Batman: Arkham Origins (Xbox 360)

Product Information

A mobile version of Arkham Origins was also released. While it plays much differently than its console counterpart — it’s a brawler developed by Mortal Kombat studio NeatherRealm — it hits the same narrative beats. The actors standing in for long-time Batman and Joker voices Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill do a good job in emulating their predecessors - Troy Baker’s Joker, in particular, is close enough that I might not have noticed immediately if I weren’t listening for it. Conroy will always be Batman for me, but his understudy does well enough. Out in the expanded and snow-covered open world, I found Gotham City beautiful but lifeless. In Arkham City, the excuse is that this part of town has been walled off and given to the criminals. Without that (admittedly far-fetched) scenario, the absence of any hint of civilian life makes Gotham feel eerily barren, especially next to Origins’ open-world peers and their populated streets. It may be the middle of the night on Christmas Eve, but streets teeming with nothing but decidedly un-jolly criminals are still weird. Overall, the end result is that Arkham Origins is smoother and more consistent on the 360, with the PS3 game delivering a similar experience to Microsoft's console, bar the more inconsistent frame-rate drops during heavy combat and traversal. Both manage to achieve far more stable performance than Nintendo's console, which comes across as erratic, and even occasionally broken when random freezes occur as the engine struggles to stream assets out for display.

It's a shame that performance is so poor on the Wii U version of Arkham Origins as the hardware has the potential to deliver the most interesting Batman experience due to the system's unique GamePad controller. Many of Batman's gadgets employ the use of a touchscreen in the game, so are well suited for mapping to the GamePad's use as a second display and touch device.a b Vore, Brian (April 9, 2013). "May Cover Revealed: Batman: Arkham Origins". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on August 31, 2013 . Retrieved April 9, 2013. In addition to Scarecrow and Arkham Knight, the supporting cast includes Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, Robin, Commissioner Gordon, and Barbara Gordon. Arkham Knight is set on the night of Halloween, presumably less than a year after the events of City. Scarecrow (voiced by Lord of the Rings' John Noble) is threatening Gotham City with his fear toxin, while a new threat surfaces in the mysterious Arkham Knight. Batman, all the while, is dealing with internal torment as an effect of the previous games. a b c Narcisse, Evan (August 31, 2013). "Batman's Next Portable Game Has Some Castlevania, Metroid and Mega Man". Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 2, 2013 . Retrieved September 1, 2013.

Phillips, Tom (October 18, 2013). "Batman: Arkham Origins' Wii U and physical PC versions will launch later in Europe". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013 . Retrieved October 18, 2013. Even so, I could live in the challenge rooms for days, trying to string together the ultimate, uninterrupted flow that includes each of the dozen or so moves and gadgets in Batman’s arsenal. With the gamepad in the right hands (which every so often, mine are) it looks like elaborate fight choreography. And Predator still makes me feel like a ninja, particularly when playing in challenge mode where I can disable certain gadgets or enable other handicaps. Given its nature as a story-heavy game, we can’t say much here, but if you have access to a VR headset, Arkham VR is certainly worth playing, especially considering its brief ~90-minute runtime.

Despite its more modern GPU, it's clearly the Wii U version that suffers most in terms of performance - v-sync dragging the frame-rate down." Cut-scene comparisons allow us to view game engine performance in like-for-like scenarios and we see a clear three-tier frame-rate divide - 360 is smoothest, followed by PS3, then Wii U. Batman: Arkham Origins - the Digital Foundry verdict This younger Batman already has all his signature moves and gear, flies a fancy plane, and is on a first-name basis with pretty much every villain but The Joker. So at the cost of really selling the idea that these events happen prior to the other two games, Origins keeps the foundation of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City’s amazing combat intact, including every gadget in one form or another. (Mr. Freeze’s absence from the rogue’s gallery means the cryo-grenades are now concussion or glue grenades.) Sadly, other gadgets that see Batman utilising a custom Wayne Tech tablet and similar devices, are left completely untouched from the standard versions of the game. In addition, the weapon select and levelling menu options are no longer present in Origins using the GamePad, and the decryption sequences are restricted to traditional controls only - all features given exclusive GamePad support in Arkham City. All three threads are wrapped up by the end of Arkham Knight's ~16-hour campaign, though you'll have to earn 100% completion to see the game's true ending. The series’ lone virtual reality game, Batman: Arkham VR is set shortly before the events of Arkham Knight. It’s a narrative-driven game focused on detective work as Batman tries to solve the murder of a close ally.