightened versions of these dynamic open-world events, like one where I had to save three hostages strapped to bombs at a concert held by The Freaks. These types of missions will probably be the meat-and-bones of the Gotham Knights experience, and while they are not necessarily anything new to the genre, I didn’t have any major problems with them. After spending some time in the open world, it was time to jump forward later in the game so I could take down Harley Quinn.
Batgirl v. Harley: Dawn of Gotham Knights
By this point in the game, Harley Quinn has enslaved many Gotham residents with a mind-control drug. Batgirl and Renee Montoya show up at Gotham’s hospital to take her down. I slowly made my way through room after room of enemies as Batgirl, taking them down with special momentum abilities that oftentimes electrified her opponents. Eventually, I made it to the showdown with Harley Quinn, who swings a heavy hammer that deals lots of damage if you don’t dodge properly.
This boss fight was probably my least favorite part of the demo, as my hits felt like they had little impact, and it was a bit too repetitive. Still, other bosses like Clayface have the potential to be much more exciting, and I hope there are some surprise bosses and scenarios that we don’t even know about yet. Still, I have a good idea of how the final game will be after going hands-on with Gotham Knights for this long, with the exception of two things: the gear system and co-op.

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