Batman: Arkham Origins
Rating: T for Teen
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Armature Studio
Console(s): Available now for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Xbox 360
Description: Take control of a young and unrefined Batman as he faces defining moment in early career as a crime fighter.
Batman: Arkham Origins is a really great Holiday game in the same way Batman Returns was as well. I say this because the whole game takes place on Christmas Eve. Some disbelief has to be put aside when you play the prequel to Batman: Arkham City and Asylum. Set about ten years before the events in those games, Batman is till new to Gotham City, and its open world environment really doesn’t give you a sense of how the average citizen would react to the presence of their new hero. Bruce Wayne has been Bats for two years, Gordon are first meeting and still can’t trust him as they’re just meeting for the first time. Black Mask put a hit out on Batman to stop his war on crime; he hires Deathstroke, Copperhead, Firefly, Bane, Dead Shot — yeah, it’s the Who’s Who of the DC universe, so go to Wikipedia to look those guys up, if you don’t know who they are, and then come back and finish the article.
Of course, with the police curfew because of the breakout at Black Gate Prison (as told in the Nintendo 3DS game) there are no citizens or cars on the street. So, the game really feels a lot like Batman: Arkham City, but the open world has been expanded upon a lot more, which is really nice; you can cross the bridge, go to the original Bat cave, and talk to Alfred. Alfred gives you words of advice, which give you experience points, and he keeps trying to get you to come in from the cold and spend Christmas Eve with him. Barbara Gordon is also forced to spend Christmas Eve alone, as her father is tasked with bringing you in, and he leaves his daughter at the police station — which is fine because we see how Batman meets 15-year-old Barbra, and then in 10 years she will be Batgirl or Oracle, or Batgirl again — or someone important, who knows? Sad thing missing is Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill do not return to play Batman and the Joker. The voice actors in the game are great and have big shoes to fill.
You also get a sense of real cold as it’s snowing a lot — and again, it feels no different from Arkham City; not that this is not a bad thing, but it does feel like the same game repeated at times. One new thing is when you have to help GCPD solve murder crimes and look for clues. It’s very CSI-like; it’s very cool to track the forward and backward in time movement of the crime itself. This is something every Batman game should have as he is called the worlds greatest detective.
One of the best things — and I mean best things — in the game is early on you fight Slade Wilson aka Death Stroke the Terminator; it took me a couple of days to get through this fight. I am a decent gamer, but fighting games are not my thing. He has a routine you need to watch out for, and tons of quick button moves because his hits cause a lot of damage and you don’t seem to damage him at all. This happens again when you fight the female Copperhead. They even make a joke about her being female; I thought it was a man, because Copperhead is usually a guy. I guess Batman needed a female to fight in the game, not really sure.
You also get to play as Batman and Robin in a co-op online mode with a friend, which is very cool. You help each other out on missions and get tasks done. This is open after you have beaten the game.
If you really enjoyed the other two Batman games, you will like this one — even though it does feel like an expanse on Arkham City and not a game unto it self.
