The review, not the game. the game is hilarious.
I became a bit stuck as to what game to review. I mean, I have been playing an awful lot of Animal crossing: New Leaf, but I don't know that I could write a review of that without spending most of it bitching about the characters I hate.
Frita is such a bitch.
Then, an idea struck. No matter the question, the answer is the same. Not 42. It's Batman! Yeah, Batman: Arkham Origins came out and despite being the first game in the Arkham series to no be made by Rockstar, instead being handled by Warner Bros Montreal it isn't half bad.
Now, not half bad isn't really a compliment. It's not an insult, but it's not a compliment. In terms of main storyline I have to say I love it. I heard a lot of griping about it being an 'origins' game, and then finding out you play as batman two years into his career I know many were wondering where the origin came in. That's simple: It's the Joker's origin. Now, it doesn't go in to detail, besides a brief glimpse that he used to be the red hood to how he became the Joker but that's good. The joker shouldn't have a definitive origin, it would ruin him. Instead he came into Batman's life fully formed and we get to see the origin of the most twisted love story in history. And it is a love story. The Joker is definitely in love here.
Love aside, the story is well told and does well to explain Joker's fascination with The Bat.
"I'd hit that. With a crowbar." - Joker
Storyline aside, the game is somewhat lacking. While the storyline is fun it isn't that long as storyline's go and there are no post-story missions like you got with Arkham city. The riddler collectibles make a return though, as if collecting them all once wasn't enough. The real problem with this game is that it feels so much like Arkham city. Sure, the map is twice as big and the team have done an amazing job of making the new parts feel like the same style as the old, but that's part of the problem. Walking these places in Arkham City was unique, it was a first and it all felt new, in Arkham Origins, even the new environments feels too familiar the first time around.
Now, my main problem with this game is probably a minor point, but this is the internet. Yelling about minor points that don't really matter is the national past time.
Anyone who thinks this is a game changer has more money than sense
My problem is the achievements. Now, I understand that an achievement by it's nature should require work, and that they're a reward for accomplishing something. I will also say that I don't actually care about achievements and am not an 'achievement hunter'. Having said that, 15G for completing a game is pathetic, you'll also only get 15G for collecting all riddler trophies. Both of these things will take hours by themselves but are worth basically nothing. Then again, achievements are worth nothing other than showing that you've wasted hours of your life for some numbers on a screen, so...they're good achievements, I guess.
Now, moving away from the single player campaign and onto the multiplayer. Arkham origins boasts a pretty unique multiplayer. It mixes up the standard 4v4 with 3v3v2. Bane's gang, Joker's gang, and Batman & Robin. You can opt in or out of the pool for the hero selection, which is good if you suck at playing as a hero. Like me. I assure you, playing as batman in the campaign in no way prepares you for multiplayer. It's like going from fighting storm troopers to fighting Rip Van Winkle. Anyone who doesn't get that clearly hasn't seen Star Wars or Hellsing.
Playing as a gang member is fun and midway through the match there's a door you can activate to unleash the leader of your respective team. The first player from the first team to get to the door gets to play as either Bane or The Joker. They are super powerful and super fun. Sadly, they are not super friends.
There are some problems with the multiplayer of course. First, I found myself playing about 10 matches in a row, because it never gave me the option to not play the next game. I moved straight through and no matter what I did, I was unable to leave. Eventually, I had to just quit the game in the lobby. Now, I don't know about you, but that seems stupid to me.
The other problem with the multiplayer is: other people. Yeah, basically playing as the hero is great, but annoying. To demonstrate what I mean, I'll tell you what happened the first time I played as batman. I was being stealthy, looking down at my prey. Bane's gang had got to the door and called in Bane, so I made him my priority target. I followed him for a while, before dropping in behind him when he was alone and pressing Y to perform a silent takedown. At that moment a member of the Joker's gang came round a corner and shot me to death before I could complete the takedown. He could have let me complete it and thus have Bane's health lowered, but instead he decided to shoot me...and immediately get killed by Bane. Because of course fucking Bane killed him. He's Bane. And he has a rocket launcher.
"They'd rather shoot me then a steroid-taking lunatic trying to kill them"
So, there's that. Overall I'd say the game is a pretty good entry into the Arkham series. Certainly with hints of a next gen installment done again by Rockstar, it's a decent filler game to get your batman beatdown fix. And, if you're still not sure if you want to buy the game remember this: Troy Baker gives an incredible performance as the voice of the Joker.
Is there a game he isn't it? If there is, why isn't he in it?
I'm not obsessed. I'm just ahead of the curve.
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