Batman: Arkham Origins

"Don't add me to the weight you carry..."

I know I'm not the only one when it goes to saying that Arkham Asylum shocked gamers back in 2009, presenting a dark malevolent atmosphere superhero game like no other. What nobody ever expected was Arkham Asylum, a sequel that pushed the boundaries to both video game storytelling and game engineering. So when they announced that a new prequel game was coming out, I was looking forward to it, but questioned it's success as soon as I heard that Warner Bros Montreal was making it and not the almighty Rocksteady. I feared that Origins would suffer the same fate all superhero video games do: mass advertising yet no game creativity and effort.

When I finally played the game, I was relieved that the game managed to exceed my expectations. No, this is no Arkham City or Asylum if you're wondering, consider it more of a Arkham City 5-6 hour DLC package.

I'll start off by saying that the story is by far the best of the franchise, it feels the most batman like of all three games. We are presented with a darker and deeper storyline, expressing a more humane and vulnerable Batman. In fact the character development is so well done in this game, you can actually feel Bruce Wayne's pain and anger and fears. The interaction between him and Alred is very well done, you can feel the emotion and tension of their parent child relationship throughout the game.

As for the gameplay, I think it was a notch down from the predecessors. While I commend WB for trying to be original and not blindly copying Rocksteady, I think it was a backfire. The combat system and boss fights have been dumbed down to simple and formulaic approaches. It's really just an over kill and bosses can be defeated using the 3 same buttons time and time again. The combat flow has disappeared and now you will experience abrupt glitches and loss in frame rate when combatting large groups of enemies. It's a real shame because the game has so much replay value, but is obstructed by game freezes and massive bugs.

The voice acting in this game is just as good as the previous games. I was a little nervous about Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill being replaced, but Roger Craig Smith (Batman) and Troy Baker (Joker) were great replacements. Smith did a great job of bringing Batman to life, and even seemed to bring more character and emotion to the character.

At the end of the day, if you loved the first 2 games then you'll love this one. As a Batman fan in general, you'll really love this game, just don't expect it to extend the limits of the batman universe we've loved since 2009. For these reasons Batman Arkham Origins gets an 8.5/10.

I don't know why for God sake this game is so hated...first to say is my favourite from all Batman games.The story is amazing,the graphics and the most enjoyable thing is probably the boss fights.Troy Baker's Joker is such a good choice.Bane was also well portrayed in this game.I wish i could erase my memories and play it again for the first time.

So this third game of the Arkham Saga you must know that this game is not really an official game because it is not the same publishing house that created the first two So as I have already said in the previous ones I will talk about two things always the first is the story So this timeThis game is a prequel So in this story they don't really tell from the beginning the story of Batman which was never mentioned when Batman was a wanted man Then Commissioner Gordon wants everything to set Batman up but at the same time another person also wants it or the black mask who has hired assassins that's how they want to take him Batman is Batman has to sign all this So what do I think of the story for me the story Among the four games I consider it the most beautiful for me it was better than all because in this story we really have a beautiful Batman and U. SBatman who was seen in Arkham City who seemed like an idiot instead in this Origin for me it was really beautiful for example that this is a Batman who wants every way to save Gotham and no he uses any way to save that hateful bounty for something that doesn't matter to meI like it I didn't like That black mask was actually the Joker Ugh But it's really impossible that they always put this character in everything interesting you find him it seems like he's just a black mask and a bad guy No why do I have to put the Jokers every day the story I rate 8.5 Alice let's start thereplayability The only negative thing about playability if this game is set in the past how is it possible that everything is very sophisticated compared to the previous two which had increased in the present the same thing that also happened in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and then this time the map it's for all of Gotham City since the previous two which were set on the island of Arkham Asylum is arkham city and then the movements are really fantastic and then this time to go to places much further away flying vehicle and then here there are a lot of resignations secondary but the one that II like it much more when Batman investigates murder cases. This one is much more beautiful regarding the game. I found it very beautiful, unlike the second one but less beautiful than the first and I can't wait to talk about the last game too to conclude I vote 8.5.

Best boss fights, characters, and pacing of the entire series. Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker did a phenomenal job stepping in and providing the voices for our two leads. This game deserves WAY more respect and it's a shame that it doesn't get it.

I remember hearing about this game coming out nearly a year ago. And right from the start I became excited because I've been a die hard Batman fan since I was 6 and the previous 2 Arkham games were amazing. But then I began to have mixed emotions as the months fallowed. I heard that Rocksteady games wasn't making the 3rd installment in the series and I was worried because some new video game would screw up the series where we get a game too kid friendly and PG like and too much like that crappy 1997 Batman and Robin film. And I had heard that the game wont fallow the previous 2 games and I was let down by this considering I thought that a instant sequel to Arkham City was needed since their were a lot of questions fallowing Arkham City and I thought a 3rd fallow up game was needed. And of course finding out that Kevin Conroy wasn't voicing Batman and that another actor was needed to voice a younger Batman had me very worried. So in overall the question was could a prequel game really live up to the previous 2 games?

Well I got the game yesterday and I can say it does have its pro's and cons.

The Pro's. The open world environment. Gotham City looked just amazing and dark which helped keep the feel of the previous 2 games intact. And the idea of 8 assasians coming to Gotham City to kill Batman for 50 million dollars was very interesting. And it was nice to see the Black Mask getting more time in the game. And some of the villains in the game I never expected to see ever were in it. I also liked how it was the same control system as the previous 2 games because I had this belief the new video game company would change everything around to make it harder. The Con's. The off by a couple of second glitches. Every time I get into the batwing the game slightly freezes up. This was too familiar with Arkham City. When Arkham City came out I remember how that game had lots of bugs. Mainly the whole box popping up and the damaged download content crap that caused peoples game systems to constantly reset. I also found it slightly strange that Batman has the same weapons he did in Arkham City. If Origons takes place years before the previous 2 games shouldn't Batman not had had the same weapons he had in Arkham City. And if he did have these weapons the whole time shouldn't he had them when Arkham Asylum and Arkham City came along?

The verdict.

I will admit when this game was coming out and after hearing info on it I almost didn't get the game. I had worries from the start that this game wouldn't be as good and this game would likely end the series with a whimper. But I will admit it surpassed my expectations. Roger Craig Smith did a great job voicing a younger Batman. As did Troy Baker with voicing the younger Joker. And I was delighted they kept the dark atmosphere of the other 2 games intact. You cant have Batman be in a non dark feel. It just wouldn't be the same. So Warner Brothers Montreal. You did a great job. I rate the game as a 9. I recommend the game to anyone who hasn't played it.