Batman: Arkham Origins

Game Info

 

The “Dark Knight” returns in another video game, but this time in a prequel to the previous two installments.  At first I thought this batman was gonna be exactly like the other two with a few new added gadgets and battle sequences just to kinda make the game a little more in depth and not to be exactly the same.  Well, I was right and wrong because this game is just like the other two games but with a few added things but at the same time, the way batman was portrayed in the game is fantastic.  The usual things will be in it like your batclaw, cryptographic sequencer, explosive gel, the batarangs and etc.  The new things will include the remote claw which you can target two walled points which will create a tight rope or can use it to make the enemies crash into each other or objects.  The Shock gloves to short circuit objects, stun or disable enemies or shielded enemies,  and block electrical attacks.  And the concussion detonator which you can stun large groups of enemies.

The game takes place in the beginning of Batman’s existence.  In the story, the Joker is a new villain that he has never heard of and the black mask has a $50 million bounty on Batman.  During the cut scenes, the dark knight seems to be new to the whole vigilante thing and doesn’t go as easy on the criminals as he does later in his career.  He beats the baddies with in a breath of their lives just to get information from these guys which is a lot darker than the previous versions.  I like it though because you can feel how new the batman is to this life and how different he becomes to his rules later as opposed to the now.  The game seems to try to focus a little bit more on his detective skills too, which make it fun on the Wii U because you use the Wii pad to look around for clues and search for ways to solve the crimes.  It reminds me a lot of ZombieU with how to use the controller almost as if you are in the room that you are searching, you can spin around and the screen will show the room being around you.  But to me it seems like the detective mode is a little easy as the clues are basically highlighted for you to search.

The game play is a lot like its predecessors, you will have your open world to run around and do as you please but to me it is a little too big and for no reason either. You will have your free flow combos, your attacks and reversals and so on and so forth but in Arkham Origins you will face the assassin’s looking to cash in on the bounty.  You can’t just walk up to them and beat them up or just reverse their moves.  You have to put a little more thinking into your fighting as well as reversals and attacks.  For instance, when fighting deathstroke, you will have to watch for your little openings that he leaves for you to attack him, you will have to counter the propane tanks he throws at you, counter his attacks and most of all use the batclaw on him to your advantage.  Without using the batclaw or countering the propane tanks, this fight will take forever and if you attack at an inopportune time then he will wreck you with his blades and make your death fast and annoying.  It seems they put a little more effort into the bigger boss battles than fighting the regular thugs which is great because it makes you have to really put forth more of an effort instead of just button mashing.

All in all the game is awesome, more of a fighting game than a stealth game.  The game did great on improving boss battles, which was definitely my favorite part.  The difference in the attitude of batman is very noticeable from the two prior installments to this version.  Some of the weapons like the shock gloves made some of the game a little too easy and no challenge whatsoever, but to admit I stopped using them so I could enjoy the game a little unless it was a necessary part to use them.  I enjoy playing these batman games because I love action games and I love the idea of being a super hero.  I feel like they did add enough things to make this game feel the same but different enough to where there is still a challenge to it and made it more enjoyable.