Well it looks like Batman: Arkham Origins will be going back to GF tomorrow. Not because I beat it, but because WB Games presented me with something better: the two previous Batman games for $5.
I'm about 3 hours into AO and about 1 hour into a replay of AA, and I had more fun in the 1 hour than I did the 3 hours. A number of reviewers have said that AO is just like AA and AC but just not quite as good. Honestly though it goes beyond that. AO feels like such an unnecessary game. I truly feel that they just called it "Origins" as a way to trick people into thinking this was an origins story, or as some way to excuse the fact that there's almost NO recognizable villains in this. Compare this to AA, where in the first 5 minutes you're exposed to Killer Croc, Joker, and Harley Quinn. Speaking of, as much as I feel that Joker is an overused villain in the Batman universe, not having him as a major player, voiced by Mark Hamill does take something from AO. Also, why is Batman given half the gadgets in the beginning of the game when previously I had to unlock them? And if this game takes place in the past, why is everyone using modern technology?
All this smacks of the worst type of game: a cash-in game. I can't even bring myself to call this game "bad" because it really isn't. It just feels so unnecessary and "whatever." It's like the game doesn't have a soul. It doesn't do anything for the Batman story or convey any sort of message. It's simply there to occupy your time and take money from you (price of admission.)
I suppose the best advice I can give about this game is to just ignore it and play the others, unless you just simply can't get ENOUGH of Batman flying around and beating up people and stealthing around. Had this "game" been released 10 years ago it would likely just be an expansion pack. Honestly if you have a modern PC I think you'd be best served
picking up the first two games here for cheap.
If you wish to see most of my complaints in humorous video form,
you can do so here (NSFW)
