Batman: Arkham Origins review

Recommended

by mushishi

Despite being the "black sheep" of the Arkham series, i believe that Batman: Arkham Origins makes a fine addition to the series. The differences in character design and voice actors were jarring at first when I first started playing especially since I played the other Arkham games, but quickly became used to them. Gameplay-wise, Arkham Origins is the best in the series up to this point. Each entry the combat keeps getting better and better, and this title is no exception. Everything flows so smoothly as you fling yourself around a brawl or creating fear when sneaking around. However, one thing that Arkham Origins doesn't improve upon over its predecessors is the skill tree. It is largely linear with very few branches, forcing you to get boring skills like health upgrades, which I largely ignored in previous games, in order to get more interesting skills like finishers, special moves, and new ways to use gadgets in combat. The open-world is also pretty bland. It feels more like generic city rather than what you would envision Gotham to look like. Although, during certain missions, you are thrown into some interesting areas like the hotel and bridge. I enjoyed the story, but it never really pulled me in like Arkham City did. Arkham Origins is well worth your time even if its predecessors still surpass it in many ways.

Batman: Arkham Origins is the red-headed step-black sheep of the Arkham series for many reasons. Not made by Rocksteady, not featuring Mark Hamill or Kevin Conroy, having a sort of dull Gotham, and even down to the big twist reveal of Joker being Black Mask upsetting people. But besides all that, I always had a lot of fun with this game.

Like many of this game's defenders, I agree that Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker as a younger Batman and Joker are amazing. I especially feel like Troy Baker took his performance and gave it his own spin, making his voice unique enough that you can recognize it. 

Speaking of Batman and Joker, let's get into that a bit. The Black Mask twist never bothered me as it did for other people and that's probably from Black Mask not being that much of an important character in the Batman lore for me personally. He just never really impressed me enough for me to care about him, but I'm a basic bitch with my love for the Joker character, so having him around is something I'll never complain about, and this game proves it's worth having the Joker around with its outlook on the origins of his relationship with the Batman. Obsessed with the no-kill rule, trying to figure out how Batman could possibly not see the correlation in the two and never being able to get an answer is fansinating. They even go the step forwards to show the Joker's relationship with Harley and how saddening it is. That a poor lonely psychiatrist could fall so low because she's so desperate to be loved that when Joker's using vague language about Batman he's able to encapsulate her into a 1 sided love. 

On another note, I think this is probably the most brutal game out of the four. With the introduction of a young Batman, he's a lot more rage-filled and it shows very well in this game. I mean, for fucks sake the guy drops a random criminal into a Christmas tree! Even the in-game action moves are brutal as all hell, some of these perps should be dead by the time the Bats done with em, it's absolutely insane and I love it.

The boss fights as well, I feel like WB Montreal really outperformed Rocksteady on some of these characters. Obviously there's the well-praised Deathstroke battle, which the character was later done abysmally in Arkham Knight but there's also the 2 intense Bane fights that are a lot more strategical and anxiety-inducing than the bland titan copy & paste in Arkham Asylum, the on your toes battle with Killer Croc, the beautiful anarchy that is the Firefly encounter, the rightful sneak filled takedown with Deadshot, and who can forget the painfully aggravating match with the Electrocutioner that makes the Mr. Freeze boss fight in Arkham City look like you're having a fistfight with a baby.

With all jokes aside, I do really love this game a lot. It's no Arkham City, but I've always found so much enjoyment out of this game. I look forward to what WB Games Montreal has in store with Gotham Knights!

