Batman: Arkham Origins is a prequel of the series & for Batman himself. It picks up two years into Batman’s crimefighting crusade, at a point where Gotham City’s active criminal element has finally realized the threat of the Dark Knight. On Christmas Eve of all nights, Batman discovers that a crime lord named Black Mask has put out a contract on his head, calling in eight assassins from around the world to put him down.
The plot setup serves as an excuse for Warner Bros. Montreal to leave those streets barren of life. The game explains via incidental dialogue that the chaos caused by the appearance of these powerful assassins has led to citizens bolting themselves
indoors.
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- Yes you meet him again.
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- His boss fight is challenging at first.
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- The Dark Knight is a bit Brutal at times.
Gameplay:
After the first 10 minutes of playing Batman: Arkham Origins, my doubts towards another Bat-title were doused. Hearing first of another prequel made me disinterested. As it turns out, there’s not only a lot more to this equation than the storyline, there’s also a lot more to the storyline than I expected – in the first 10 minutes of gameplay, I’d encountered four characters I recognized (not counting Black Mask, Bruce Wayne, or Alfred on the intercom, of course).
Right off the bat you’re headed into a busted down and broken-into Blackgate Prison, and inside you’re back to the same – or rather similar – controls as the previous Batman title. There are improvements, as it were – especially if you’re just aiming to learn how to play this series of games from this origins story first. Turning the game over to its hardest difficulty presupposes the idea that you’re well versed in all the customs.
Once inside you find that you’re not just fighting against Gotham’s lesser-known villains – this isn’t just an off-season collection of bat guys. Right away you’ll catch a glimpse of one of the more terrifying freaks in the rogues gallery: Killer Croc. But don’t let the appearance of a single familiar face fool you – you’re still in the first wisps of the days of these larger-than-life beasts of villains.
This is a world in which Bruce Wayne hasn’t yet learned to be in perfect tune with his emotions – not that he ever really is, of course. He’s ready to do heavy damage to the bad guys as well as the cops – where he deems necessary – and there’s not nearly so much sneaking around, so to speak. That’s not to say that you’re not still playing the role of a detective. This part of the legacy of Batman began before he put on the mask, and you’re ready to investigate from the first moment the game begins. It’s just not quite so technical in this case.
We will not spoil the whole thing for you now 🙂 Check out this gameplay video where Batman takes on Killer Croc.
Our Verdict:
Origins is an incremental installment. It doesn’t have the massive leaps forward that differentiated
City from Asylum. It’s almost understandable since WB Montreal have been tasked with harmonizing along to
someone else’s lead vocals. Right here, right now, the result is good enough. But the very success of the Batman video game franchise
could prove to be its biggest limitation.
PS. We have not checked out the Multiplayer which is one of the new features to be added.
Note of Thanks : This review was possible due to a review copy by our friends at E-xpress Games 🙂
