If you watched "All Who Follow You," the most recent trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight, you probably caught a glimpse of a high-tech rifle Batman was holding at one point. It's basically the Disruptor rifle from previous games, but with a few new tricks.
Rocksteady Studios has revealed today that the Disruptor "has been tailored to meet the challenges of Gotham City's vast landscape," with new options that "bolster Batman's ability to control engagements like never before."
In other words, it's powerful.
The Disruptor can carry just three charges, or ammo, at one time. This means you'll only be able to use it three times per fight. It's not the kind of weapon you'll pull out and use on the fly, like a Batarang or the Grapnel Gun. It's a preparatory weapon that you deploy before a fight, from a distance.
Like in previous Arkham games, fire the Disruptor at an enemy's weapon, and when they later try to shoot Batman, it'll jam. Use two charges on an enemy's same weapon and it'll explode in their hands when they pull the trigger. Your life has new meaning: exploding guns!
You can also fire the Disruptor at weapon crates, rigging them as a kind of electrical mine. When an enemy approaches a crate to retrieve a weapon, the crate will shock them. New to Arkham Knight is the ability to use the Disruptor in tandem with the Batmobile. Shoot the Disruptor at an enemy vehicle, and it's tagged with a tracking signal that the Batmobile can home in on.
The Disruptor is outfitted with a scope that allows for far greater distances than Batman's past weapons have offered. That was virtually required by Arkham Knight since its Gotham is bigger than ever, and its streets are wider to accommodate the Batmobile.
Rocksteady says that the Disruptor can be upgraded beyond its initial abilities to allow for things like an additional charge (bringing the total to four) and hacking into the turrets on Arkham Knight's "Drone Tanks." The example given by the developer says that after using the Disruptor on those Drone Tanks, Batman can run in front of them to draw their fire on foot, but when the turrets shoot, they backfire and self-destruct the tanks.
Rocksteady posted this GIF of the Disruptor in action, including its sniper function:
Batman: Arkham Knight is due in stores on June 23, 2015.
Be sure to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page.
