Arkham Origins Review

Finally, I've finished Arkham Origins (atleast the main game and 90% of side missions)!



And frankly I can't find much wrong with it, besides a few glitches that were mostly fixed with patches.

The main story was actually the best of all three Arkham titles, while the boss fights were very good. And the casefiles were an interesting and much-needed addition.

There were some very strong character moments (which I will discuss below), while the game-play was mostly taken from Rocksteady's game mechanics with the exception of the new Detective Mode.

There were clues scattered everywhere that referenced many important characters in the DC universe and the Rocksteady Arkham games.

SPOILERS FOLLOW......................................

First the main story. It was a blast as we played out pivotal moments in the Dark Knight history, including some innovative use of the weapons in story mode.

The main premise of Black Mask hiring assassins to kill Batman was a smoke screen, as we soon found that Black Mask was himself captured by a man called 'the Joker'. The writers were very careful not to make him presence too  on the nose as we saw a gradual progression in Joker's views as the game progressed.

In between, I confronted the Penguin and faced Deathstroke.

While I was a little sad that Dick Grayson wasn't there (what do I have to do to get a Nightwing DLC?), Bruce was here in all his glory. As were the Gordons - father and son. Loeb, Flass and Branden (all Year One main bads) were either shown or referenced.

And there was a sense of mystery in it - as to Black Mask's actions. His killing of Loeb, a man on his payroll, was suspicious but it is only when you hear the extortion tapes that you learn that Joker did it on a whim as he had forgotten they collected money from the corrupt cops.

The first exposure to Joker toxin, fighting Bane on three different levels, slowly gaining James Gordon's trust while being helped by Barbara were all highlights but the best thing was how Joker shined again. Take a bow, Troy Baker.

When Batman confronted Bane and Joker, Bane escaped but Batman saved the Joker, which thanks to poor Harvey's suggestion that this was because they were partners, led to the beginning of Joker's obsesssion.

Then came a delight as Joker, being analyzed by none other than Harleen Quinzel (who is later on Harley Quinn), was a playable character - first in a melee fight and then his journey as the Red Hood.

Bane allowed many Knightfall references, from his desire to get peace by breaking the bat to finding out Batman is Bruce Wayne and finally, attacking the Batcave and killing Alfred.....

What???

This allowed one of the first uses of the Electrocutioner gloves and I had to start up Alfred's heart again which became really important in the final stages.

Joker took over Blackgate with Bane's help and Batman was faced with an improbable task - if Bane's heart beat wasn't stopped, the Joker (and a captured James Gordon) would be electrocuted. The shock gloves came into the scene again as first he stopped Bane's heart and when the Joker escaped, shocked it into restarting.

This led to one of the more frightening (not hard) battles as I had to use corners and vents to avoid him and then use takedown. Finally, I had a very interesting conversation with the Joker (he tried to shoot me, stab me - I just beat the living hell out of him) before finishing up having established the beginning of a long friendship with Jim.

Now, among the Boss battles, two stood out - Deathstroke and Bane. Couldn't beat Deathstroke by counters and strikes so had to bring out the batarangs so that he was restricted to long range attacks (which ended badly for him). Bane was a little harder as I had to use the ultrastun and it gets disheartening when the venom counter recharged for the umpteenth time. Firefly was also an interesting fight given the usage of the Batclaw and glue grenades. Copperhead and Anarky were par the course while Shiva was like Deathstroke and Mad Hatter like Scarecrow.

The real disappointments were Riddler and Deadshot. The need to scan very nook and corner was restricted to Anarky and the Gotham History journal (Cyrus Pinkey) but scanning posters was Riddler's thing. And the final reveal of the first prototype Riddler trophy from Arkham Asylum was a little underwhelming.

Deadshot, on the other hand, felt a little too hands-on. The Arkham City one was way better (though a similar final Bane battle was there).

I didn't face the Penguin again but Black Mask again was like most gang battles. So was Bird, who I was really expecting to use glide to beat (maybe against birds, duh). Those felt like it could have been more.

But that doesn't deter how much work went into creating Gotham. Every nook and corner contains hidden references (loved the Queen Industries container in the Final Offer ship) and it was great going over them. The Batwing helped fast travel and was welcome.

SPOILERS END.................................

While this is not the best game in the series, it had the best storyline, some good boss battles, a detailed map and much more.

If you liked Rocksteady games or you just plain love Batman, you need to play this.

So, I give it 9.0 out of 10

+Great storyline with some important character moments and developments
+Good innovative boss battles
+The casefiles
+The game mechanics were reproduced, but why change a good thing?

-The Riddler trophies and final conclusion were underwelming
-Some sidequests could have done more