Zachariah Swope
Staff Writer

“Batman: Arkham Origins” is the story of Batman, who, in his second year of fighting crime, comes face to face for the first time with some of the most iconic villains in his rogues’ gallery.
“Origins” doesn’t bring anything new to the franchise in terms of game play. The game does have a few new features, but most of them were just minor tweaks to previous functions from “Arkham City.”
You have the same gadgets from the previous games, though they are a bit different (instead of an ice grenade you have a glue grenade). The map is bigger, but not by much. Most of the areas from the previous game are present with a few added locations such as Blackgate Prison and even the Batcave.

“Batman: Arkham Origins” shows off its graphics, details, and action packed adventures.
“Batman: Arkham Origins” shows off its graphics, details, and action packed adventures.

There is a lot of backtracking that takes place, which can be annoying, especially with the side missions. For instance, you keep having to cross the same bridge over and over again, but that is remedied by the game’s new fast travel feature which is a grace when it is unlocked.
The only new feature worth mentioning is the new detective/case file feature. In the previous games players weren’t focused on the detective aspect of Batman, but that changes with “Arkham Origins.” The feature is more in depth and more immersive than ever. You can even recreate a full crime, which is interesting to say the least.
The story in the game could be considered by many fans of the character to be the best Batman story told since “The Dark Knight Returns.” The story brings something new to the characters in the franchise. There is even a level where you play in the mind of Batman’s greatest enemy. The twists in the story are swift, coming at unsuspecting moments. When you think you have seen it all, think again.
As usual with previous “Arkham” games, there are challenge maps, side missions, and quite a lot of collectibles. Unlike previous games, it doesn’t give you an incentive to explore Gotham and find hidden easter eggs which could be considered one of the more fun aspects of the series. The challenge maps are fun but do get dull quickly. While some of the side missions are enjoyable, most of them are fetch/collectible quests. Multiplayer is also an addition that seems tacked on without much thought and might be fun at first, but, like the challenge maps, isn’t worth playing extensively.
“Batman: Arkham Origins” is a fun game, but is not very innovative. For fans of Batman and the “Arkham” games, this is a must play. For others, the game falls short.

GRADE: C+