Batman: Arkham Origins is the newest installment in the Batman: Arkham franchise, featuring a younger and unrefined Batman. However, just because the marketing didn’t make you think so, this game is VERY true to its title. It’s the origins of the Arkham game saga, and nothing else. Arkham Origins gives you a very in-depth look at how Batman’s life has unraveled into the chaotic train-wreck we witnessed in Arkham City. As touted in the advertising, this is very much about Batman forging key relationship…but with the most unexpected bunch of people. So, how does Arkham Origins fare against Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Asylum? Since it’s in the hands of a new development team (WB Games Montreal), has much changed or been improved on?
I’m just going to drop the mic first and get the elephant out of the way; Batman Arkham Origins may be the glitchiest game in the saga yet, but it is the best Arkham game yet. I really mean that, coming from someone who has dedicated hundreds of hours into Arkham City, whether that’s Story Mode or Challenge Maps. Arkham Origins excels in all the areas that made the previous Arkham games so great, and whether or not that is just too “familiar” for you, there was minimal change needed to improve on the foundation that Rocksteady had laid out.
Arkham Origins lays the groundwork for a new series of Arkham games with its compelling story and breath-taking narrative. Arkham Asylum perfectly captured the characterization and dialogue from some of Batman’s most notorious heroes and villains, but City ultimately sacrificed that for a story that fit into a bigger picture that didn’t exist…until now. Arkham Origins perfectly captures this young, reckless Bruce Wayne who thinks he is nothing but an unstoppable tank, breaking the bones of thugs in the night. Hell, this Batman is so arrogant he even has his own “I Am The One Who Knocks” speech to Alfred. Speaking of Alfred Pennyworth, Martin Jarvis perfectly portrays Wayne’s loyal servant, who has been with him since the beginning. The banter between Bruce and Alfred in certain cut scenes is amazingly accurate. Speaking of Bruce and Alfred, Batman even tries to be a hardened, egotistical bastard around Alfred as well to keep with the act of being Batman. For instance, Alfred calls Bruce Wayne over the commlink and says “It’s midnight sir, Merry Christmas to you” and then Bruce coldly replies…”You too.”
I’ve been scouring Twitter, Reddit and forums for the general consensus on Arkham Origins, and it seems that people have been upset or disappointed about the story, and I really don’t see why (unless they’ve never read a Batman comic before); the story is very unique, well-written and dedicated to its core purpose. That being said, I believe the marketing is to blame for any story disappointments. The game was advertised as a young, early Batman feuding with Black Mask and avoiding 8 of DC Comics’ most deadly assassins. I’ll admit, that sounded pretty [frick]ing awesome and it only added to the Black Mask tease that Arkham City gave us. However, that is not the story that we got in the game, as some of the assassins were shunned to being side-missions. Instead, we got a very different take on the origins of Batman and the Arkham saga that was absolutely fantastic, but it wasn’t the story that was advertised, and I can’t say what it is without revealing a major spoiler. However, Arkham Origins is very much about forging key relationships that are important to the Arkham mythology, not only Batman’s relationships with his villains, but those villains’ relationships with key personnel in the game’s universe. In a way, the story of this game is very much the best part and perfectly captures that early Dark Knight whose arrogance is his own weakness.
Speaking of weakness, Arkham Origins ramps up the difficulty adding a whole new experience to the game than ever before. To be Batman, you have to be skilled in the game’s combat system and rely on combo variations and quick thinking. Playing on the Hard difficulty, I found the first boss battle infuriating almost to the point where I would shut off my console and not return to the game for a while. From that first experience, I knew I was in for a treat, even for someone who considers himself a “veteran” of the combat system. However, even though Arkham Origins’ combat is much faster and flowing, it almost fails at being focused as Arkham City or Asylum, with Batman not always hitting the right thugs you aim at or Batman just punching thin air and losing your combo instead of jumping to the thug less than a meter away from him. This is quite infuriating at first, but it also helps you to adjust your skillset and dealing with crowd control. Speaking of the difficulty of Batman: Arkham Origins, the game also makes it even harder for you to get specialized upgrades like Disarm and Destroy and the Batarang Takedown, by implementing the “Dark Knight System”, where you must complete certain challenges to be able to purchase some upgrades or gadgets from the WayneTech menu. The upgrade system is perfectly matched to the progression of the game; the more challenging the criminals and boss battles are; the upgrades available become better.
Speaking of boss battles, Arkham Origins vastly improves on them which sometimes Arkham City and Asylum failed to get right. For example, we’re no longer spamming electricity patches with explosive gel to stop Solomon Grundy, and we’re not spamming ice grenades at Clayface in the final boss fight. Instead, the boss battles in this game are challenging and hard, but sometimes exploitable. For example, the Deathstroke boss battle is the PERFECT portrayal of what would happen of these two foes went face-to-face, however, the pattern of Deathstroke’s attacks soon become easily predictable and using the Quick-fire Batclaw clothesline attack, it’s easy to take him out in minutes. A few boss battles with a certain villain were different each time and exhilarating each time, but the one thing that each boss battle granted me was a sense of accomplishment. I was actually satisfied that I had taken down someone like Killer Croc or Deathstroke due to the difficulty being raised and the combat being fast-paced with quick-thinking required.
I think the only thing I have left to talk about is the sound of Arkham Origins; it is majestic and atmospheric. Christopher Drake, who you may know from scoring the DC Animated movies, tries his hand at completely scoring a video game. His music in this game is amazing and sets the perfect tone for Arkham Origins. The voice actors are all on top form, and that’s no surprise, considering this game carries some of the BEST in the industry including rising star Troy Baker (Avengers Assemble), Nolan North (Uncharted), Roger Craig Smith (Sonic, Avengers Assemble), JB Blanc (Beware The Batman) and even sports “additional” voices from the industry’s finest such as Josh Keaton, Grey DeLisle, Tara Strong and more. Martin Jarvis and Roger Craig Smith are SPOT-ON as Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne respectively, with Troy Baker’s Joker definitely portraying a quite younger version of the character. JB Blanc portrays an absolutely terrifying version of Bane (especially near the end) while some reprisals from Arkham City and Asylum do their best at being a younger version of their respective characters.
Overall, Arkham Origins is a risky foray into the young life of an arrogant, unstoppable Bruce Wayne. The developers were all about staying faithful to the material presented to them instead of trying something new, and they succeeded in all respects. Arkham Origins is a fantastic game and the lack of major change is something that can be easily overlooked with a brand new aesthetic. It’s safe to say that Origins is an integral part in the Arkham trilogy and may even win a Game Of The Year award or few from some outlets. Despite a few flaws here or there, Arkham Origins does nothing but fan service and tickles that inner fancy of any Batman fan.
Purchase Batman: Arkham Origins and support the developers for this amazing game.
Note: I received the Xbox 360 copy from WBIE for review.