I really wanted to like this game - Asylum and City were both fantastic. At first, Origins was great. The same combat mechanics I loved in the first two games was preserved, and it was cool to see a part of Gotham CIty before it became Arkham CIty. The voice acting is quite good too.
But things went downhill very soon.
First of all, there was the lore/immersion problem. This game is set in Batman's early career, so why does he have more gadgets than in the previous games? And why does his suit look more modern and armoured in this game? Also, the streets of Gotham have no life. There's only criminals in the streets - this worked in AC but not in Origins; even if it is xmas eve and there's a curfew, there would be some civilians out on the street. The added section to Gotham isn't as big as the original Arkham part, and traversing the long bridge quickly becomes tedious.
Second, there's the repetitive problem. Yes, Origins does keep the great combat mechanics, but doesn't offer anything really new. It's pretty much the same type of fights against the same type of opponents we've seen in AC. A couple of boss fights use a side-scrolling type of level - something we saw in Asylum, and I was very glad when that level type was dropped for AC, but it's back for Origins.
Lastly, there's the numerous technical problems. In two playthroughs, I've experienced:
- Opponents that can't be fought or interrogated
- Batman clipping out of the map into an endless pit
- Side missions that can't be completed.
- Occasional shuddering when gliding (i.e. Batman quickly switches between standing and gliding, so it's virtually impossible to control effectively)
Those issues came up in two incomplete playthroughs; the first had a game-breaking bug when the story was 50% complete, the second had another game-breaking bug 90% through. Although a patch was quickly released this week, it didn't solve all the issues. I have yet to complete the main story, and at this point, have no interest to do so.
The best thing about Origins is it's combat mechanics, which can be better enjoyed by replaying AC (which is what I did).
If you really enjoyed the previous games and still want to get Origins, wait until it drops to half-price and all the issues are fixed.