Admittedly, I raised my eyebrows and wondered what in the blue hell could Warner Bros. be thinking when they handed the Batman franchise over to the hands of a new developer. Rocksteady has been as steady as a rock (yeah, you saw what I did there) when it comes to the Batman games as they have consistently delivered high review scores, strong sales and some outstanding open world gameplay. So when I shuffled on over to the Warner Bros. booth at E3 I found myself paying particularly close attention to the batman: Arkham Origins demo and I very curious to see what a new development team (Warner Bros. Games Montreal) could do with an incredibly strong video game franchise.
For all of you who are worried if your beloved Batman franchise is going to see some sweeping changes, you can relax. Overall, Batman: Arkham Origins looks and plays like its predecessors. It takes place in an open world environment, uses the same engine as previous Batman games and the combat system remains largely in place. Granted, there are new enemies, a new storyline and some new gadgets at your disposal but rest assured this is a game Batman fans will be able to pick-up and play without experiencing any kind of learning curve.
In terms of the new storyline, Batman: Arkham Origins takes place approximately five years before Batman: Arkham Asylum. Batman is at the early stages of his crime fighting career and hasn’t quite developed the trust with local authorities as he does later in his career. On one snowy Christmas Eve, Batman is confronted by eight professional assassins looking to collect the multi-million dollar bounty put on Batman’s head by crime lord Black Mask. These assassins represent a deadly challenge for the young Batman as characters like Deadshot, Deathstroke, and Joker will stop at nothing to take down the Dark Knight. It is a fairly straight forward plotline but if the other Batman games are any indication of what we can expect with Arkham Origins there is no question we will see many twists and turns along the way. But more importantly we should be able to expect a story that should capture our attention.
During the E3 demo, we saw Batman glide as he typically does, we were exposed to the large open world of South Gotham and we had a chance to see several combat sequences. We also got a chance to see Batman’s new “Remote Claw” that allows Batman to target two objects and pull them together. This allows Batman to knock enemies together or hit them with objects. During combat the end result was pretty slick and only adds to a game already strong in the combat department. Some of the combos chained together were impressive and there is a certain brutal style that looks pretty darn rewarding in action. There a couple of new enemies in the mix as well when it comes to those classic batman melee sequences. There is the Martial-Artist who is capable of countering Batman’s strikes and the “Armored Lieutenant” who is simply a bitch a take down.
Batman Arkham Origins will also feature a fast travel system where Batman can summon his plane and transport him to another part of the world. Personally, I would prefer gliding to my next objective as there is so much going on in the world of Gotham but I can see many gamers welcoming this fast travel system with open arms. I would certainly take advantage of it on my second play through.
In addition to the core single player storyline, Batman: Arkham Origins will feature side missions. One such mission is called “Crime in Progress” where Batman helps the Gotham City Police Department improve his reputation by accomplishing such things as rescuing an informant or stopping a local gang take down a police officer. Likewise, Batman Arkham Origins will feature Batman’s detective skills. In the demo Batman scanned a crime scene using his detective vision. Holograms were able to act out theoretical scenarios of the crime that occurred. Batman then reviews the crimes on the Batcomputer as he piece what really went down.
Overall, Batman: Arkham Origins is showing some promise. The move from Rocksteady to Warner Bros. Montreal should not dampen the Batman experience in any way. On the flip side, do not expect a significant overhaul of the core Batman experience as the gameplay mechanics and the same engine return. That said, we can expect a few new wrinkles added to the mix and another fascinating story to gobble up in Batman’s open world crime fighting playground.
Batman: Arkham Origins is scheduled to be released worldwide on October 25, 2013 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC platforms.
