Arkham Asylum and Arkham City composer Nick Arundel returned to score Arkham Knight, while his partner on those games, Ron Fish, was replaced by composer David Buckley. On his continued involvement in the series, Arundel said, "One of the good things about doing a sequel, is you get the opportunity to redo [things you wished you changed], to revisit things... We have a set of material that we want to keep consistent, like the Batman theme ... We wanted to keep [that] theme and tailor it more to the story for this game. How can we get the Scarecrow element out of that one theme." Arundel added that Buckley was willing to work within the music he had already created, as opposed to wanting to add his own personal touch to it. Buckley received Arundel's work from Arkham Asylum to help create new variations on the chords and melody from the original theme.[91][92] Volume 1 of the official soundtrack was released from WaterTower Music alongside the game on June 23, 2015,[93] and a limited edition vinyl record featuring fifteen songs from the soundtrack chosen by Arundel.[94] Singer and record producer Trent Reznor served as a music consultant on Arkham Knight's "Be the Batman" trailer.[95] However, the game also features three songs, including: I've Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra,[96] Mercy by Muse,[97] and The Wretched by Nine Inch Nails.[98]
Chromatics - Night Drive (2010) (Deluxe Edition) MP3 88l
Two Collector's Edition editions were also announced: the Limited edition contains the game in a Steelbook case, an 80-page concept art book, an Arkham Knight issue #0 comic book, alternate costumes for Batman, Robin and Nightwing based on DC Comics' The New 52, and a statue of Batman. The Batmobile edition contains the Limited edition items, but replaces the Batman statue with a transformable Batmobile statue.[106][107][108] However, on June 17, consumers who purchased the "Batmobile Collector's Edition" were notified that the edition had been canceled due to a quality issue with the Batmobile statue from designer Project Triforce. Consumers were able to receive a refund or have their purchase transferred to another collector's edition.[108] Two days later, it was revealed that the Limited edition was delayed for release in Europe until mid-July 2015 due to a packaging quality issue.[109] In addition, a Serious Edition Comic Bundle was released, exclusively on Amazon.com. The edition featured the game, the "First Appearance" skin (based on Batman's first appearance in Detective Comics #27), and a limited edition 25th anniversary version of Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, the graphic novel for which the Batman: Arkham series is loosely based.[110][111] A limited edition PlayStation 4 was also released, featuring a "Steel Gray" console and controller with a custom Batman faceplate.[112]
Harley Quinn is a playable character via downloadable content (DLC) in a story-driven mission,[24][115] that follows the character as she infiltrates the city of Blüdhaven to assault the police station and rescue her partner-in-crime Poison Ivy.[116] Jason Todd as Red Hood is also a playable character via DLC in a story-driven mission,[117] in which Red Hood goes up against Black Mask.[58] The "WayneTech Booster Pack" provides the player with four upgrades for Batman and the Batmobile on the onset, as opposed to earning them by progressing through the game.[118] The "Scarecrow Nightmare" DLC, exclusive to the PlayStation 4, depicts a Gotham City that has succumbed to the Scarecrow's fear gas transforming it into a twisted nightmare image of itself, overseen by a towering Scarecrow and his undead army.[119][120]
Additional content was made available via the game's season pass, which includes story-driven missions; challenge maps for Batman and his allies; new Batmobiles from Batman's history and custom racetracks for them; skins for Batman and his allies; and all pre-order retailer content once their timed exclusivity expired in August and September 2015.[108][121][122] The story-driven missions include "The Season of Infamy", new "Most Wanted" missions played through the main game, where the player as Batman goes up against "legendary super-villains invading Gotham City, with new story arcs, missions and gameplay features", and "Arkham Episodes", where players control Batman's allies in short story missions that take place before and after the events of Arkham Knight to further expand their narratives.[60][121][122]
Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead recommended the game, giving high praise to the detail of the open world and the characterization of Batman, but again criticizing the Batmobile's Battle Mode feature as one of the weaker aspects of the game.[38] GamesTM gave Arkham Knight a 9 out of 10, praising the game for functioning without the presence of the Joker, and praising the story for its intimacy and inviting, epic-scale nature. The Batmobile gameplay was described as "thrilling", though the "least immersive" part of the game. The "Dual Play" elements were also hailed as the best aspect of the game in addition to their involvement with the Riddler challenges.[164] Chris Carter of Destructoid, conversely was heavily critical of the Riddler challenges and their requirement for the game's full ending, finding many to be "tedious" while others lacked any resemblance of actual riddles, such as the breakable objects. He felt that the puzzles driven by intuition were the better elements of the mission.[170] 2ff7e9595c
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