Game Review: Batman Arkham Origins

I'll be honest, I was both excited and weary for this 3rd installment in the highly successful Arkham Franchise. It's interesting for this to serve as a prequel to not only the series itself but also to the start of Batman's career. When it was announced that Rocksteady was not to be the developer I had my concerns as I'm sure lots of people did. Instead the game was handled by the Montreal division of the game's publisher WB Games. Having sat down and played it however, they did a pretty damn good job.

As stated above, Arkham Origins takes place a short while after Bruce returns home from training to start his war on crime. Specifically the entire story takes place on Christmas Eve (nice timing with the release date the game had). The game opens up with Batman trying to rescue Commissioner Loeb from Black Mask's clutches. The mission ends up being a failure with Loeb dying in the process and Batman discovering even more dire news. Black Mask has hired 6 of the top assassin's to kill the Batman for an enormous sum of money.

Batman is much younger and less refined than what you're used to seeing

Some of Batman's most well-known rouges show up here and they end up being the first encounter for many. Penguin, Deathstroke, Joker, even some obscure ones like Firefly and Copperhead show up. Much like Arkham City, the story is ripe with plot twists and nice shout-outs to past parts of Batman Lore. The gameplay remains largely unchanged which honestly is a good thing. The Arkham games had a pretty solid flow of combat and use of the wonderful toys Batman possesses. What I noticed in the combat (and maybe it's just me) is that the movements feel a bit slowed, which could emphasize that this is a much younger Bruce who hasn't refined all of his skills yet. One thing I really loved was the enhancements made to inspecting a Crime Scene. It gives a more CSI feel and how Batman can reconstruct and explain a crime scene.

In addition to the villains, there's a great exploration with how Batman deals with his eventual allies like Jim Gordon starting off as a Captain at the GCPD, a young Barbara Gordon who already knows how to hack her way through things and as always, the ever wise Alfred (seriously love the exchanges they give here). Corruption is also explored within the GCPD and Gordon refusing to believe it. The boss fights are a little bit less imaginative than what the previous 2 games offered but they do present a challenge!

Deathstroke is looking to add the Bat to his list of Trophies.

The voice acting is absolutely amazing. I had my doubts also with the fact that the voices to Batman and the Joker (Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamil) were replaced by Roger Craig Smith (Ezio in Assassin's Creed) and Troy Baker (Booker DeWitt in Bioshock Infinite) respectively. I chuckled during some of the deliveries that Smith made as I could definitely hear some elements of the infamous Bale Bat-voice and Baker was on point to portraying the Joker in an almost chilling way.

The usual side-quests, crimes, Riddler missions and Challenge Maps return. My copy of the game came included with an extra Challenge Map and the ability to play as Deathstroke (which is so satisfying). Some gadgets have been replaced with new names (Glue Grenade instead of the Freeze Grenade) yet retain the same purpose. Gotham itself is bigger than what Arkham City gave and includes also Fast Travel points yet you can also traverse the city with your Grapple.

There is a Multplayer option but much like Mass Effect 3's multiplayer, I was unable to access it due to my Xbox Live Status. I don't really care and it doesn't seem to add much from what I've seen and besides, these games are mostly for it's enriching story and the fact that you get a strong feel for what it is to be like Batman.

Sure enough this maniac shows up and becomes the main focus

Should you play this Game?
Yes, if you've played the previous games you will most likely enjoy this one. Amazing cast of characters and a dynamic gameplay that remains as fluid as ever. Plus who doesn't like to take down bad guys during Christmas time? I know I do :D