Game Review: Batman Arkham Origins

Developer: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment

Publisher: Warner Bros Games Montreal

Genre: Action

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC

Website: 

Age Rating: 16+ (PEGI)

Who is the Batman? Why is he here? What forged him? What drives his lust to destroy the corruption of

Gotham City? What sort of man dons a mask to go out at night like that?

Batman is one of the most iconic super heroes there is and in the world of video games, by far the most successful. Rocksteady’s Arkham series has provided dark and flawless opportunities to control the Dark Knight himself as he hunts down familiar and lesser known threats in a beautiful combination of action, stealth and puzzle solving.

After two successful games, Rocksteady seems to have their sights on the next generation, so Warner Bros has enlisted their own studio to develop the latest entry in the series, a prequel to Arkham Asylum.

It’s been a year since Bruce Wayne took up the mantle of Batman, going out every night to bring the criminals of Gotham to justice. The police still don’t trust him and, naturally enough, the syndicates of the city want his head. To that end, Black Mask puts a bounty on Batman’s head and eight assassins come to claim it.

Or at least, that’s the plan, as likely was the intention of giving an already solid game to an unknown developer in Warner Bros Games Montreal. If you’ve played Arkham Asylum or Arkham City, the basic gameplay is the same. Batman’s tank like walk returns, as does his run that makes the Tim Burton Batman theme tune play through your head. The smooth stealth and combat system also return, feeling as good as ever to start with as you sneak up on crooks, choke them into unconsciousness and then beat down his mates when they come running to help in swift, brutal combat that shifts from delivering blows to countering attacks quickly and fluidly.

However, even from the start, there’s a feeling that something’s wrong. And that’s not alluding to any twists in the story (of which there are a few, awkwardly implemented ones), rather that there’s something wrong with the game.

It starts subtly after finishing the tutorial level in a Blackgate Prison breakout, with stealth sections seemingly almost too easy as enemies stay in place while you follow a line around them that may as well be drawn out for how obvious it is.

Then, when you engage several thugs at once and go for a double counter, you find the move simply doesn’t work, making larger fights more difficult than they should be. More than once for me (on the Wii U version, if you're interested), Bats would go to grab two punks by the face and I would find one he actually did grab is still moving as if unaffected and about to deliver a punch to your head which I couldn't then counter as, technically, I was already countering.

The feeling continues and makes the moments when the game threatens to be as good, if not more spectacular than its predecessors, incredibly disappointing. There’s an enhanced crime scene investigation mode which works well on the Wii U, where you can utilise the Gamepad to scan for clues but it doesn’t take long before you realise you’re simply playing a glorified join the dots.

Boss battles suffer as well as. Not only are many of them B or even C list villains only the hard core Batman fan knows about, but their battles are stretched out too long. The opening moments of the Deathstroke battle were incredible as you counter his opening, devestating attack, but after getting my ass handed to me and forced to restart after only taking a few hits (next to the hundreds I’d landed on him at each attempt), it became more an exercise in frustrated patience then an enjoyable challenge. It got even worse in the battle against Cooperhead (who I hadn’t heard of before this game) and with the near broken multi-enemy counter system, I actually gave up on the game.

The graphics and music are nice and do the job, but little about the game is appealing. Gotham City is unappealing to explore in any way, with random objectives sprinkled around linked to more Batman Villains you wouldn’t have heard of and side stories dedicated to characters who randomly drop out of the main plot.

At the end of the day, this game is a pretender. It’s like seeing a lunatic stood on a wall, wearing nothing but a Batman mask and cape and shouting ‘I’m Batman!’ to the world in a hoarse voice, waving his cape like wings as if it will cement his statement, but if you look you’ll see all the underlining flaws, not to mention the fact the lunatic isn’t wearing anything else. Arkham Origins simply isn’t worth the time or money and you’d be better off waiting for Rocksteady’s next generation entry in the series instead.

Verdict: Don’t Buy