Batman Arkham Origins is a good Batman game, but a terrible Batman: Arkham game. Strip away all of the trappings and you have a game that is trying desperately to copy and ride on the coat tails of one of the best entries in the Batman: Arkham games: (and in my eyes one of the best comic book video games ever made) Batman: Arkham City. The game is set on Christmas Eve five years before the events in Arkham Asylum. Batman has only been active for two years and has already upset the criminal element in the city. In response to this, Black Mask puts a bounty on Batman’s head attracting the attention of nine assassins. Batman must survive the night and stop the reign of terror that the assassins have decided to unleash on Gotham to lure him out and kill him. This sounds like a simple premise, but the game quickly decides to go “all out” and doesn’t try to do anything different with the established Arkham formula. The story shines when Corey May (Assassin’s Creed) and the other writers get creative and focus on the game. But when they decide to try and explain things that occur in future games….well they break canon…..seriously….Arkham Origins diminishes if not outright contradicts the story in Arkham Asylum on so many levels. The dialogue is good, and there is a progression to the game, but the game also sloppily sidelines many of the main players in the game and either confine them to cameos (the Penguin), side missions (Deadshot, Shiva, and others), or outright forgets about them until the end of the game (Firefly). The game also attempts to depict the first time many of these characters interact with Batman and each other. Some work (Barbara Gordon, Jim Gordon) some don’t (the Joker, Bane, and others). The game shoe horns the Joker into the game and does absolutely nothing with him of significance. Bane is clearly inspired by his depiction in The Dark Knight Rises, which isn’t bad, but is so uncreative to me. And what is done with the character in the game is outright pathetic, pandering petulant writing. There are some emotional beats that just don’t stick. If the game would have tried to stay within its means and tell an authentic Batman story first instead of trying desperately to tie everything into the Arkhamverse then maybe the game would be more enjoyable. The side missions are okay, but there are too many objectives in them and not enough satisfying payoffs (the Enigma mission is best to be skipped…the end result simply isn’t worth it).There is also a scene that hints at a future game not necessarily involving Batman that will probably never see the light of day. The voice acting is okay. Nolan North returns as the Penguin. Roger Craig Smith (Ezio Auditore) voices Bruce Wayne/Batman and does a good job. He’s no Kevin Conroy, but he’s not bad. Many veteran voice actors fill out the cast rather well. Troy Baker delivers an uninspired, kind of pathetic, impression of Mark Hamill’s Joker. Sorry, Baker did nothing with this role and as I suggested….the Joker was not needed in the film. Now I would have thoroughly enjoyed the game if the Red Hood (the Joker before his fall into the chemicals) was in the game and you witness his fall into the chemicals and the ending of the game hints at the Joker to come. The game didn’t use that distance to hint and set up these relationships that emerged in future games. No, it just hit the ground running and sloppily tried to explain parts of the Arkham universe that didn’t necessarily need to be explained. The graphics are very dated to 2013. There is a bland dullness to textures and the environment that lacks that gothic unique design that Rocksteady put into their games. I will praise the Christmas setting and what is done with it aesthetically, musically and otherwise. But like most of the game, it is very uninspired in regard to graphics and design. Character designs are kind of dull and are taken from other things besides the art department being creative. Batman’s costume is a hodgepodge of various influences from the Nolan Batman films to the New 52 costume. I don’t have an issue with it….but seriously…..be creative. Cutscene graphics are good, however I experienced a lot of lag and desynchronized sound both when I played the hard copy of this game and when I played it on Playstation Now (it was actually better to play the game on Playstation Now, and I know the difference between buffering or lagging connection to the content on Playstation Now and lagging sound that is in the game itself). I do remember that this game was/is plagued with bugs so there is that to acknowledge. Lastly, the gameplay is so dull and routine that it’s both frustrating and familiar. Batman is too agile for his antics and its difficult to see this Batman doing the things he does and seeing Batman being more contained in Arkham Asylum. The gadgets and abilities that Batman does in this game seem to contradict with the other entries in the franchise and once again, it seems like a retooled, repurposed, unimaginative version of Arkham City.Ultimately Arkham Origins is a competent game, but it is so offbrand and outright insulting to the Arkham series that it diminishes the fantastic games that Rocksteady made. I know that this game is considered to be canon….but I just ignore it.
Rating: 3/5

The first meeting between Joker and Batman. Of course, the Joker again leads foul in The Shields The Story: Arkham Origins is about the Time when Gotham becomes aware of the Exsistence Of her Savior Batman. In terms of Time, the whole thing still takes place before Arkham Asylum. The Joker takes over the Gangs in Gotham through foul Intrigue, giving Gotham the worst Christmas ever. Of course, Batman can't just Sit there in such Machinations. It is up to us to free the City from the Clutches of the Joker. Personally, I have always been a Fan of the Arkham Series and feel it is a nice Change to learn how everything was regulated without the Asylum and Arkham City. Some Passages, however, seem a bit exaggerated for everything to have played out in one Night. Therefore, only 8/10 Points. The Graphics: Graphically, a clear distinction can be observed from the Predecessors, the characters have been designed in much more detail, the Environment responds significantly better to the Presence of People through PhysX effects and the Weather plays a great game in this Game Role. In itself, a real Treat for the Eye, however, the Game literally eats the Hardware when you turn up the settings to the Maximum. Therefore, only 9/10 Points. The Gameplay: The Gameplay is both Nourishing As in the preceding Parts: Soft camera guidance, a variety of moves, And the Ways to combine them, but this Part has more than failed to hide the Default Settings for Mouse and Keyboard. By the Patzer in Mouse and Keyboard therefore only 8/10 points. # My Rating: Pro: Many Side missions Important historical Content from the Time before Arkham Asylum Kontra: Multiplayer and DLC Achievements (100% almost impossible) Technique of Batman More advanced than in The chronologically Later Parts Ingame Challenges tied to Story Additional info: Game related: Game Time 50 Hours for the possible Achievements 60 collectible cards 9 Controller support * Bugs: 2 Occurred Bugs: Killer Croc is used in The first Kamp F-Invisible Interrogation Victims become immune (Gamebreaking) System-related: Mainboard Gigabyte GA-H170-HD3 CPU Intel Core i5-6500 (Skylake) @ 3.2GHZ GPU PNY NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX760 Random Access Memory 8GB @ 1333MHz Drug-average Framrate 80 Frames per Second Operating System Windows 10 My Conclusion: For both Newcomers and experienced Batman players, this Part is only recommended. Since he plays Temporal Parts even before the older Parts, you don't miss anything as a Newcomer and as an experienced player this Game is a successful Flashback at the Time before Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Due to the many contra points unfortunately only 7/10 Points. This Review was written as a Standings within one's own Genre. If you liked this Review, follow our Review Program on German _ Gamer _ Community. You Can also check out my other Reviews. Click here for my Reviews.