Most superhero games have always been boring supplements to movie tickets but Batman: Arkham Asylum has proven that such games may be exciting. This perfect balance of stealth and action, exploration and backtracking, comic book and movie, Batman and Joker. The theme is not expanded but exhausted in the excellent sequel of Arkham City. Something could be added to this game only with the help of next-gen technology, but the publisher decided that the sequel is needed. Or rather, not a sequel but a prequel. We will tell you more about this game.

Setting

Batman: Arkham Origins for Windows is set five years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum, but the time difference is very noticeable: Batman is just starting his ascent to Gotham Olympus, and minor villains are frightened by his image. The dangerous ones, such as a criminal mastermind named Black Mask, assign a $50 million bounty on the revenger's head. The supervillains, Deathstroke, Bane, Killer Croc, and other characters take the bait. Joker appears in the background, and Batman has yet to meet his greatest.

In Batman: Arkham Origins, you will have to find yourself back in Gotham's sad and gray city on Christmas Eve. The city is full of strange and dangerous criminals hunting Batman for the announced reward. Events unfold before Batman Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. Batman is very young and just starting his career as the Dark Knight who fights the underworld. Batman: Arkham Origins is a free game, but players can purchase unique costumes and add-ons for their character with a particular currency.

Gameplay

The gameplay is straightforward here. As you progress through the levels, Batman gains experience and additional skills that make him more robust and elegant. You can control the game with one or two fingers when you need to perform a more complex technique. The protagonist can also dodge enemy attacks and regenerate health. During the game, you may be asked to wait until this recovery completes. It takes no more than 10 minutes. You can skip forced pauses, but you'll have to pay for them.

The order of the missions in Batman Arkham Origins for Windows hasn't changed: there is a line of leading tasks and many side missions. Although the city is empty regarding social life, many opportunities exist to challenge crime. The absence of social life is not surprising: it is Christmas Eve, and the weather conditions are terrible as a snowstorm has hit Gotham.

In addition to Black Mask and his assistants, Gotham is home to many different criminals, including the Penguin, the Mad Hatter, the Anarchist, and a very young Edward Nygma, who is not yet wearing his trademark green suit and a hat with a question mark. They threaten the quiet life of Gotham citizens, so they all must be destroyed.

The main quests in Batman Arkham Origins follow the classic pattern: you should come to the specified point, clean it up, meet or not meet the boss, return to the surface, and repeat the actions. There is nothing special, but it all works like clockwork simultaneously.

Atmosphere

The gorgeous and indescribable atmosphere is the undeniable advantage of this game. The latest games in the series are gaining points and growing up instantly. The game brings back memories of the old movies about the winged protector and his battle campaigns against crime, where Gotham was a vast industrial city covered with smog from the poisonous factories. Playing Origins, you can remember such movies with the same vivid feelings.

Gotham is a grim place, rotten with the crime of all stripes. The local police force has sold out to criminals. Few law enforcement officers are left on the streets, ready to fight evil and protect the innocent. Gotham's new protector, Batman, hardened by personal tragedy, is amidst all this chaos. It is a bit pathetic, but that's the way superhero games should be designed. The talented artists made the adventure look even more alive and naturalistic.

Primary features

• The beginning of Arkham Origins. Batman: Arkham Origins for Windows is an essential link in Batman's history as he is pursued by eight of the most dangerous assassin characters in the DC Comics universe on Christmas Eve. Players can feel like still inexperienced Batman when he first encounters characters who will determine their future;

• Improved investigation mode. Think like Batman with a new-card game, allowing players to perform a seemingly impossible real-time re-creation of a crime scene. Sensors in Batman's mask and the Batcomputer will enable you to digitally recreate the crime scene and investigate the event exactly as it took place;

• New ruthless enemies. Fight new enemies who require different approaches to combat using FreeFlow Combat scenarios. The classic FreeFlow Combat system expands as you encounter each new enemy;

• New gadgets. Use Batman's signature gadgets or discover new ones, such as the remote-controlled Batclaw, the Concussion Detonator, and many others. With the Batclaw, you can build new routes, pull ropes in strategic places, and attack enemies. The Concussion Detonator allows you to stun and confuse an enemy squad at close range;

• New online game mode. Play online with friends and enemies in 3×3×2 and enjoy the combination of classic Arkham gameplay with third-person shooter features. Play as Batman or Robin and go after the most dangerous opponents your friends or other users will play as, or go over to the dark side of supervillains and join Joker or Bane gang. Players who prefer supervillains can act on behalf of the leaders, Joker or Bane, for a while.

Conclusions

Arkham Origins has a minimum of innovations, and that's probably a good feature. WB Games Montreal didn't experiment and spoil what Rocksteady has perfected. Arkham Origins did its job of warming up the fans' interest and letting them remember the excellent series, while Rocksteady is working hard on another masterpiece sequel to Arkham City. The new game must have a full-fledged world and active use of various vehicles. Direct hints of this can be noticed in the current Batman.