I have a problem on my hands, and it comes in the form of Arkham Knight’s season pass. In what came as a bewildering move, several days ago Rocksteady offered us a $40 Season Pass that will give access to the following:
“This season pass for Batman: Arkham Knight delivers new content every month for 6 months, featuring new story missions, more supervillains invading Gotham City, new legendary Batmobiles, advanced challenge maps, alternative character skins, and new drivable race tracks.”
As of today, Rocksteady has cleared a few things up and been more specific on the offered content, but I’m not sure I’m completely convinced. Essentially, I’m being asked to pay $40 dollars on top of the $60 cost of the actual game. And you know what? I wouldn’t mind paying for $40 worth of additional content if the Arkham series had given me any kind of positive experience with past season passes. But it hasn’t. Not even close.
For example, Arkham Origins had a season pass that gave access to some additional skins, several challenge maps, and a story dlc. In addition, some added content was made available for its online mode. So what all of that adds up to is a bunch of content that isn’t essential to the full experience of the game. In other words, if you didn’t buy that content, you wouldn’t have missed out on much of anything.
So when I look at the recent history, I feel a little queasy in my video-game-stomach. Not only was the content not that great, but I had to wait for that content for over 6 months. My time with previous Arkham titles has never extended longer than a few weeks, at most. That’s including the fact that I beat all of those games, and I even completed each of the Riddler’s challenges in all of them. The Arkham series is a stellar one, but not one that I’d want to keep revisiting for half a year.
Although it’s still a bit vague, here’s a more detailed list of what’s being offered in the Arkham Knight season pass:
Batgirl: A Matter of Family
An all new prequel story expansion in an entirely new location where you play as Batgirl for the very first time in the Arkham series – check out the first render of Batgirl.
The Season of Infamy
Play as Batman in all new story missions featuring legendary super-villains invading Gotham City, with new story arcs, missions and gameplay features.Gotham City Stories
Play as Batman’s key allies in narrative missions extending their storylines, from both before and after the events in Batman: Arkham Knight.Legendary Batmobiles with Themed Tracks
Drive the most iconic Batmobiles from Batman’s 75-year history, on custom-built race tracks, each themed to that Batmobile’s specific era. Every Batmobile will be drivable across every race track.Crimefighter Challenge Maps
Engage in a series of new challenge maps utilizing the unique play styles of Batman and his allies.Character Skins
A variety of skins from across the eras for Batman, Robin, Nightwing and Catwoman.
Out of all of these, I’m most intrigued by the Batgirl DLC, and I’m certainly interested to hear more about the “new story missions” of “The Season of Infamy” dlc. How much story will we get, and when will it come down the pipeline? These are the questions that float about my brain.
There’s no need to feel trepidatious about Arkham Knight – just its season pass.
I’m not against DLC. In fact, I’m thoroughly enjoying the 2nd DLC pack of Nintendo’s Mario Kart 8. But I’m only enjoying it because it was delivered well and at a fantastic price. I’m also quite aware that other titles have charged more than $40 for their season passes (Call of Duty, you’re an offender). This method of content delivery ensures that we the gamers hold onto these games and don’t trade them in or sell them. Additionally, it keeps the game relevant and by doing so, helps to sell the game even when it’s been out for half a year.
There is certainly one thing I am not disputing, and that is whether or not I will be buying Arkham Knight when it comes out on June 23rd. It will be in my download queue. But I won’t be fooled again. Nay, I will wait and I will hope that when all is said and done, I can buy the additional content I WANT for less than $40. With that being said, if you want to dish out your money for this, go right ahead. Everybody is entitled to purchase what they want.
What are your thoughts? Will you be buying the Season Pass for the Arkham Knight? Let us know in the comments below!