Batman: Arkham Origins


Batman: Arkham Origins is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by WB Games Montréal and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the follow-up to the 2011 video game Batman: Arkham City and is the third main installment in the Batman: Arkham series. Written by Dooma Wendschuh, Corey May, and Ryan Galletta, the game's main storyline is set eight years before 2009's Batman: Arkham Asylum and follows a younger, less-refined Batman. When a bounty is placed on him by crime lord Black Mask, drawing eight of the world's greatest assassins to Gotham City on Christmas Eve, Batman must bring Black Mask to justice, while also being hunted by the police and having to face other villains, such as the Joker and Anarky, who take advantage of the chaos to launch their nefarious schemes.
The game is played from a third-person perspective, focusing on Batman's combat and stealth abilities, detective skills, and gadgets for combat and exploration. Batman can freely move around the open world of Gotham City, interacting with characters and undertaking missions. Aside from the main story, Batman can help the police deal with crimes and confront other supervillains terrorizing the city. Arkham Origins introduces the ability for Batman to virtually recreate crimes, allowing him to investigate the scene and identify the culprit. The game is also the first in the series with a multiplayer mode, in which players partake in a gang war between the Joker and Bane.
Development of Arkham Origins began in 2011. WB Games Montréal took over development duties from the series creator Rocksteady Studios, which was preoccupied with Batman: Arkham Knight and thus would not have been able to release a new game for a considerable time. The team chose to make the game a prequel to explore certain aspects of the Batman character, such as his vulnerability and lack of experience, that previous games could not; the story was inspired by the comics Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight and Batman: Year One, and was developed with input from writer Geoff Johns. Development of the multiplayer mode was handled by the British studio Splash Damage, separately from the main game.
Arkham Origins was released worldwide on October 25, 2013, for the PlayStation 3, Wii U, Windows, and Xbox 360. The game received mostly positive reviews. It was praised for its voice acting, boss fights, storyline, and musical score, but was criticized for its general lack of innovation in gameplay mechanics and technical issues, while the multiplayer aspect was considered an unnecessary addition to the series.
A companion game, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, was released alongside Arkham Origins for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita, and a spin-off mobile game for iOS and Android platforms was released in October 2013. An animated sequel, Batman: Assault on Arkham, was released in 2014, while a successor, Batman: Arkham Knight, was released in June 2015. A direct sequel to Arkham Origins, Batman: Arkham Shadow, was released on the Meta Quest 3 on October 21, 2024, with Roger Craig Smith returning to voice Batman.

Gameplay

Arkham Origins is an open world action-adventure game incorporating stealth game tactics. Batman can use his cape to glide around Gotham City and the grapnel gun's retracting rope to attach to hard-to-reach ledges and extend his flight. Some gadgets from previous Arkham games are present at the start of Arkham Origins, while others become available during play. Returning gadgets include the Cryptographic Sequencer, used to hack security consoles; the Batclaw, used for hooking onto surfaces; the Batarang, a throwing weapon; the Remote Batarang, its remote-controlled counterpart; Explosive Gel, used to destroy weak surfaces and knock down enemies; Smoke Pellets, used for stealthy exits and entrances; the Disruptor, which can remotely disable guns and explosive mines, and the Grapnel Accelerator, an earlier version of the Grapnel Boost. New equipment in Batman's arsenal include the Remote Claw; this allows Batman to target two objects and pull them together, allowing him to throw enemies into each other or hit them with objects ; Shock Gloves, which allow Batman to block electric attacks, disable some enemies and stun shielded ones, and short-circuit objects, and the Concussion Detonator, capable of stunning large enemy groups.
The game introduces a fast travel system, allowing Batman to remotely summon his plane to transport him to other areas of the game world quicker than gliding or grappling could. Enemy tower installations prevent Batman from summoning the craft in some areas and must be disabled to make the Batwing available. Some towers may be disabled only when the player has the necessary equipment.
Players can traverse enemy-controlled areas by stealth or combat. Using an enhanced version of the series' Freeflow combat system, combat introduces a tracking system assessing the players' efficiency and highlighting battle achievements. Chaining attacks to maintain momentum, performance is rewarded with experience points. These points can be used in a branching upgrade system to enhance Batman's abilities and gadgets, allowing players to upgrade several paths or specialize in one. Enemy attacks are prompted with a warning icon, indicating that the attack can be countered. Enemies are armed with weapons such as knives, lead pipes, and shields. The game introduces new enemy types: the Martial-Artist, the Armored Enforcer and Venom-infused henchmen. Some enemies are armed with guns, which can damage Batman, and a player can use stealth predatory tactics to tilt the odds in their favor. Many areas feature stone gargoyles or high outcrops, helping Batman remain concealed while setting traps and knocking out enemies.
The game emphasizes Batman's detective skills; for example, he can scan a crime scene with Detective Vision to highlight points of interest; holograms act out theoretical scenarios of the crime. The crimes can be reviewed via Batman's link to the Batcomputer in the Batcave; this allows a player to view virtual recreations of the scene from different angles, view it in slow motion or pause while looking for clues to solve the crime. Small crime scenes are distributed throughout Gotham City. Reviewing the downing of a helicopter, Batman is presented with false and accurate clues; investigation of the scene can reveal that the helicopter was shot, allowing Batman to trace the bullet's trajectory to a murdered police officer and another crime scene. When a crime is solved, the player is shown a Batman-narrated rundown of the crime. The Batcave is also a hub where Batman can change costumes, upgrade his equipment and access challenge maps to practice combat. After completing the story mode a New Game Plus mode is unlocked, enabling a player to replay the game with all their acquired gadgets, experience, and abilities; enemies are tougher, and the icon warning players of attack is disabled. Completing New Game Plus unlocks I Am the Night mode, where the game ends if Batman dies.
Arkham Origins offers side missions, including Crime in Progress. Most Wanted allows Batman to pursue villains outside of the main story. The Dark Knight system offers tasks of escalating difficulty which improve stealth and combat. Batman's radio scanner also allows him to locate side missions; completed missions are rewarded with experience points and upgrades to Batman's equipment. The game features collectible objects and puzzles similar to the Riddler challenges of previous games. Collectible objects appear, similar to those in previous games. A "1 vs. 100" mode in the game's challenge maps challenges the player to survive in combat against 100 increasingly difficult enemies.
On compatible systems, the Windows version uses Nvidia's PhysX software engine to produce more realistic, dynamic interactions with the game world. With PhysX enabled, some areas contain additional snow or fog ; with PhysX disabled, the effects are lessened or absent.

