S N W
012
THE 100 GAMES TO PLAY NOW
39
Often this one can get
overlooked, as it’s the only
non-Rocksteady-developed
game in the Batman:
Arkham series. But it
stands on a Gotham
gargoyle just as tall.
WB Games Montréal did a fantastic job of
crafting its own Batman adventure that
takes place during his ‘Year Two’ of cowled
vigilante activity while Rocksteady worked on
the truly next-gen Arkham Knight. The game
reuses the map of Arkham City, as well as
adding more of Gotham across the river.
Set at Christmas, a bounty has been
placed on the Caped Crusader’s head, and
villainous assassins have zeroed in onGotham in order to claim their bat-trophy.
Meanwhile, the police are still at odds with
Batman, and are trying to take him out. And
if that weren’t enough, a brand-new villain is
putting on his clown make-up for the first
time. You really get the feeling of one long
Christmas night spiralling out of control...BADDIE BONANZA
A plethora of great villains join the mix, and
the game features tense and challenging
boss fights. Deathstroke, Copperhead, and
the other assassins genuinely feel like a
threat to Batman, and keeping them off your
back is satisfying. Combat is mostly in the
same vein as the other Arkham games, but
some extra upgrades, like the shock gloves,are terrific, and the addition of the batwing
plane to let you fast travel across the large
map stops travel from feeling slow and
cumbersome – though snowy Gotham is a
sight to behold as you glide over it.
The best reason to play this one is if you
missed out on Origins the first time around- which many people did. Thanks to the fact
this has been snubbed from recent
remasters and collections, PS Now is
currently the best way to dive back into a
fantastic Batman adventure you might have
missed. The stakes might not get as massive
as in some other Arkham games, but it
makes this a more personal and focused
tale, with more grounded villains, and a
refreshing twist on the Arkham formula.
Batman:
Arkham Origins
Snubbed i n the PS4 remaster collection, play it onnPSNow
FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2013 / PUB WARNER BROS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT / DEV WB GAMES MONTRÉAL / ISSUE OPM #90 / SCORE 8/10