The ESRB has revealed why Batman has been given a Mature rating, with it being the first game in the Arkham series to receive the age classification.
The summary of the rating, which states that the game includes “blood, language, suggestive themes and violence,” is as follows (beware: there are spoilers):
“This is an action-adventure game in which players primarily assume the role of Batman as he battles several villains spreading chaos across Gotham City. Players traverse a variety of locations around Gotham while battling thugs, examining crime scenes, and occasionally rescuing hostages. Players engage in melee-style combat using punches, kicks, and gadgets (e.g., batarangs, explosives). Enemies cry out in pain when struck, and some takedowns are highlighted by brief slow-motion effects and loud impact sounds.
Some sequences allow players to use tank-like vehicles with machine gun turrets and rockets to shoot enemies; a vehicle’s wheels are also used to torture an enemy in one sequence. Cutscenes depict characters getting shot (on and off camera) while restrained or unarmed. Large bloodstains/pools of blood appear in crime scenes and in the aftermath of violent acts; one room depicts a person torturing a character on a bloody operating table. During the course of the game, players can shoot unarmed characters and a hostage. Neon signs in a red-light district read “live nude girls” and “XXX.” The words “b*tch,” “gobsh*te,” and “a*s” appear in the dialogue.”
This presents a number of questions regarding the upcoming game. Firstly, mostly everything mentioned in the summary would otherwise suggest that Arkham Knight should be rated T for Teen like its predecessors, aside from that vague torture sequence which now has me thoroughly intrigued, and the statement that “players can shoot unarmed characters and a hostage” seems to suggest that we’ll be playing as a character other than Batman, given his strictly no-killing policy. Also, I can’t wait to find out who uses the word “gobshite.” I bet it’s Penguin.
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There’s also the small matter of those “tank-like vehicles” players will be able to control. We already know that the Batmobile will be made available to drive for the first time in the series, but this suggests that we’ll be able to step into the driving seat of more vehicles throughout the game’s duration, with ammo that again would completely go against Batman’s strict code of ethics. My money is on players being able to control the Arkham Knight at some point during the course of the game, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Batman: Arkham Knight is set to release on June 2nd for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