Multiplayer

Arkham Origins introduces a multiplayer component to the series. Invisible Predator Online revolves around a gang war between supervillains Joker and Bane, in one of four choosable maps voted by players before each match the maps include: Wayne Chemical Plant, Blackgate Prison, Joker's Funhouse, and Wonder City Robot Factory. Three Joker gang members fight three Bane gang members and in turn the team of Batman and Robin. Gangs win by killing all the opposing team's reinforcements, while Batman and Robin win by acquiring intimidation points. A gang member can become a boss, gaining more powerful abilities. Gang members can access guns and explosives; Batman and Robin can access gadgets and abilities from the main game, including Detective Vision. Gang members have a limited Enhanced Vision, which requires recharging. Hunter, Hunted sets three Joker thugs and three Bane thugs against Batman in a last-team-standing match in which each character has one life.

Synopsis

Characters

Arkham Origins features a large ensemble cast of characters from the history of Batman comics. The main character is Batman, a superhero trained to the peak of human physical perfection and an expert in martial arts who is aided by his butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Arkham Origins brings Batman into conflict with sadistic, brutal crime lord Black Mask. The most powerful man in the city and ruler of Gotham's criminal underworld, Black Mask has vast wealth and resources, has eliminated his opposition and is consolidating his power. His ebony mask conceals his identity, allowing him to operate publicly as Roman Sionis. Black Mask has a bounty on Batman, which attracts eight accomplished assassins: the physically imposing Bane ; expert marksman Deadshot; veteran mercenary Deathstroke ; poisonous contortionist Copperhead ; the pyromaniac Firefly ; the highly charged Electrocutioner ; deformed criminal Killer Croc, and master martial artist Shiva.
Batman is considered an outlaw by the Gotham City police, and is pursued by Captain James Gordon, Detective Harvey Bullock and corrupt GCPD officials Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb and SWAT team leader Howard Branden. Other characters include the psychopathic Joker ; black-market weapons dealer Penguin ; the mind-controlling Mad Hatter ; anti-government, anti-corporate anarchist Anarky ; rogue hacker Enigma ; Alberto Falcone; Gordon's teenage daughter Barbara, and Blackgate warden Martin Joseph. The story takes place before Batman's partnership with Robin —although Robin is a playable character outside the main story—and before Barbara becomes Batman's ally, Oracle. Dr. Harleen Quinzel, Gotham News Network reporter Vicki Vale, Amanda Waller, Quincy Sharp, and Calendar Man make cameo appearances in the game. Mr. Freeze appears in the downloadable content, Cold, Cold Heart.