Game Review: Batman - Arkham Origins

There's a certain art in rebooting something. There's always the risk of alienating existing fans, with the potential payoff of enticing new ones. This is particularly true in franchises, and, really, financially, what are superheroes other than franchises?

It's no coincidence that the first steps of a fledgling superhero are the most memorable ones in a comic book or film. That's when the hero, upon which sometimes we project ourselves, overcomes adversity, fear, obstacles, to become what we already know he'll become by the end: a symbol. A champion. But during those first few steps, he's still, at least partly, us. And wish fulfillment of sorts makes these first few steps cathartic, not just enjoyable. That's why so many superheroes have had so many reboots over the years. At the same time, though, you risk alienating the ones already emotionally invested in it, breaking their own bonds with the character by changing their past. 

Besides, that really doesn't work in video games, as a few examples showed. You don't want to take those steps for the character, you want to be able to do what he does after he's taken them. You don't to become, you want to be.

It's a good thing, then, that Arkham Origins, the newest installation on the Batman: Arkham franchise, doesn't reboot. It rewinds.

Chronologically, Origins is set roughly at the same time as 1989's Burton film, albeit in a different universe; The Batman is out there already, more of an urban legend than a staple. There's no Bat signal lore-wise, though it does double as an objective marker. Crooks are still uncertain if he even exists, and clever (but scripted) lighting tricks terrify them. The police isn't on his side either; you'll have to beat sense into dirty cops more often than not in the Pre-Commisioner Gordon GCPD. Most of the elements that make up the Batman mythos are there, though. Perhaps a more accurate name would have been Batman: Arkham Early Days rather than Origins.

This Burton/Nolan amalgam of Gotham, set on Christmas Eve, creates a rather unique and beautiful Gotham that's a pleasure to play in, though the actual game area is still relatively small, but this time so much more believable than City's rendition. Speaking of City, you'll recognize some of the areas reused in Origins, however this time the same areas mesh together better. City tried the militarized/derelict look on the same areas, but somehow the snowy, part art deco, part goth and part industrial depression look makes them feel that much fresher. This is one of the most believable urban environments you could get in a game like this. Don't be tricked, though; the story experience is as linear as it gets, but it's good enough and tricks you just the right way for you not to really pay attention to it unless you want to.

The Christmas Eve/snowstorm excuse for the practically non-existant non-hostile NPCs out in the world is something the original Max Payne used as well, but Origins doesn't just use it as an excuse, but rather as a narrative sledgehammer. It's used to emphasize the loneliness of what the Batman is doing, the isolation, the withdrawal from normality. When everyone is huddled up inside with their loved ones, the Batman doesn't rest. When you're out there solving the case and the clocks of Gotham strike twelve, a stoic but melancholic Alfred comes on your radio to wish you a Merry Christmas and all Batman can reply is a “You Too” that holds within it all the gratitude and tenderness the Dark Knight can muster for his butler, replacement father and more, you'll know what I'm talking about. The game keeps focusing on the emotional side of things throughout, presenting for the first time alternate viewpoints on events. The feels are strong in this one.

The story goes: it's the early days of Batman, and there's not that many power players in Gotham yet. The GCPD is mostly corrupt. The gangs are ruling the streets. The main gangsters are the Penguin and Black Mask, gangsters that are quickly forcing the more traditional mobsters out of the picture in favor for the masked/monickered criminal. Batman is in the middle of their turf war when the Black Mask puts a hit out on the Bat, a hit that different assassins try to make good on: Electrocutioner, Deathstroke, Copperhead, Deadshot, Bane, Firefly and Shiva (which, oddly enough, doesn't actually appear in the game). These are, as you would expect, no ordinary scraps. They all create the illusion that you really are Batman fighting these villains, not just an average protagonist. For example, the Electrocutioner, Deathstroke and Copperhead encounters are a stroke of genious. Some, however, can get annoying due to the mechanics of the encounter and the checkpoint system which reloads you again and again from the beginning of the encounter. It makes beating the encounters that much sweeter, but not 100% of gamepads will survive it.

I'm not going to spoil the story more than what the trailer already gave away, so here's my summary in words of one syllable: oh em gee. The twists, while telegraphed from early on, are nevertheless delivered pitch-perfect and with a cinematic flair that's become a staple of the Arkham games. There's quite a few characters that make their appearance, though people only aware of the game lore rather than the comic book lore might miss it, such as Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, aka Oracle, Vicki Vale, Harlan Quinzel aka Harleyquin, the Mad Hatter, or Edward Nigma, aka, Enigma (eventually Riddler), as well as good ol' Killer Kroc.

Gameplay-wise, though, the game doesn't “rewind”, which might annoy purists. All the gadgets from the previous games return, and there's a couple of new ones too. Batman is just as powerful as he was by the end of City, though he's supposed to be much younger and inexperienced. What you do as the Batman though is pretty much the same as you were doing before, and hey, if it works, why fix it? The game doesn't bank on gameplay innovations rather than the story and the atmosphere, and the good thing is that it works. A new -and awesome- feature is the Crime Investigation. That's every bit as sci-fi CSI as you'd expect, and study of a crime scene is where Batman finally shines as the World's Greatest Detective. Also randomly within the world gang scraps will occur that Batman can choose to resolve forcefully, which serve as random crimes other open world superhero games have introduced in the past. A new gadget is the shock gloves upgrade, which adds an electric element to your fists as a momentary powerup during fights and can also be used to power panels in the world. Also redesigned is the Line Launcher, now Remote Batclaw, which can now also tether enemies to other enemies or objects in the world.

Graphics-wise, the game is what you'd expect. The Unreal engine isn't really showing its age just yet, and the audio...oh the audio. The music fits the game perfectly, and the voice acting remains stellar throughout.

Overall, Origins is the crown jewel of the Arkham games, and considering just how good Asylum was, that's saying something. Batman fan or not, no gamer should give this a miss.