Friday, October 25, 2013

Batman Arkham Origins Review

   First off, I know I'm not suppose to take sides but I like to make it clear when it comes to DC Comics, Superman is my favorite. There are so many reasons why but this post isn't about that, it's about Batman's new game Arkham Origins and I have to say...I was impressed. I'm a big fan of the Arkham series but I was very skeptical of this edition for various reasons. In the end with familiar settings, new villains and awesome cinematic sequences, this game gets a solid 9 out of 10. Warner Bros. Studios should be very proud of themselves for pulling off what many gamers would consider a complete bust.
   Batman: Arkham Origins is a game made as a prequel to the popular games Batman Arkham Asylum and it's sequel Batman Arkham City. It's set on Christmas Eve and Batman is called to rise to a city that is just realizing he exists but is unaware of his intentions. His famous friend and ally Jim Gordon is a captain and not a commissioner and the criminal kingpin of Gotham City is a man known as Black Mask. A man with literally a Black Mask covering his face concealing his true identity and has an infinite amount of resources with the entire underworld at his command. Well after some time, the notorious kingpin has had enough of Batman's interference and hires world class assassins to take him out.
   When this game was first announced it received heavy criticism for several reasons, one being that it was a prequel and the other that it wasn't going to be made by same company that made Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Like anything new that's made by a different copy, people generally are going to hate it, I mean come on who wants something not made by the original creator? True gamers have to take a leap of faith especially if it's with a beloved icon like the dark knight. In this case, the leap makes a clean landing but their are some issues that others may have a problem with.
   The one problem I had with the game is they changed the some of the controls on the game. Now nothing major if you don't use gadgets during combat but I do so I found it difficult. The combat controls are the same but when it comes to activating gadgets or throwing batarang, the controls are switched. Instead of using the R1 command button you will be using the R2 button and L1 is how you activate detective mode. Beyond that, everything is the same but again, it'll be confusing at first.
    The other thing people aren't too fond of from my understanding is the over used Riddler challenges that are present and the new faces on board. There are familiar villains in the game such as Deadshot, DeathStroke, Firefly, and Bane but their are new villains that make their debut such as Shiva, Copperhead and Black Mask. This tactic I think works best for the new game because it was getting boring always having the Joker as the main villain. There are other great points about this game that will bring gamers to the stores to buy it. 
   The map is much larger now compared to it's previous game Arkham City because in that game it was one part of Gotham, in this game, you have all of Gotham at your disposal. The puzzles are much more difficult and the criminal boss fights are more difficult than any other in the previous games. As mentioned before the cinematic sequences that take place before game play are amazingly done. I literally thought I was watching a movie before the game. Overall the replay value is fairly high and I only wish this game was 3D compatible because of the snow setting and it's awesome in 3D.
   This game is highly entertaining and stays true to the Arkham saga. It's money well spent and I would recommend it to anyone. Again, I'm a Superman fan and I loved playing this game and hope that there will be a continuation of the saga and better when it's time to make a Superman game. I hope Warner Bros. keeps the same idea going with that like they have with Batman. Batman Arkham Origins has a great story and keeps gamers playing even after the story is completed with familiar online modes and challenges. Congrats to Warner Bros. on a job well done.
  

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