When I first gave the Arkham series a shot last year with Arkham Asylum, I was a little skeptical. I couldn't get used to the gameplay or fighting style very easily, but I pushed through the doubt and ended up loving the game. Batman: Arkham Origins is the first game in the series not developed by Rocksteady Studios, therefore is different from it's predecessors in several ways, some good and some bad. Warner Bros. Games Montreal took over this game with some big shoes to fill, and though a lot of people doubted them, they filled the shoes relatively well.
Story: We all know Batman's actual origin story. If you don't, you shouldn't be playing this game. But just in case, here's a summary: As a child, Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered right before his eyes. The Wayne family is one of the richest in all of Gotham, and Bruce was left with all of it. After his parent's death he was raised by the family's butler and long time friend, Alfred Pennyworth. After deciding to become a superhero and rid his city of evil, he mastered 127 forms of martial arts, became an expert marksman, an expert on all melee weapons, and acquired a genius level intellect.
Batman: Arkham Origins takes place in the second year of his career. He doesn't have any friends or allies in the city yet, with the Gotham City Police Department still thinking he's a criminal, including James Gordon, who is only a Captain at this point. Roman Sionis, or Black Mask, is Gotham's largest crime lord in charge of hundreds of goons and thugs. After Batman constantly finding Black Mask's henchmen and putting them behind bars, Roman puts a $50 million bounty on Batman's head on the night of Christmas Eve. This attracted 8 of the world's best and deadliest assassin's and their henchmen to Arkham to put an end to the Caped Crusader. Those assassin's include Bane, Killer Croc, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Copperhead, Firefly, Electrocutioner and Shiva. On top of that, Batman must also fight off thugs, gangs and mercenaries who are trying to lure him out of the city so that the assassin's can deliver the final blow. In the game, you can set out into the open world to stop the gangs from destroying your beloved city, or you can put forth your effort into surviving the assassin's and finding Black Mask and his reason for wanting you dead. In order to seek out Black Mask, Batman must acquire information currently obtained by the Gotham City Police Department. This won't be an easy task, considering that Batman and the GCPD are currently enemies. Therefore, Batman must use his expert stealth to sneak into the Department full of officers who either want him behind bars or dead.
The story did have a few problems though. For instance, you only had to face six of the eight assassin's in the main campaign, while the other two (Lady Shiva and Deadshot) were side missions. I felt like leaving those two out was a mistake, and left some people quite confused. There are a few more plot holes that I will not be mentioning though, due to spoilers.
The story in this game interested me from the very beginning. The fact that I had a chance to face off one on one between some of my favorite villains in the Batman universe had me hooked. I played hours on end in one sitting just because I was so intrigued by the story line and to see where the caped crusader ended up in this amazing tale.
Verdict: 9.0
Gameplay: The gameplay in Batman: Arkham Origins has it's ups and downs. At first, I thought I was going to hate playing this game. It seemed like there was too much going on, but I quickly got used to the complications.
One of the games weak points is how slow the game feels when trying to progress forward. If you are stranded in a room with locked doors and no obvious way out, it begins to get obnoxiously tiring to constantly be running around mindlessly trying to find an air vent or window. Detective mode can easily solve this problem, but for newcomers of the series, it's seems a bit difficult. Progressing definitely got much easier and natural over time, but it takes some getting used to. Another weak point is moving through the city. With the fast travel system (Via the Batwing) sometimes being unavailable, Batman must swing through the city with the Grapnel Accelerator. This is fun at first, but it gets boring and repetitive over time. Of course, this is just a minor flaw in the game that is easily overlooked.
Now, just because I feel that some of the game is too slow and boring at times, and even a little bit too complicated, doesn't mean that there aren't parts of the game I enjoy. The fighting style of the Arkham games always looked weird and iffy to me, but after getting used to it, I quickly realized how smooth and fun it really was to fight off a gang of thugs. That being said, the boss fights are where I think the gameplay in Arkham Origins really shined. They weren't necessarily easy, but they were still fun and enjoyable. Not only that, but they lasted quite a while, too. During the boss fights, you could really see the amazing detail the developers put in to the fighting style, and how smoothly Batman counters his opponents attacks.
In the end, the gameplay is much better than I ever expected, but not amazing. With a few bugs here and there, the gameplay could get repetitive at points, but was still as great and entertaining as always.
Verdict = 8.5
Graphics and Design: Batman: Arkham Origins didn't look too incredibly different from the former games. Now, is that a good thing? In the game, you could easily point out obvious glitches, such as Batman's cape going through inanimate objects and his hand going through an enemies head as he knocks them out, but you can expect that kind of thing to happen in almost any game. The game would also freeze and glitch up at points, such as when Batman is gliding along the city and goes through a checkpoint. It doesn't freeze up very often, but when it does, it's very annoying and aggravating. The character design was also sort of iffy. The characters looked much better in Arkham Origins, and seemed like they had more time put into their design, but they also seemed to glitch up a lot.
Even though the game had some glitches, it still looked pretty good. The city was full of well designed buildings and a very detailed environment that could entertain you well as you travel through your journey. There were many simple things that made the city well designed, like graffiti art and posters on the sides of buildings. This made the game very easy on the eyes, and fun to travel through.
Arkham Origins has good character and environment detail, but some defective moments in the graphics during combat. Overall, the design of the game had great detail and was well composed, but the notable bugs and defects in the graphics while traveling or in combat made the gameplay heavily irritating at points.
Verdict = 7.5
New Features: Arkham Origins has a number of new features that make the game different from it's predecessors. Some of these new aspects are a great addition to the series, including new gadgets, new side missions, a fast travel system, and more.
One of the new gadgets is the Remote Claw, which can target two objects at once and pull them together, or can attach to two different walls for use of a tightrope. The Concussion Detonator is also a new toy that Batman acquires, which can be used to stun large groups of enemies. Another addition, which is also my favorite, to Batman's arsenal is the Shock Gloves. The Shock Gloves can be used for shocking enemies, blocking attacks, and jump starting and short circuiting certain objects. The side missions in Arkham Origins include "Crime in Progress" and "Most Wanted". The "Crime in Progress" missions are where Batman can enhance his reputation by assisting the Gotham City Police Department stop groups of thugs from robbing a store or harassing a civilian. The "Most Wanted" system allows Batman to put a stop to certain villains, such as Anarky, Lady Shiva and Deadshot, outside of the main story. The fast travel system introduced in Batman: Arkham Origins allows Batman to summon the Batwing to transport him to other areas in the game much quicker. Some areas where enemy tower installations are located block the use of the Batwing. Batman must first disable all installations for use of the system. Although Batman can use the Batwing freely, the player cannot control it when it is actually flying.
The amount of new aspects and features in Arkham Origins were concerning at first, but most of them turned the game into a fresh and new feeling game for the already amazing series.
Verdict = 9.0
Batman: Arkham Origins is a game with an amazing story, great gameplay, and some fresh new aspects to the series. Though the game had some bugs in the graphics and a few plot holes, it is a must play for any fan of the Arkham games and the Caped Crusader himself.
Final Verdict = 8.0