Arkham Origins

Once again, I’m backed-up on my back-blogging. Struggling to figure out what to post next, I resorted to a classic fallback: Batman. (When in doubt, go Batman... Always.) Back in the fall I beat the third and latest installment of the Arkham video game franchise, Arkham Origins.

Oh boy! An origin story? We’re going back to the beginning. How original! (This comment should be read with much sarcasm.)

First off, this really isn’t an origin story despite what the title might make you want to believe -- unless you consider Batman and Gordon meeting for the first time an origin story of sorts. If I remember right, the story centers around a “younger” Bruce Wayne/Batman who is the target of a $50 million dollar hit that’s been placed on him by the Black Mask. This encourages the recruitment of eight of the world’s deadliest assassins to take down the Batman. To save himself (and the city) Batman must find the Black Mask (or whomever is truly running the show… hahaha!) and establish ties with a very standoff-ish Detective Gordon to keep the police from taking him down as well in all the chaos.

The game wasn’t bad, but it falls way short of its two predecessors. Arkham Asylum was great at establishing the tone, fighting mechanics, and fun puzzles that the franchise holds onto so dearly. The next game, Arkham City, bumps it up a huge notch by bringing the game out of the claustrophobic setting of a mental institution and dropping it into half of Gotham city. The game got larger, we got to play as Catwoman, and Batman was steadily dying throughout the whole game after getting dosed with poison from the Joker. The stakes have never been higher. So, yeah… these games are great.

Then we arrive at Origins. The game isn’t bad, but really does nothing to push the series forward. I enjoyed the villains, the hack-n-slash combat the series is known for, but the map (while larger) felt empty and useless. There was no desire to explore or climb to the tops of skyscrapers to get your bearings. All-in-all, it was unimaginative… against its siblings, that is.

On top of that, this was the first game that we lost Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as voice actors. These guys have are very near and dear to me in and the Batman legacy. Thanks to their work on the 90’s WB series (and Conroy also working with Batman Beyond), I can’t imagine Batman or the Joker without hearing their voices. So, to lose them as the talent is a big hit to the franchise.

But all of that is about to change…

Conroy is coming back as the Dark Knight in the newest installment of the series, Arkham Knight. And it looks like we finally get to drive the Batmobile?! I truly hope this doesn't suck. Please don't suck! But, hey, I’ll be playing it regardless. Later boners.