Re-read before publishing
I’ve been described as “fiscally conservative.” My Girlfriend likes to call me cheap. I wouldn’t say that I’m necessarily either one of those things, though I do enjoy a bank account that’s not in the minus. I also don’t mind saving some cash when the possibility presents itself. Thing is, folks aren’t entirely wrong. Warner Brothers’ Batman Arkham Returns release has me thinking about my spending habits a lot this week.
I’m very, very against the idea of high-definition remakes. Don’t misunderstand my position on them or anything related to making money in video games. Business is business. That some people think businesses should automatically not do what is good for their bottom line, is nuts to me. Salaries need to be paid. The unlimited amounts of soda that developers require to keep rendering visuals late into the night isn’t cheap.
Batman Arkham Returns is on par with what we expect from publishers who have a popular game series on their roster. Debuting July 26th, developer Rocksteady Studios and a third-party has gone back and remastered Batman Arkham Asylum and Batman Arkham City. The remakes use Unreal Engine 4 and take advantage of each console’s more robust hardware. Remember, these are games that debuted on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
I’m an absolute bat fiend. I know this. My friends know this too, apparently. No less than five people have mentioned the release to me since the title’s release details were confirmed last Tuesday.
I’m not unhappy about Batman Arkham Returns. A new generation of gamers will get to experience these titles for themselves. Batman Arkham isn’t one of those weak franchises that adds a few new cut scenes and more opportunities to get in some first-person shooting action. They are masterpieces. I want people to get that same rush I had the first time I used the game’s combat system to pummel about 20 different enemies in Arkham Asylum.
Rocksteady and the entire development team have obviously put in a lot of time to improve the graphics for these games. All of their downloadable content is included too, which a nice bonus. I can’t pull the trigger on them for the same reason that I won’t buy a device that has easily broken on me. I’ve had the experience once. Why, should I pay more of my hard-earned money to the team again for the same game I already experienced?
Other Batman Arkham fiends will answer simply, “we want to relive the magic with better visuals.” That’s cool, it’s your money. I’m not judging you.
I’m just not getting on the Batman Arkham Returns train along with you. I still own these games on disc. I’ve noticed that Warner Brothers hasn’t seen it fit to give me access to those games on my Xbox One. So you’ll take my money for a remake, but won’t allow me to keep playing the copy of the game that I already have because you want me to buy this improved version? That’s smart business – I’m not going to bite the apple, but that’s really smart business just the same.
I’ve only ever purchased a single remake and I’m still ashamed that I did. That was Grand Theft Auto 5 and I purchased it because my cousin wanted a partner for GTA Online. I traded in some stuff I had laying around. I got it for free. I played the story mode long enough to unlock the multiplayer then never touched it again.
I’ll sit Batman Arkham Returns out. I can save my $50 and use it for something important. Warner Brothers had the option to add the existing games into the Backwards Compatibility Program and introduce Batman Arkham Returns for those that really wanted them with better graphics and visuals.
I completely understand why they did so. They should also completely understand why I’m not opening my wallet.
