“Batman: Arkham Origins” is if anything a testament to the excellence of the last two Batman games that came before it. “Batman: Arkham Asylum” broke the Batman video game curse back in 2009 by simply being one of the best representations of the bat since “Batman: The Animated Series”. The sequel, “Arkham City”, released in 2011 and built even further upon fan goodwill to create not just a perfect Batman game, but also easily one of the best games from 2011. This is why it’s so painful to say that “Arkham Origins” is merely good. The real problem with “Origins” is that it’s the first Arkham game not developed by series developer Rockstady. Warner Bros. Games Montreal has taken the reins this time and the result is exactly what it is: a B level teams interpretation of an A level product. That’s not to say that “Arkham Origins” is terrible, in fact it’s far from it. Most if not all of the games mechanics and assets are lifted directly from “Arkham City” with only a few subtle changes. Gotham is a little bigger this time around, but most of the landmarks are the same from the previous game. Although the world in Origins is larger, it’s also remarkably empty. “Arkham City” took place within a cordoned off section of Gotham being held in a prison state (think “Escape From New York” only with less Kurt Russel). Origins however is set in Gotham City proper on Christmas Eve, meaning there should be at least a few frantic shoppers on the streets. This is explained away within the story by saying that a massive snowstorm has enforced a citywide curfew, but this feels more like a lazy story telling device to sweep technical limitations under the rug than anything else. More often than not, you’ll come across random crimes in city, which equate to nothing more than breaking up a random gang fight and nothing else. No variety there. Other Arkham game staples like the Riddler side missions are curiously absent as well. Instead we get side quests devoted D-list Bat-villains like Anarky, a guy who hasn’t been relevant in the comics since the early 2000’s.
While “Arkham Origins” may feature lame villains like Copperhead and Deadshot, the story is stronger than any other games in the series. “Origins” takes place two years into the Batman’s existence. However although “Origins” is in the game’s title, the city already is aware of the Dark Knight’s existence to an extent. This is refreshing considering that Bats’ origin is well tread territory in other media, DC Comics is even revisiting it in the comics with the current Batman story-line “Zero Year”. The entirety of the game occurs on Christmas Eve as classic and under-used Bat-villain Black Mask places a hit on Batman’s head. Several assassins come to the table to claim their reward. Containing the plot within a single night helps keep the story contained and focused. Something that the epic scope of “Arkham City” struggled with. Aside from story’ just about everything in “Origins” is about the same or a little worse that “City” and “Asylum”. Everything’s still there even if it lacks a little polish, and the less that’s said about the tacked on multiplayer mode the better. The challenge maps return along with the fun pick-up-and-play attitude that comes with them.
This past year of the current console generation has seen it’s share of stop-gap games in popular series’ before the next generation starts (see: “God of War Ascension”, “Gears of War Judgement”, even “Assassins’ Creed Black Flag” to an extent), and “Batman Arkham Origins” is no different. Everything down to the voice acting is an imitation, but it’s still a darn good imitation. If there’s any consolation it’s that Rocksteady is almost certainly working on the next-gen “Arkham” game, and it’s without a shadow of doubt going to be worth the wait.