Linky link.

A prequel to 'Asylum' and 'City', showcasing Batman's first meeting with some of his rogues gallery, to be released in October.

I'm relatively optimistic, because both games released so far have been pretty damn good, and this sounds like it could be bigger and better. On the other hand, it's not being developed by Rocksteady, but by Warner Bros Games Montreal - they apparently did the Wii version of 'City'. It also sounds like the plot could be another sprawling affair, which was my biggest criticism of 'City'.

Still, sounds more promising than the Silver Age style game that was being suggested; that would have been very weird.

 

Different writers. Different team. I'm not happy.

 

I'm happy for the chance to zip around Gotham, though its STILL not the complete city.

If they let us drive the Batmobile, I will go apeshit.

 

Looks neat. It may not be developed by Rocksteady, but they're using the same resources and basing it on the previous games, so it can't be all bad. And Asylum's and City's stories weren't their strongest points, so I welcome some new writers.

 

Starting to get mighty tired of prequels.

 

Supposedly they're getting input from Rocksteady as well which would be strange unless Rocksteady isn't actually done with the series. What I'm hoping is that the reason Rocksteady isn't working on this is because they're working on a next-gen sequel.

 

Well I finally got a full view of the suit in this game.



I think it's a huge improvement. They finally made the cape and cowl black instead of blue, the cowl isn't some big rubber thing and is better integrated with the rest of the suit, they made it look reasonably armored, and they got rid of the underwear, which frankly should have stayed in the 1940s. Two issues I have with it: one, this is a prequel... so he makes his costume look worse for some reason in the future? And two, dear god, can they take Batman off the roids already? Look at how thick he is.

You know, allow me to vent a minute. One of my major complaints about the Arkham series is how they've made Batman look. Character designs in the Arkham games are a bit hit-or-miss for me, but you'd think they could get the main character down right. I already listed my complaints with the old suit, but it wasn't just that. The cape never covered his body. He always stood up straight and tall, instead of hunched over and menacing. And of course, he was extremely muscular. I for one prefer a more lean Batman, more suited to stealth and speed. He's basically a ninja, not a wrestler. And it wasn't just that he was muscular, it was that his body seemed to be disproportionate as well. His arms and chest were huge, but his legs seemed tiny in comparison. I have a hard time believing the Arkham Batman can sneak as well as the game says he should.

That all may sound nitpicky, but I think presentation is a huge factor with Batman. Maybe the cape thing can be explained by technical limitations, since that cape would probably clip like crazy, but I don't see any reasonable excuse for the shape of his body or the way he holds himself. The 1970's Neal Adams alternate costume had a fairly reasonable shape I think. Just transpose this costume onto that body.

I guess my other main complaint with the series revolves around the stealth mechanics. The combat was greatly improved over AA in AC, but the stealth remained lacking. They should utilize stuff like light and shadows, in addition to keeping out of sight. The gargoyles are an unnecessary crutch. Also, gadgets like smoke grenades need to have more use, and there needs to be much less emphasis on detective vision. In fact, take out detective vision. When we have to find clues, make us hunt around like in LA Noire, and have more practical gadgets like tracers, or just rely on keen sight and hearing for keeping track of guards. And finally, Batman needs to be a lot faster and more responsive, so he can strike and fade away in an instant without just retreating to a gargoyle.

 

Slade is apparently a main enemy in Arkham Origins.

 

Full cinematic trailer.

It's suitably badass, but it didn't really grab me the way the trailer for Arkham City did, and certainly hasn't done anything to intrigue me about the plot.

 

So I just finished the game and I was actually very impressed overall. I was a bit worried because of the new dev team and due to the publishers withholding review copies of the game/embargoing reviews until release, so I came in with somewhat low expectations.

If you liked Arkham City I'd say you'll probably like Origins. It's not better than its predecessor, but I definitely wouldn't say it's worse by any significant degree. They stayed pretty faithful to the core gameplay of the Arkham series but with a few nice improvements (I loved the Batwing fast travel). The story probably wasn't as good as AC but it kept me interested the whole time though Deathstroke was a little disappointing.

Length wise I finished in about ~10 hours but I think I still have some side quests left, plus challenges and multiplayer. So possibly a little on the short side but I don't think it's much shorter than Arkham City from memory.

If you're on the fence about it, I'd definitely say buy it. Not sure if it's out in America yet or not though (I just put this here because Australia got it first - suck it!).

 

Honestly I thought it was better than Arkham City. Better story, art style, setting, and the gameplay is about the same, which I have little complaint about since I liked the gameplay from AC.

Spoiler

The Joker impersonating Black Mask kind of does make it so the Joker hijacks the story again like he did in AC, but I felt this was a much better way of doing it than before. Black Mask is a shitty Batman villain anyway. He has no gimmick like the Penguin or Two-Face. His accomplishments amount to killing everyone who ever said "Roman, I think this is a bad idea," and subsequently making really stupid decisions. Then he got dropped off a building by Catwoman. He's just a generic mob boss in a black mask. So, you know, it's no big loss when he's replaced by the Joker, unlike when Hugo Strange and Ra's al Ghul got shafted in AC. And they did the Joker really well in this game too. That scene where he was talking to Harley was great.

Actually, I would contend that Bane is just as much a main villain in this game as the Joker is, which is hardly a bad thing. Certainly makes up for how shitty he was in the previous games.

So yeah, I liked it better than Arkham City, and maybe even Arkham Asylum in some ways.

 

So what's the verdict? Buy now? Wait for price drop?

 

I... acquired it. If you don't want to do that, then I'd recommend waiting until the inevitable GOTY Edition comes out, since there's already some DLC out and there'll doubtless be more (it's what I'll be doing anyway, I don't want to buy it and all the DLC separately like I did with City). If you can't wait until then there's the Holiday sale on Steam, unless you're a console peasant.

 

I'm really enjoying Origins, but gameplay-wise it's not a sequel, it's a standalone expansion. If Arkham City gameplay wrapped in a prequel story doesn't make you salivate (heathen) then I'd recommend waiting until it's on sale.

 

The combat is actually a little different from what I can tell. The basics are the same, but you unlock things in a different fashion than City and they really like to throw like five different kinds of enemies at you, most with unblockable attacks. I think enemies also hit faster than before but I can't be sure. I was playing on Normal by the way.

 

So I just finished the main game a couple hours ago, and I'd like to throw out my two cents.

Spoiler

Going to preface this by saying I like the story a lot, but I have some serious issues with the fact that they leaned into the Joker so hard again. I like the Joker, and they did a good job of handling him, but it just feels lazy; well, lazy or scared. It's like they don't think they can get away with making a Batman game that doesn't feature the Joker as the main villain, and that's a damn shame.

I am by no means a writer, but I think the story would have been better off if his involvement with the story ended about half-way or two thirds in, when the Joker was captured and he had his sequence with Harley. That way, the story wouldn't be weighed down by it being about the Joker again and his story would end with implications about the future of his character and Harley's. Furthermore, Black Mask wasn't even really a thing in the story, and after the Joker gets captured, it would allow for his character to have a resurgence of importance. Either that or having Bane be the primary villain for the story would have been more interesting than what we got.

I'll need to do some of the side stuff to get a feel for that before I really judge the game; I don't think I ever even started Deadshot's questline.