Batman: Arkham Origins

Who's laughing now? (Hint: Not Batman)

It's early in Batman's career, but his notoriety has lead to a new villain putting a significant bounty on his head.  Now Batman must defeat 8 assassins and protect the civilian population of Gotham from those who want to terrorize it.

---

Recommended Age Minimum Age Available On... 14 12 PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii U Overall Fun Length Frustration   Violence Sexuality Substances Gambling 7 7 5   5 4 3 1 Mods Religion Anti-Law Community Sports Magic Miscellaneous 0 1 7 3 8 0 1

1.     Gameplay

• Overall Fun - 7

I only recently got back into adventure games.  Tomb Raider, Uncharted, and other well-played series have played on my screen with varying amounts of fun and entertainment coming through as a result.  But Batman is still different than the rest.  Batman’s melee combat is pretty awesome and is exactly what I’d expect from the Dark Knight.  Arkham Origins keeps all of the same elements from the previous Batman games, but does little to push the series forward in any way.

I see your sword, and raise you my hands!

Arkham Origins was made by a different studio than the previous Batman games, which is always problematic.  The new studio wants to keep their fans happy.  They don’t want to make too many new systems, but they also don’t want to be accused of not bringing anything new to the plate.  But while I appreciated that this was definitely a Batman game, I don’t really see how this was an improvement from the previous Batman games.

The attack moves are the same, the enemies are essentially the same, the gadgets (with a few interesting exceptions) are all the same, the enemies are almost all the same, the collectibles and challenges are essentially the same, and the problems are all the same.

This situation looks familiar.

And there were two things that made this game a bit less entertaining than the previous games.  First, it was significantly smaller in both playable space and time to complete the game.  While I thought that Arkham City was a bit too large, I wanted the space to be used a bit more efficiently.  Origins included a fast travel system that would have been pretty useful in Arkham City, but in a map where it would only take me a minute or two to cross the city I didn’t really see the purpose.

When the campaign starts, it talks about how the player will have to face off with 8 assassins (in addition to Black Mask, the main villain).  But by the end I wasn’t even sure if I had faced all eight.  The first assassin is taken down in the Prologue.  Deadshot is completed in a small set of side missions, not even as part of the campaign.  I expected some battle where multiple assassins would strike at once, but that never came.

Why can't you give me something more!

I don’t want to end this by giving the impression that I didn’t like the game.  I did like it.  The Batman games have and will continue to be pretty awesome, fast-paced, combo-based combat with an awesome array of villains and allies.  But I expected something more here, especially compared to all that Arkham City managed to accomplish.

• Length - 7

It took me around 13 hours to complete this game.  There were a few small missions that I couldn’t complete because of bugs and I didn’t collect all of the random collectibles in the game, but I completed all of the main missions and almost all of the side missions.  There is a decent amount of replay value because of the New Game + option, but the prospect of playing this game on a higher difficulty level doesn’t appeal to me.

There are multiplayer modes in this game and despite my initial skepticism and general dislike for multiplayer in traditionally single player games, the multiplayer can be pretty fun.  If a player can wrangle 8 friends and play matches together, it could be a really good time, significantly increasing the lifespan of this game.

• Frustration Factor - 5

There were a number of factors that sometimes significantly impacted my enjoyment of this game.  The most noticeable factor was health in combat.  The player cannot regenerate health while he is in combat.  For most battles this was simply a minor nuisance, since batman is more than a match for almost every enemy type.  Unfortunately, enemies with attacks that can’t be countered easily were difficult to deal with.  I found that if my combo was broken, my entire groove tended to be completely thrown off, which frequently ended in my death.

This issue was significantly more noticeable in boss-battles though.  These extended battles with enemies that had a sometimes ridiculous amount of health were difficult to handle.  If I messed up even a few seconds of combat, I could be left without enough health to finish out the battle.  There was at least one occasion where I lost a boss battle when the boss was at less than 5% health.  This was an unnecessary frustration that could have been handled with a health system that regenerates (or can be healed) mid-combat.

Nearly dead. Again.

There were a few times when bugs also contributed to my frustration.  For example, there was a set of detective missions where Batman had to solve a murder.  One of these missions had a progression-blocking bug, which prevented me from completing two of the missions.  These types of bugs seem to have been a serious issue when the game was first released (according to the articles and forums I visited).  While many of the issues have been solved, I ran into a number of fairly obvious bugs that impacted gameplay.

2.     Parental Notices

• Violence - 5

Batman has one rule, don’t let anyone die.  He sticks to that rule with an intensity that frequently annoys me to no end.  This comes forward in the combat as well.  Batman will punch, kick, and use his various gadgets to pound on enemies but he will never, ever kill them.  There is no blood in this game ever.

Criminals fear the fleetness of his feet.

Batman’s attacks are all a bit like martial arts versions of professional wrestling moves.  I frequently stunned enemies with my cape then slammed them with a flurry of lightning-fast punches until they were subdued.

It's okay, he doesn't fall.

Batman can use most of his gadgets during combat as well.  While some were easier to use than others, they were all relatively passive support to Batman’s fists and feet.  For example, players can use the batclaw to pull an enemy forward then quickly clothesline the enemy to knock them on the ground with significant damage.

Electrocution was the only other form of violence that I saw multiple times in the game.  The Joker has an odd obsession with the electric chair and will frequently put his own minions in electric chairs and shock them simply because he finds it funny.

