THE RISE OF A MADMAN
Batman is back in yet another hard day's night, and he's furious. It's not entirely unwarranted, but this usually level-headed superhero feels out of his element being fuelled by the flames of frenzy for an entire open-world adventure. Maybe it's just his youthful spirit that triggers it. The title, Batman: Arkham Origins, reveals that this is a prequel, taking place when he was relatively fresh out of his cave. It was before he became a household name in Gotham City. Not even captain Gordon (not yet commissioner) trusts him. Apart from his loyal servant, Alfred, he's completely alone.
Some of the classic villains make their first appearance in the chronology, as well, although some of them have made appearances in earlier entries. Maybe Batman's temper grows worse by the fact that these villains are tough to fight, which could be a matter of his relative inexperience. This game is geared more towards brawls than invisible predator scenarios, and the enemy numbers are sometimes overwhelming.
To the surprise of many, Warner Bros chose to create this game through one of its in-house studios. The developers behind the predecessors, Rocksteady Games, were too busy with the upcoming title Batman: Arkham Knight. They knew it was going to take a long time to finish, and didn't want to leave Warner hanging for too long without a new Arkham title, so they gave the new developers free reins to do what they wished with the engine. Warner chose to go the prequel route.
But given the title, this story is surprisingly sparse when it comes to Batman's origins. It takes place around a particularly busy Christmas. Batman (a.k.a. Bruce Wayne) needs to get to the bottom of a violent prison escape, which leaves the corrupt police commissioner Loeb dead at the hands of the crime lord Roman Sionis, a.k.a. Black Mask. Our hero learns that Black Mask has offered a sizeable bounty on his head, and enlisted a slew of hitmen to take him out. These make themselves known throughout the story, but some only appear as elaborate side content.
As the unremarkable story unfolds over the course of the game, with a few twists and turns, Batman's mood goes from bad to worse. Motivated by the 50 Million dollar bounty, the police seem more intent on taking down the Bat than the actual crooks. His only hope is James Gordon, the only honest cop ready to take charge as new commissioner. I'm somewhat disappointed to learn so little about Batman's origins, and instead get to follow Gordon's rise to fame, as well as some villains' rise to infamy. The story is so bland and forgettable, that I often ask myself: Why do I need to play this?
Luckily, the mechanics are so good that I forget my gripes. Arkham Origins is Arkham City on repeat, only bigger and a little more refined. The early parts of the story are the best, when Batman has to use his detective skills and travel back and forth across Gotham to figure out what is going on. The new map is big enough for Batman to use his Batwing to fast-travel. It's a most welcome addition, although the PS3 loads so slowly that it doesn't end up saving much time.
The controls remain the same, which means series veterans should have a head start. A few air acrobatic sidequests are thrown in to help you get the traversal - particularly the dive bombing and grappling boost - in order. The combat remains the same, but is tweaked to make Batman's attacks feel quicker and more fluid, and it's easier to build up chains for instant takedowns. Combat-wise, I like this entry the most yet.
But in earlier entries, my favorite scenarios were always the invisible predator rooms, where you stalk the terrified thugs from the shadows, vents and rafters and take them down one by one. It has always seemed like the most genuine way for Batman to deal with thugs. I'm saddened to see the series gradually lean away from these, in favor of more straightforward combat. The few situations that remain are unremarkable, save for an optional fight against one of the hitmen. Not much effort has gone into renewing or refining what remains - you get one new useful gadget to deal with the situation, but that's it.
Instead we get the trademark Arkham fisticuffs, which reminds me of the corny 60:s Batman (Pow! Smack! Biff!). The standard enemies remain the same; ordinary grunts or mini-bosses, armored or armed, small or big, acrobatic or sluggish. You have your selection of gadgets - batarangs, explosives, the batclaw - as well as a slew of attack combinations to deal with them. The camera tries its best to frame the fight, but it is frustrating when something happens off-screen that you're helpless to prevent.
Origins scores no points for originality. It goes for evolution over revolution, tweaking and building on existing mechanics to tighten the gameplay. That is more than enough to make it a decent game. Few of the boss battles are remarkable - for the most part they're tougher variations of the standard enemy - and are often accompanied by a slew of grunts to make it harder. The one that sticks out the most is a thrilling, tightly directed sequence against a pyromaniac on a jetpack.
But the core mechanics hold up well enough for it to still be a mostly fun game. And the series has been very hit-or-miss when it tried to experiment with unique bosses. I remember the first game's encounter against Killer Croc with dread, and what the hell was the deal with that Penguin "fight" from Arkham City? They were both unique deviations from the core mechanics. The best boss fight yet has been Mr. Freeze, which perfectly leaned into what was already in place; it summarized all that you should have learned about quick takedowns throughout the series. Simple and clean.
Apart from the lacklustre story, the main thing that makes Arkham Origins so forgettable is the drab visual design. Gotham City is much easier to traverse and navigate, but lacks any sort of visual characteristics. Although it has several districts, none of them have any distinct landmarks, apart from a great bridge across the Gotham river in the center. But the relative ease of going places, and the fast-travel, makes the trade-off worth it.
Forgettability is one thing, playability another. Origins can be quite fun and challenging in the moment. I like the way all the new gadgets makes revisiting old areas worthwhile, and the hacking minigame reveals some of the fun passwords the Gotham residents use for their electronic locks. The skill tree is disappointing - actually, it should be called a skill ladder - but that only makes it easier to disregard. In order to beat the game you have to perfect your reactions and penchant for crowd control. I got my temper worked up over some of the fights, but I realized I had mostly myself to blame for failing. In that sense, my reactions mirrored Batman's own hotheadedness pretty well.
Arkham Origins ultimately becomes a game for fans of the intricate Arkham mechanics. Storywise there's not much meat to the experience. Visually the game lacks its own identity, and it fails to leave a lasting impression. This was my second playthrough, but since I remembered absolutely nothing from my first one, it felt like I was coming in fresh. It also fails to deliver much interesting lore, and some must have been disappointed to hear new voice talents like Roger Craig Smith (Batman) and Troy Baker (The Joker) replace the likes of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. I, for one, think they did a splendid job.
[All screenshots are taken from mobygames.com]
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