Review: Batman: Arkham Origins

When the details for Batman: Arkham Origins were first being released several months ago, there was a vague sense of unease surrounding the third entry in the excellent Arkham series. Rocksteady wouldn’t be developing it? Paul Dini wouldn’t be writing? No Mark Hamill or Kevin Conroy? It seemed that none of the things that made the first two games so great would be sticking around for the third outing, and that was potentially some cause for concern. Arkham Asylum and Arkham City were landmark games that showed the world just how good superhero video games could be, and a poorly-made third entry could have potentially tarnished the series’ excellent reputation.

Thankfully, I’m happy to report that despite the behind-the-scenes shuffling, Arkham Origins is a solid game that Arkham fans should feel right at home playing. While ultimately not as strong—and certainly not as novel—as its predecessors, it still delivers the same fluid and fun gameplay that we’re well-acquainted with and even gives us a few welcome additions and improvements.

Origins‘ greatest strength is its story, which easily stands out as the best of the series (City felt a bit too disjointed and predictable, while Asylum kind of fell apart by the end). Its premise is surprisingly simple: it’s Christmas Eve and mob boss Black Mask has put a hit out on Batman, hiring eight assassins to try and kill the young and unseasoned caped crusader. Now, Batman has to survive the night and take out Black Mask and his assassins.

While the premise is simple enough, it allows for a more substantial look at who Batman is and his developing relationship with those around him, both friend and foe. Throughout the course of the game we see Batman learn and grow in a way that wouldn’t work in anything other than a prequel story. We see the Dark Knight’s defining traits, such as his insistence to never kill, brought to the forefront and examined. In addition to that, there are a few well-placed twists in the story. While plot twists in general can sometimes feel tacked-on, hokey, or purely meant for shock, in Origins they never feel forced and actually serve to streamline and focus the story to an even greater degree.

I also applaud developer Warner Bros. Games Montreal’s decision to draw a wider variety of Batman villains as opposed to the usual rogue’s gallery. Sure, you get a fair amount of very familiar faces (like Penguin, Bane, and the Joker), but also some nice mid-level entries (Black Mask, Shiva, and Firefly for example), and quite a few super obscure villains (I consider myself a fairly well-versed Batman fan, and I had never heard of Anarky or Electrocutioner before). It’s a great mix and gives Origins its own unique feel, while still offering enough well-known characters to avoid alienating gamers.

I have no idea who this is.

This unique feel, however, doesn’t extend to the gameplay itself. Perhaps Origins‘ greatest drawback is its sense of “been there, done that.” As with City, Origins is a sandbox game full of side quests and collectables. Unfortunately, very few of the of the side quests differentiate themselves from anything you’ve done in past games. There are the usual Riddler items (now called Enigma data packs) to collect and Crimes in Progress to stop. And gone are the hundreds of scannable easter eggs, replaced instead with the much less interesting Anarky Tags. Even the trippy Mad Hatter moments (a visual highlight from City) feel like more of the same this time around.  Still, the gameplay, while familiar, continues to be top-notch, and “it feels a lot like Arkham City” isn’t something you can be too sad about. And it should be noted that there are still one or two wonderful gameplay moments that DO feel unique, as well as some solid boss battles, particularly in the later half of the game, but I don’t want to spoil them here.

And despite its “samey” feeling, there are a few new shakeups to the gameplay that succeed to various degrees, largely in the form of new gadgets. The Remote Claw, for example, makes predator segments of the game a breeze (perhaps too much so), as they offer many new ways to take out bad guys from a distance. Combat sees more of a shakeup in the form of both new gadgets and new enemies. Martial Artists and Venom henchmen are much harder to take down or counter, so a greater degree of strategy is required when fighting. This is balanced by the Shock Gloves upgrade, which can be activated and allow you to wail on most foes to your vigilante heart’s content. The changes are ultimately small but still appreciated.

The most unique addition to the game is probably the crime scene investigations. In the past we’ve used Detective Vision to solve murders, but its implementation has always been fairly simple (scan a bullet to find its trajectory, follow a trail of blood, etc.). The investigations in Origins are much more involved, often having to fast forward and rewind through records of murders in order to isolate and examine key evidence. It’s a nice addition, though you’re pretty heavily guided through each investigation. It would have been nice to give these investigations less of an “on rails” feel, and perhaps even make them things players would have to go back to to uncover more clues, but as it stands it’s a good framework for future games to hopefully expand.

Once you finish the single player campaign, there’s still plenty to do. The 200+ Enigma packs are no easy task to collect, and odds are there will still be several side missions that require your attention. In addition to that there’s New Game Plus, which sees you up against harder enemies (and no counter indicator). And then there’s I Am the Night mode, where a single death means you have to start all the way at the beginning. Beating that mode gives you the right—no, the duty—to dress up like Batman in real life.

Finally, there is the multiplayer mode, which is another first for the Arkham series. Though I was skeptical that this kind of game would translate well to a multiplayer experience, the concept itself seems rather sound. Players assume the role of thugs fighting for supremacy in a 3v3 deathmatch, while 2 players assume the role of Batman and Robin and try to take out the thugs without being spotted. It’s a clever idea that adapts the classic gameplay well… as long as you’re playing as Batman or Robin. The experience of playing as either hero and taking out actual players is much more difficult than the AI predator maps, but the added challenge actually makes the game much more tense and rewarding.

Playing as a thug is decidedly less fun, however. The actual PvP gameplay is fairly bare bones, with little that you can do as a thug besides run, duck behind cover, and shoot. Things liven up if you can reach an upgrade that allows you to become either Joker or Bane, but if the other team gets the upgrade, prepare to die a lot and be generally pretty miserable. Still, it’s a good idea on paper, and to be honest I’d like to see more of this developed in future games. It’s also possible that veterans of multiplayer shooters might fare much better than I did, but as it stands I didn’t enjoy the experience enough to want to play more than the occasional match now and again.

After playing the game, I find it’s a bit ironic that prior to its release, there was concern that most of the people involved with Arkham City weren’t working on Origins – concern that the game just wouldn’t be the same. If anything, the game ended up being too much like its predecessor. At the end of the day, however, Arkham Origins is still a solid game, offering a great Batman story and familiar gameplay. If you’re a fan of Arkham City and want more, then Arkham Origins is right up your alley. Just don’t expect too much of a revolution.

Images credited to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment™ 2013.