• Sexuality - 4

Sexuality plays a role with almost all of the female characters.  Basically every woman in this game is portrayed as voluptuous, attractive, and sensual.  Even Copperhead, who is supposed to be deadly and snake-like, is given little clothing and some serious flexibility that make her moves more like a burlesque show than a fight.

Those things should have flopped out of that vest five hours ago.

All of the Batman shows and movies I have watched have portrayed most women as dangerous yet sensual to a varying degree, but there’s only so many times I can see a Harley Quinn clone shake her hips on the screen before I start wondering “where are all of the real women?”

Clearly not here.

Aside from this, there are a number of ads that imply sexual content but don’t do much to deliver.  In the city, this comes in the form of ads for strip clubs.  These clubs don’t actually exist in the game, but it serves to communicate the general seediness of the environment.

The sign points to mid-air. That'd be a pretty amazing live show.

There is also a club in the game called “My Alibi”.  Advertisements for this club (which I only ever found in the club in a single side mission) portray women in very little clothing.  Again, the club is supposed to be a seedy, sensual nightspot, so the advertisement fits in with that.

Party or strip club?

• Substances - 3

There were two somewhat obvious substances in the game.  Some characters can be seen smoking cigars.  This is especially noticeable with The Penguin, who is rarely seen without a cigar.

Half of the time it isn't even lit.

The second is a weird green formula called Titan.  Titan has been featured somewhat prominently in all three Arkham games.  In Arkham Origins, Bane and some of his footsoldiers use it to gain significant amounts of muscle so that they can pound Batman into a pulp.

Bane didn't look like this in the movie.

Since Batman frequently deals with criminal gangs, a few of the gang hideouts have huge stacks of cash and what looks like bricks of cocaine.  These are never discussed in the game though.

With all this cash, you think that the criminals would want a bank.

• Gambling - 1

Gambling is present in some of the environments in the game but Batman is a bit too busy to spend time at the tables.  Slot machines, roulette wheels, and other gambling games can be found in a luxury ship that has been converted into a gang hideout.  There are also a few advertisements around town for casinos, but the signs never point to any location in particular.

Maybe a metaphor for Batman's current mission.

3.     Other Factors

• Mods - 0

There are no modding tools available for this game.

• Religion - 1

Religion only comes up in two structures in the game.  The first is the church, which has been converted into a gang hideout (as has everything else in Arkham City, it seems).  The second is the Blackgate Prison chapel, where the end of the game takes place.  This is much more obviously a house of God.

The guy in the stained glass could be Batman if Batman used swords.

• Anti-Law - 7
  

Anti-law is a major factor in this game and its story.  Batman will have to deal with villains of all sorts.  Some are motivated to commit evil acts by money, some by power, and some by some sort of insanity.  All will perform heinous acts of violence and terror with complete disregard for anyone’s life.

Spoiler Alert: She dies.

The local cops aren’t much better though.  Most of them are being paid off by The Penguin, and are just as likely to terrorize the local population as the gang members.  And both the good cops and bad cops consider Batman to be a criminal, so both will try to take him down.  It was a bit difficult to believe that the Gotham police would want to take down Batman, but I ended up getting into fights with local cops frequently.

Batman isn’t exactly much better either.  While his actions and intentions are all good, he is still a vigilante who works outside of the law in order to bring down criminals.  Batman is still the “most good” person in the city, but he does not always follow the laws in order to get the job done.

I could beat up the entire precinct.

• Online Community - 3

My time with this game’s multiplayer community was brief but civil.  While there were definitely some players who were more experienced and more skilled than others, those who listen to the tutorials and play the single-player campaign first should be at least somewhat competent at the multiplayer modes.  I don’t expect this community to be unnecessarily aggressive or unsportsmanlike.

• Extreme Sports - 8

Extreme sports are a constant element.  Batman has an arsenal of gadgets that can help him quickly climb tall structures, get in the air, and remain gliding for extremely long distances.  If the player times things correctly, he can fly across the city without ever touching the ground.

He can also drop like a rock.

These types of acrobatic maneuvers are a pivotal part of the entire game.  Unless the player understands how to quickly get up ledges or accelerate forward to propel Batman skyward, this game will be impossible to beat.

Batman can also use ziplines and walk along tightropes.  While these acts will be less frequent than the flying or fast propelling motion, they will still happen on numerous occasions throughout the campaign.

Does fire damage Batman?

There are a number of other, more specific events that can also fall into this category.  The most obvious is when Batman attaches himself to Firefly’s jetpack as Firefly boosts around a large suspension bridge.  It’s a dangerous maneuver that should kill Batman.

This is going to end poorly for someone.

• Magic - 0

Magic is not a factor in this game.

• Miscellaneous - 1

Torture

Black Mask, one of the villians, is captured by The Penguin and tortured until Batman rescues him.  This is only included in a brief section of a single mission.

Anyone who wears Paisley is definitely a bad guy.

Human Disfigurement

There are a number of villains that are disfigured in minor ways.  Most of these disfigurements tend to be features of combat or some horrific accident.  There were only two that were significant enough to mention.  The first is Firefly.  Although the game mentions that he has burns on over 90% of his body and part of those burns can be seen when his eye is revealed, the vast majority of his body stays insulated in a flame-retardant suit.

The second, and by far the most obvious in the game, is Bane.  Bane’s muscles have been severely altered by the Titan formula.  At the end of the game, he ends up becoming a huge, muscular, hairless gorilla of a man, barely recognizable to who he once was.

Just kidding, he's the Hulk.