The Arkham games have a history of evolving the way superhero games are seen. Batman: Arkham Asylum in particular helped usher in a new era for superhero games. Batman: Arkham Origins is a sorry exception to this rule, giving us close to the same gameplay with not enough new ideas.

Arkham Origins for starters is a terrible name. Not only is it horribly cliche but it has absolutely nothing to do with the plot of the game. You play as a young, unrefined Batman who has only been a hero for two years now.

One of the major villains, Black Mask, has hired eight assassins to kill Batman on christmas. Unfortunately you only fight six of these assassins as part of the main story, the rest are only available through side missions.

Some of the battles are disappointing. Namely the battle with the assassin, Electrocutioner. The gameplay is sluggish and, at times unresponsive. There were many times when I would press the “Y” button on the controller to counter an enemies attack and I still got hit. This is especially apparent with the DeathStroke boss battle.

The story of Arkham Origins is respectively well written. It shows a young Bruce Wayne, still battling with his want of revenge, meeting a lot of villains which become important later, for example, the Joker.

This meeting, in particular, is awesome. You get to see behind some of the psychology of the biggest mass murderer in the DC Comic’s universe. One part of the plot had me laughing at how cool it was.

The map is much bigger than any of the other games. This in most normal games would be a welcome addition, however here it feels misplaced. The parts of the map from Arkham City feel as if they are pasted together. Disproving any illusion that this is a different Gotham then seen in any of the other games.

The rest of the map feels to similar to the parts from previous games. Almost as if they just renamed the districts of the Arkham City map.

Also getting across the new map is a long and hazardous experience. There are a lot of enemies that are prepared to fire on you at a moments notice.

Story wise, Arkham Origins is respectively well written. With many references to both previous games and the comics which the game is loosely based on. The story, unfortunately does not hold up to the standards of Arkham Asylum or City.

The previous’ games all have better stories than this. Though this story is no where near bad.

My major problem with the game is the new weapons. Batman has always been a gadget heavy hero, carrying batarangs among other things. However the new weapons found in this game are too silly.

Things like the shock gloves ruin the more gritty feel that was set back in Arkham Asylum. The shock gloves are especially suspect because they ruin the previously layered combat which needed a great deal of skill to perform flawlessly. The shock gloves blow through the defense of every enemy type.

All in all, Arkham Origins is a good game but it does not hold up when compared to its predecessors.

The game is rated T for teens and is available at most local stores.

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For more reviews, read the Oct. 24 article, Reshowing old-time film disappoints senior, pipe organ impresses.