Batman: Arkham Origins

This title is a prequel which is sometimes hard to develop in the case of games. Game play wise this is stunning,continuing the great combat system and gadgets present in the previous arkham games along with some new ones,This without doubt is good enough to keep the feel of the game intact .visually arkham origins does a pretty good job, having the open world expanded up to twice as much as last time. adding Gotham city into the game is something worth taking a look at or roaming around as batman. One of the greatest things about the Arkham series was that it always gave the player an experiences as to how it feels to be batman. This time around they managed to keep the feeling just as great as the previous titles. Batman himself looks quite stunning in the game. The story for this game by far was one of the best written story in the series and can at least attain a title of top 10 best story games ever. The story gives of impressive character relation development between Batman, joker and a few other characters including Alfred(Bruce waynes butler). There are small flaws in the game like, frame lags at certain points. Its rarely seen in the game. Those who are here to get the game for its story, gameplay or being general fans of arkham games will be in for a blast. Especially the story. It is understandable why the new studios did not want to add too many things and change the games combat system or add major changes that can change the feel of the game. After all the combat and predator game play etc are what makes this series great.The boss fights are some of the most impressive stuffs in the game, boss fights seem more head on with the villain then making it look cinematic. The overall game was a great ride and only gets me hyped for the rumored sequel to arkham city under rocksteady.

gameplay : 9/10 Story: 10/10 visuals: 9/10 Feel of the game : 9.5/10 ovrall: 9.0/10

Dark,Thrilling and a Brilliant story

Batman Arkham Asylum surpassed both video-game players and reviewers expectations tremendously back in 2009. The sequel, with even greater graphics and game-play did so even more two years later. Therefore a third Arkham game was inevitable.

Due to the events at the end of Arkham City, Arkham Origins is a prequel so some of Batman's old foes are resurrected. The game begins with the villain Black Mask placing a bounty on Batman's head on Christmas Eve. This attracts the attention of 8 super-assassins including Deathstroke, Bane, Lady Shiva, Deadshot. To top that all off Batman also comes across several side-super-villains like Edward Nygma, Penguin, Mad Hatter and The Joker.

Whilst the graphics are not as detailed as Arkham City, the game play is amazing. Its fast, slick and Batman is brutal. Sure there are glitches here and there but hopefully a patch will be released soon. The city is massive (although perhaps not as big as previews said but still). You can explore the industrial side of Gotham and the side that would eventually become 'Arkham City'. Plot-wise, a lot (and I mean A LOT) of it has been taken and expanded from Batman Begins. I have no problem with that though.

The game would get a 10 from me if it weren't for those bloody glitches though. Excellent game otherwise.

I remember hearing about this game coming out nearly a year ago. And right from the start I became excited because I've been a die hard Batman fan since I was 6 and the previous 2 Arkham games were amazing. But then I began to have mixed emotions as the months fallowed. I heard that Rocksteady games wasn't making the 3rd installment in the series and I was worried because some new video game would screw up the series where we get a game too kid friendly and PG like and too much like that crappy 1997 Batman and Robin film. And I had heard that the game wont fallow the previous 2 games and I was let down by this considering I thought that a instant sequel to Arkham City was needed since their were a lot of questions fallowing Arkham City and I thought a 3rd fallow up game was needed. And of course finding out that Kevin Conroy wasn't voicing Batman and that another actor was needed to voice a younger Batman had me very worried. So in overall the question was could a prequel game really live up to the previous 2 games?

Well I got the game yesterday and I can say it does have its pro's and cons.

The Pro's. The open world environment. Gotham City looked just amazing and dark which helped keep the feel of the previous 2 games intact. And the idea of 8 assasians coming to Gotham City to kill Batman for 50 million dollars was very interesting. And it was nice to see the Black Mask getting more time in the game. And some of the villains in the game I never expected to see ever were in it. I also liked how it was the same control system as the previous 2 games because I had this belief the new video game company would change everything around to make it harder. The Con's. The off by a couple of second glitches. Every time I get into the batwing the game slightly freezes up. This was too familiar with Arkham City. When Arkham City came out I remember how that game had lots of bugs. Mainly the whole box popping up and the damaged download content crap that caused peoples game systems to constantly reset. I also found it slightly strange that Batman has the same weapons he did in Arkham City. If Origons takes place years before the previous 2 games shouldn't Batman not had had the same weapons he had in Arkham City. And if he did have these weapons the whole time shouldn't he had them when Arkham Asylum and Arkham City came along?

The verdict.

I will admit when this game was coming out and after hearing info on it I almost didn't get the game. I had worries from the start that this game wouldn't be as good and this game would likely end the series with a whimper. But I will admit it surpassed my expectations. Roger Craig Smith did a great job voicing a younger Batman. As did Troy Baker with voicing the younger Joker. And I was delighted they kept the dark atmosphere of the other 2 games intact. You cant have Batman be in a non dark feel. It just wouldn't be the same. So Warner Brothers Montreal. You did a great job. I rate the game as a 9. I recommend the game to anyone who hasn't played it.

I don't know why for God sake this game is so hated...first to say is my favourite from all Batman games.The story is amazing,the graphics and the most enjoyable thing is probably the boss fights.Troy Baker's Joker is such a good choice.Bane was also well portrayed in this game.I wish i could erase my memories and play it again for the first time.

"Don't add me to the weight you carry..."

I know I'm not the only one when it goes to saying that Arkham Asylum shocked gamers back in 2009, presenting a dark malevolent atmosphere superhero game like no other. What nobody ever expected was Arkham Asylum, a sequel that pushed the boundaries to both video game storytelling and game engineering. So when they announced that a new prequel game was coming out, I was looking forward to it, but questioned it's success as soon as I heard that Warner Bros Montreal was making it and not the almighty Rocksteady. I feared that Origins would suffer the same fate all superhero video games do: mass advertising yet no game creativity and effort.

When I finally played the game, I was relieved that the game managed to exceed my expectations. No, this is no Arkham City or Asylum if you're wondering, consider it more of a Arkham City 5-6 hour DLC package.

I'll start off by saying that the story is by far the best of the franchise, it feels the most batman like of all three games. We are presented with a darker and deeper storyline, expressing a more humane and vulnerable Batman. In fact the character development is so well done in this game, you can actually feel Bruce Wayne's pain and anger and fears. The interaction between him and Alred is very well done, you can feel the emotion and tension of their parent child relationship throughout the game.

As for the gameplay, I think it was a notch down from the predecessors. While I commend WB for trying to be original and not blindly copying Rocksteady, I think it was a backfire. The combat system and boss fights have been dumbed down to simple and formulaic approaches. It's really just an over kill and bosses can be defeated using the 3 same buttons time and time again. The combat flow has disappeared and now you will experience abrupt glitches and loss in frame rate when combatting large groups of enemies. It's a real shame because the game has so much replay value, but is obstructed by game freezes and massive bugs.

The voice acting in this game is just as good as the previous games. I was a little nervous about Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill being replaced, but Roger Craig Smith (Batman) and Troy Baker (Joker) were great replacements. Smith did a great job of bringing Batman to life, and even seemed to bring more character and emotion to the character.

At the end of the day, if you loved the first 2 games then you'll love this one. As a Batman fan in general, you'll really love this game, just don't expect it to extend the limits of the batman universe we've loved since 2009. For these reasons Batman Arkham Origins gets an 8.5/10.