Platform: Xbox 360

Developer: Warner Bros. Games Montréal

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Release Date:
October 25, 2013

Genre: Action/Adventure

Nerd Rating: 9.5 out 10

Reviewed by Shadow Links

As a fan of the Batman Arkham games this was one of my highly anticipated game releases this holiday season. While Rocksteady studio may not have its name on the cover this time, this is still that degree of quality in the game.

The game while containing “origins” in its title is not the beginning origin story of Batman. The game takes place 2 years after Bruce Wayne became the Batman. Although none of the top notch villains are familiar with him yet as the “bat” is just a story and the Joker has yet to be heard from. He is already very skilled at combat and has a large repertoire of gadgets and equipment to help his cause. Actually I believe he starts out with more gadgets than any other game as well as some additions that you normally had to level up and upgrade to get. Fear not though, there are still plenty of things and new devices for you to use as you make your way through the criminal laden city such as the glue grenade.

Speaking of which, if you are familiar with the Arkham City map, you might find some familiar scenery since half the map is the location of Arkham City. a bridge to the south leads to a new section with new districts for you to explore.

Exploration and finding secrets has been a part of the series since the beginning, and continues in this title. Riddler aka Enigma, quick reveals himself and early on you can start on his extortion data instead of trophies and taking down his network as well as Anarky’s wall tags. Not as much tie in as they used to be since now most of the villains make appearances rather than just small reminders.

The original batcave makes its appearance finally, and is becoming of the bat that tinkers in there, you can see boards with newspaper clippings where Batman has been working to solve crimes, a training dummy area that serves for in-game challenge maps, as well as what appears to be an unfinished batmobile. The attention to detail still carries over to all parts of the city and buildings as well as Batmans mannerisms.

Considering he’s only been at this for 2 years, batman is not quite the hero you expect. He’s a little hot under the hood in both actions and words. In a conversation with A, the butler mentions he feels sorry for killer croc’s roomate, batman firmly states he does not. Later batman also fails to interrogate a criminal by choking him out before he could spill the beans, and I even notices that his explosive gel which used to be painted in the shape of a bat, now isn’t quite as discernible.

Combat has probably been one of my favorite things in the series with its free flow style. While mostly it uses only a strike button and counter, with the occasional gadget to mix things up, its a easy system with lots of variations and always room to improve. Not to much has changed other than maybe the addition of a few more move interactions.

The main thread of the story involves the 8 assassins that Black Mask has going after the 50 million bounty on Batman’s head. While this in itself could make an interesting story, expect plenty of twists and turns, villain appearances, and priority changes throughout the game to enjoy while you aren’t getting caught up in the mountain of optional quests, secrets, and random encounters.

Challenge maps are still around and can be accessed from the main menu or the batcave to hone your skills or you can jump right into new game plus to add some difficulty to the game. There is a multiplayer which i have been unable to try yet.

Nerd Rating: 9.5

I got to say I really enjoyed the game just like its predecessors. So what could mar its glory? Glitches and freezing during loading. A couple times is acceptable especially in this day and age of online updates, but it happened enough so i had to turn off the xbox a number of times as well as figuring out how not to glide through the floor and buildings.

Still remarkable since most of my issues will be cleared in an update.

Reviewed by Shadow Links