GTA Batman: What If Rockstar Made A Game Set In Gotham
Night/Day System
Taking control of Batman, we mustnt forget, were also taking control of Bruce Wayne. As such, we must factor in his other responsibilities (protecting the alter-ego, running Wayne Enterprises, maintaining a social presence, etc). The need to balance the Dark Knights dual-identity births a dynamic Night/Day gameplay system in which you have to factor the time into your routine; just like Batman. Criminals have a Fear guage, similarly to in the Rocksteady games, but here it affects the enemy more directly their ability to aim, their willingness to fight and the possibility that theyll run away all together (its up to you whether you chase them down or not, but remember Batman would). Should you go out in the day as Batman, youll find it much more difficult to raise your foes' Fear gauge and itll be that much harder to sneak up on criminals for a takedown. Best leave clearing out that den of drug dealers until later on, when you have the shadows on your side. On the flip side of that, If youre out at night as Bruce Wayne, theres every chance some lowlife will try to mug you; it is Gotham after all. Of course youre not restricted in your response. Even as Bruce Wayne you can perform any move in Bats repertoire on the unwitting attacker but youd best do it quickly and quietly as being revealed as an ace martial artist will alert the public that theres something more to you than meets the eye. Alter-Ego and Code Meters
There are two things that Batman must be conscious of at all times: 1) his secret identity must never be revealed, and 2) his personal code dictates that he can never take a human life, or through inaction let human life be taken. With this in mind, we have two ever present meters on our H.U.D that rise and fall continuously as we progress through the game: The Alter-Ego Meter represents how safely hidden your identity is as the Batman. Actions that expose Bruce Wayne will fill this up quickly, such as performing feats of strength or athleticism in public or confronting a Super-Villain as Bruce Wayne. Wearing the suit without the cowl in view of civilians will instantly fill the meter. Becoming exposed for what you are results in a game over screen, forcing you to load an earlier save and begin whatever it is you were doing again while still retaining your nearly-filled meter. However to avoid this royal pain the bat, perform actions that reduce your AE meter such as completing a social mission for Harvey Dent (appearing on time as a key-note speaker at a function for example), wholl then spread misinformation insisting that youre not the Batman, or simply by appearing at an evening social event as Bruce Wayne. The Code Meter represents how close you are to breaking Batmans sacred code of honour; to taking life or seeing it extinguished. A much more dynamic meter than that which governs your Alter-Ego, as Batman you must constantly manage your adherence to the code thus ensuring that he never cross that line of all lines. In the eponymous Rockstar title Grand Theft Auto, running fools over is a staple feature and thats also the case in our fantasy Batman game. Except instead of the normal GTA reaction of ha! were forced to stop to resuscitate anyone we hit as if they die, our meter will fill resulting in a game over. This makes for frantic gameplay if were involved in a chase with the police or a gang of criminals, but stopping to help those who need it, no matter the cost, is a choice Batman makes every day. If were fighting enemies we must always make sure that theyre never killed in the process. Say youve descended on a set of roof-top thugs, but one falls to their death; we must then follow him over the edge in what becomes a stylish quick-time event allowing us to save his wretched life before he makes side-walk soup. Social Missions
Your time as Bruce Wayne in the game is obviously much less high-octane than the time youll spend as Batman. But Rockstar proved with Red Dead Redemption that great game-play doesnt always mean all guns blazing. Social missions are indicated as a light-blue Batsign on the map, but can only be accessed when not donned in the cape and cowl dont worry, youll look equally as sharp in one of Waynes $5000 suits. These missions range from attending social events on time (which are presented as GTA style activity cutscenes), meeting with business contacts and spending time with the various social characters that are present in the game Harvey Dent, Thomas Elliot, Vicki Vale, etc. And the more time you spend in public as Bruce Wayne, the more your Alter-Ego meter will decrease. Of course, just because youre not in the Batsuit, doesnt mean there wont be a need for The Batman; you can still encounter thugs and Super-Villains during social missions, but whereas you can go to town as Batman, youll have to be very mindful of your Alter-Ego meter if youre playing as Bruce Wayne. Click "next" below for the final part looking at the "Characters" for the game...