Single Player Campaign Review
Story Mode (Complete)
Initial Reaction (7/10)
Having destroyed Batman Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, I wasnt sure how good Origins would be so I was excited to play it but skeptical. My excitement was fueled by that awesome trailer we all watched that had Deathstroke and Batman "mano y mano". So I popped this game in and here is what I found, Arkham Origins is everybit as good and somewhat better than its predecessors. Now, dont get your Batbriefs in a bunch, I have read and heard of the negative reviews some out there have given this edition, and it does have its flaws no doubt but as a fan of these games and of the Batman I have thoroughly enjoyed playing this game and even though I have completed it, I still go home and spend hours on it. Here is why....
Story (9/10)
Vintage Batman! I think bringing this game back to before he was known as the vigilante we love is great. We dont get a true origin story and thats good, we all know already how his parents went down and how he grew up and trained with the league yada yada....instead we pick up on X-mas eve in the middle of a blizzard with a Batman that is on his first forays into Gotham City and everyone is after him, and I mean everyone! He is public enemy #1! The cops and swat want him, Gordon is no friend and there is price on his head so high that all the supervillians, mobsters, low level enforcers and street punks are trying to collect. To top all of this off you(Batman) are alone, your only help is your trusty butler from the Batcave. No Sidekicks, no car, really no gadgets at first, just you and the cold,desolate streets of Gotham. As the story progresses you build your arsenal and tech, relationships are forged and a nemesis is created!
Environment (8/10)
There are pluses and minuses with the environment this go around. Gotham City! The map this time is noticeably bigger with the Gotham Bridge as the centerpiece separating two halves of the city. Gliding around parts of Gotham is fun and you will have to master this technique to maximize the experience. If your the kind of person that doesnt have patience then you can use your Batwing to get you around quicker,(Batmobile whats that? oh yeah Batman hasn't built it yet!) each section of the city has a Batwing drop off point that you
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| Batman Mean Muggin! |
Yes there are also minuses to Gotham that I found, they include the size, by this I mean it could have been bigger map wise and traverse wise. What I mean is that they had all of the same kind of sections as Arkham City and even some of the same graphics were used but just switched around, I get why the developers did this ( save time and money) but I have already been to Park Row, or Amusement Mile. This kind of took away from the Gotham that I saw in the background during Arkham City. While playing Arkham City I wanted to go and explore that Gotham City skyline I saw in the background full of tons of skyscrapers and lights. Now Im in that said city in this game and it looks just like the last game for the most part, which kinda confuses me because they built Arkham City as a seperate island to house criminals and to function like a ghetto of sorts. I guess they modeled it after Gotham itself, I dont know, what it isnt is full of skyscrapers and lights(except for the Diamond District) so there goes my fantasy of sitting atop a really high gargoyle and staring at the traffic below!....Other hang ups include, some environmental glitches where the game freezes on me or I fell through a wall once inside a building and was falling forever so I had to reset the game.
+ Batcave! and Blackgate Prison! What can I say as Batman the batcave is essential to survival so having access is crucial and in this game I can go there whenever I want. Once I'm there I can chat with Alfred, gain xp, recover life, train with dummies in combat and switch my batsuits in the Bat Chamber! Another area I was impressed with is Blackgate prison, this area was only accessed in the beginning of the game and then at the end of the game. But it was a huge area with lots of fights and cells to explore. Calendar Man!
Mechanics (7/10)
The game engine and mechanics are exactly the same as in Arkham City. If you were a proficient fighter in the last game you can pick this game up and just start wrecking street punks and low level enforcers. Boss matches are different and require button sequences along with fighting skills to defeat them. Once defeated though Batman will acquire a power up...hmmm reminds me of...Megaman yeah cool! Another aspect of the game is the leveling up features, xp is gained through fights or crime solving, finishing an area, talking to Alfred, etc. Then you can apply it to acquiring more gadgets or powering up gadgets, combat actions, etc. all very similar to Arkham City.
+ Batcave! and Blackgate Prison! What can I say as Batman the batcave is essential to survival so having access is crucial and in this game I can go there whenever I want. Once I'm there I can chat with Alfred, gain xp, recover life, train with dummies in combat and switch my batsuits in the Bat Chamber! Another area I was impressed with is Blackgate prison, this area was only accessed in the beginning of the game and then at the end of the game. But it was a huge area with lots of fights and cells to explore. Calendar Man!
Mechanics (7/10)
The game engine and mechanics are exactly the same as in Arkham City. If you were a proficient fighter in the last game you can pick this game up and just start wrecking street punks and low level enforcers. Boss matches are different and require button sequences along with fighting skills to defeat them. Once defeated though Batman will acquire a power up...hmmm reminds me of...Megaman yeah cool! Another aspect of the game is the leveling up features, xp is gained through fights or crime solving, finishing an area, talking to Alfred, etc. Then you can apply it to acquiring more gadgets or powering up gadgets, combat actions, etc. all very similar to Arkham City.
Personal Preference (9/10)
The aspect that I loved most about this game is the "Worlds Greatest Detective Mode". While playing the game every once in a while the police radio chimes in ( since Batman is tapping into it) with a crime in progress. Now you can deviate and handle the matter if you want to or not. This is separate from the story but does help you so it behooves you as a player to go and help plus you get xp. Once you have done this a few times, then you will hear of a crime that happened like a murder or accidental death. In swoops the bat, into a crime scene complete with tape and a body. For obvious reasons the cops arent around at the moment, but in some instances flashing lights can be seen around the corner. its as if Batman sneaks in to help solve this crime behind the police's back. You can then enter detective mode and scan for clues to reconstruct the crime scene. This to me is a lot of fun and you can play out the events of the persons death frame by frame to look for clues. Batman also kind of talks to himself during this( he is really talking to you) so it enhances the experience. Once a suspect is found Alfred will help you find where he/she is in the city and then you can go and apprehend him/her. When you find the suspect, its like a mini boss fight. I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the game and this in my opinion gives a game like this depth, or a more realistic feel. Sure I can just go around and pound all thugs and progress but having to think and solve a crime, using the worlds greatest detective skills is also what Batman is all about, this mode explores that side of the protagonist.
Current Take (8/10)
Although this game does have its flaws, it is definitely worth ones time. If you are a fan of Batman and this series of games I recommend it highly. If you have already destroyed the other two games before this one like I did then dont expect a whole new experience but expect an upgrade of sorts in content and challenge, you can play Arkham City and Origins back to back and kill tons of hours and enjoy doing it. On the other hand if you are a new gamer to this whole Batman line of games, then you can pick up Origins with out having played the others and still have a blast and feel for what this iconic hero is like and how he got his start!
Nam
