Batman: Arkham Origins was a game that I wasn't really expecting from last year. Naturally, I got excited for this game when it was first announced but I realized that this isn't developed my Rocksteady Studios but instead by WB Montreal & Splash Damage. Instead of continuing the Arkham franchise, this game decides to explore the beginnings of Bruce Wayne as Batman. While the game itself isn't a bad game (if you haven't played any of the Arkham games), however it feels that it is a rehashed version of the past Arkham games and nothing new isn't brought to the table with this entry into the Arkham games. I can say it's the most cinematic of all the Arkham games, the gameplay lacks innovation from Arkham City and feels like a re-skinned version of city than it's own thing. While Arkahm Origins is still a solid experience on its own, it lacks to build whatever is from the previous entries of the Arkham games.
First thing to get out, the original cast of Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as The Joker are not here to reprise their role (Oh yeah, I forgot the Joker makes an appearance in this game). Instead they are replaced with both Roger Craig Smith as Batman and Troy Baker as the Joker. Both actors do their jobs well as they both sound a lot younger compared to their older counterparts in the previous Arkham games. For myself, I believe that Mark Hamill should pass the ever blazing torch of who gets to voice the Joker over to Troy Baker. You can hardly tell that it is Troy himself which is pretty unbelievable.
Within Arkham Origins' presentation, it does surprisingly well as it is what I call the most cinematic Arkham game so far in the series. Even with the presentation and story itself, in terms of gameplay is where the game starts to fall off making it the weakest of the Arkham games. Gameplay hasn't been changed for the most part: combat remains fluid as ever, predator mode is still fun, and exploration is relatively the same. While it's nice to have things remain the same, you might as well wish for something different in the end. The one feature that is new to the Arkham games is the experience system. Basically every combat, predator or auxiliary challenge, you are rewarded with experience and the more efficient you are, the larger the multiplier of the experience points. The assassins' battles are also entertaining to partake in and for the most part makes the experience more intense (even though two of them ended up being side missions instead).
I have to admit WB Montreal does less with the game and that's disappointing for me. The standard argument with that is that it's a prequel, so Batman isn't going to have those gadgets in this game. I just call that lazy because the developers didn't push the game that extra mile which would've made the game great on its own. Even a lot of the gadgets are the same from Arkham City. For example, remember that ice grenade you got in Arkham City, well here you get a glue grenade which has the exact same properties that the ice grenade does.Also a lot of the mission structure from City is replicated a lot in Origins, which makes it kind of lazy in that sense. Another thing that disappointed me was how easy the extras are. In the game you collect these Enigma packs for one of the side missions and to my dismay, they are extremely easy to trace and obtain. Okay, I admit there were a couple where I had to figure out how to get but for the most part all you need is a specific gadget to get them (or in some cases they lay right in the open .). Compared to Arkham City, that game made you work for the extras and obtaining them makes you feel accomplished at the end. Here in Arkham Origins, there isn't much joy in collecting them, almost makes it feel like a grind.
There is replay value if you're up for it: new game plus is a game mode that puts you in a new game with all your gadgets and upgrades with more challenging enemies. If you beat that mode there is a even challenging "I Am The Night" mode where it's one death you start from the very beginning. Challenge Mode is back and strangely enough for me, a lot of the maps feel very bland. I guess its the colour scheme that they were aiming for but for me it's not as entertaining as Arkham City challenge maps (hell, I feel like going back to Arkham City after playing Origins). An odd addition to the Arkham games is a multiplayer mode for the first time. The multiplayer is pretty standard of what you expect from multiplayer content in single player content based game. It's basically a form of 3v3v2 with Joker's and Bane's men fighting for control while Batman and Robin try to take down the rest of the gang members. The multiplayer in all honesty isn't much to keep you invested like Uncharted or Grand Theft Auto Online.
Overall, the game is solid if this is your first Arkham game, but for the rest of us this is an okay addition to the Arkham series. With strong inspiration from various works of Batman to create the Arkham Origins story, the gameplay suffers with lack of innovation, repeated elements, and the simplified extras that makes this game lack challenge. Arkham Origins is a good game with very noticeable flaws, so I would recommend buying this game at sale price.
First thing to get out, the original cast of Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as The Joker are not here to reprise their role (Oh yeah, I forgot the Joker makes an appearance in this game). Instead they are replaced with both Roger Craig Smith as Batman and Troy Baker as the Joker. Both actors do their jobs well as they both sound a lot younger compared to their older counterparts in the previous Arkham games. For myself, I believe that Mark Hamill should pass the ever blazing torch of who gets to voice the Joker over to Troy Baker. You can hardly tell that it is Troy himself which is pretty unbelievable.
Within Arkham Origins' presentation, it does surprisingly well as it is what I call the most cinematic Arkham game so far in the series. Even with the presentation and story itself, in terms of gameplay is where the game starts to fall off making it the weakest of the Arkham games. Gameplay hasn't been changed for the most part: combat remains fluid as ever, predator mode is still fun, and exploration is relatively the same. While it's nice to have things remain the same, you might as well wish for something different in the end. The one feature that is new to the Arkham games is the experience system. Basically every combat, predator or auxiliary challenge, you are rewarded with experience and the more efficient you are, the larger the multiplier of the experience points. The assassins' battles are also entertaining to partake in and for the most part makes the experience more intense (even though two of them ended up being side missions instead).
I have to admit WB Montreal does less with the game and that's disappointing for me. The standard argument with that is that it's a prequel, so Batman isn't going to have those gadgets in this game. I just call that lazy because the developers didn't push the game that extra mile which would've made the game great on its own. Even a lot of the gadgets are the same from Arkham City. For example, remember that ice grenade you got in Arkham City, well here you get a glue grenade which has the exact same properties that the ice grenade does.Also a lot of the mission structure from City is replicated a lot in Origins, which makes it kind of lazy in that sense. Another thing that disappointed me was how easy the extras are. In the game you collect these Enigma packs for one of the side missions and to my dismay, they are extremely easy to trace and obtain. Okay, I admit there were a couple where I had to figure out how to get but for the most part all you need is a specific gadget to get them (or in some cases they lay right in the open .). Compared to Arkham City, that game made you work for the extras and obtaining them makes you feel accomplished at the end. Here in Arkham Origins, there isn't much joy in collecting them, almost makes it feel like a grind.
There is replay value if you're up for it: new game plus is a game mode that puts you in a new game with all your gadgets and upgrades with more challenging enemies. If you beat that mode there is a even challenging "I Am The Night" mode where it's one death you start from the very beginning. Challenge Mode is back and strangely enough for me, a lot of the maps feel very bland. I guess its the colour scheme that they were aiming for but for me it's not as entertaining as Arkham City challenge maps (hell, I feel like going back to Arkham City after playing Origins). An odd addition to the Arkham games is a multiplayer mode for the first time. The multiplayer is pretty standard of what you expect from multiplayer content in single player content based game. It's basically a form of 3v3v2 with Joker's and Bane's men fighting for control while Batman and Robin try to take down the rest of the gang members. The multiplayer in all honesty isn't much to keep you invested like Uncharted or Grand Theft Auto Online.
Overall, the game is solid if this is your first Arkham game, but for the rest of us this is an okay addition to the Arkham series. With strong inspiration from various works of Batman to create the Arkham Origins story, the gameplay suffers with lack of innovation, repeated elements, and the simplified extras that makes this game lack challenge. Arkham Origins is a good game with very noticeable flaws, so I would recommend buying this game at sale price.