The Superhero Summer of 2012 has been exploded from the pages of some of our popular comic books and following the Hollywood team-up of The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man swinging onto the big screen again recently – it’s time to focus our spotlight on the Batman!
The Dark Knight Rises for his third and final film in the current storyline in 2D, 3D and 3D IMAX at cinemas worldwide on the 20th of July and like us, we’re sure you’re pretty excited for it. So with that in mind the Gadget Helpline has put together an Essential Guide to help you keep up with all the exciting action. Consider this your very own utility belt – fully loaded with the Best Bat Apps, Games and Gadgets!
Gotham Gets Game!
The first thing that any buddying superhero needs is training – and there’s no better way to familiarise yourself with Batman’s world, his arsenal of attacks and his fearsome foes than to get your game on and experience it all for yourself!
We think that Batman: Arkham City is just the place to immerse yourself in some simulated scenarios and this award winning game is now available for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles – with a special “Armoured Edition” coming soon for the Nintendo Wii U. The game follows the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and takes place in a section of Gotham City that has become overrun by brutal thugs and the criminally insane. Classic comic bad guys such as Hugo Strange, Ra’s Al Ghul, Mr Freeze and of course The Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) all play a part in the plot and players must learn command of all of the Caped Crusader’s various assortment of weapons, gadgets and hand-to-hand combat skills to investigate scenes and take down his enemies.
Batman need not fight alone in Arkham City and is joined by Catwoman, Robin and Nightwing as playable characters and Bruce Wayne can suit up in a collection of seven classic comic book costumes through exciting downloadable content packages!
Other Batman gaming titles worth a mention are Gotham City Imposters – an amusing spin on the superhero theme which allows you to create a custom hero to take on the crime of Gotham, and LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes – a less serious take on some classic comic book faves and featuring the world’s best loved toy. If you find yourself without a console the action can be taken on the move with the Batman: Arkham City Lockdown game for iPhone and iPad and The Dark Knight Rises Mobile Game coming soon for both Apple iOS and Android gadgets!
The Dark Knight’s Devices!
As well as being the World’s Greatest Detective, Batman is also famed for his hardware and gadgetry and we’ve recently seen a few devices that would make a pleasing addition to the arsenal of billionaire Bruce Wayne himself!
First up, the ultra-cool and very impressive Dark Knight Rises Limited Edition Nokia Lumia 900 – a Phones 4U exclusive with a stylish, sleek profile and jet black polycarbonate finish released in the U.K. Just like the standard cyan blue model this smartphone features the Windows Phone 7.5 mobile OS from Microsoft combined with Finnish designed hardware including a 4.3” AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display which – in the event of an epic battle with your arch-nemesis or a bumpy ride in the “tumbler” – is protected by hardened Gorilla Glass.
Budding photographers can capture all the action on the 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, auto-focus, super-sharp Carl Zeiss optics and HD video output. Data connectivity comes through 3G and Wi-Fi support and the bat-branded Lumia 900 runs on an agile and powerful 1.4GHz Qualcomm Scorpion CPU with 16GB of internal memory.
Fire it up and you’ll find the latest trailers for the Dark Knight Rises movie, as well as the chance to deck out your mobile with character wallpapers, ringtones and a GPS game featuring Batman himself and beastly baddie Bane. The Gadget Helpline pulled back the cowl on the Bat-themed Nokia Lumia 900 to reveal the photos, full spec and price deals on this one in a previous feature which you can read again – Here.
Another cool gadget range which will help you store all your delicate data and essential evidence are The Dark Knight Rises Edition Mimobot USB Flash Drives. Mimobots have been around a while and are a must-have for super-fans of various sci-fi movies and popular culture icons and feature cutesy-fied characters from Star Wars and the drives have already featured the Caped Crusader and a number of his famous foes as they appeared comic book history.
The new duo from Mimobots features both Batman and Bane as they appear in the 2012 blockbuster movie each has a removable head section which reveals a hidden USB stick and the range boasts up to 64GB of capacity and all come preloaded with bonus media including screensavers, avatars and icons relating to The Dark Knight Rises!
Time to Mobilize!
Now you’ve gotten your hands dirty in simulated combat and have armed yourself with some awesome gadgets it’s time you loaded up on some sweet Bat-apps and superhero software to keep yourself up-to-date on all the Dark Knight activity on-the-move!
As well as delivering the hardware, Nokia is also hooking up bat-fans with a great Dark Knight Rises app for its Windows Phone gadgets such as the Lumia 800, 710 and 900 that’s loaded up with special features including cinema finder and a countdown clock for the must-see blockbuster movie which is released on July 20th Worldwide. The location map on the app and the entire interface is Windows Phone stylised but also features movie based backgrounds and graphics throughout and really looks the business. For those who want to go a little deeper into the films mythos there’s quick links to IMDB and Flixster bringing you closer action, with film synopsis, with actor and character profiles and more – all this without having to break into the batcave!
Mobile maker Nokia has also launched a separate app which is available now and allows you to explore a 3D map of Gotham City as it appears in The Dark Knight Rises – Who needs the Boy Wonder when you have Nokia as your partner?
For Apple iPad and iPhone owners there’s the Gotham City’s Most Wanted. This downloadable app lets wannabe heroes and villains use their smartphone or tablet’s front facing camera to snap a shot of their face and virtually wear one of a selection of masks and accessories – becoming Batman, Bane or Catwoman! Sadly the app is not available for those running Android but if your laptop or PC has a webcam you can also enjoy the fun feature at gothamcitysmostwanted.com!
If you need to refresh your comic book Dark Knight history before watching the new movie, we can recommend no better tool than the DC Comics app which runs through Comixology. The software is free to download and allows both Apple and Android users to browse, purchase and enjoy a digital library of full of classic comics as well as current storylines from Batman, Superman and other popular names in the DC Universe!
Batman Beyond!
If you’re seeking to look even deeper into the Dark Knight movie mythos there are a number of exciting resources online. Despite keeping his work in the shadows Batman seems incredibly social when it comes to the internet – appearing on both Facebook and Twitter and allowing fans to check out trailers, TV spots, posters and exclusive screenshots.
