B-LOG SLAYING: Batman: Arkham Origins (PS3)

Batman KA-POWS! a bunch of bad guys (again)

    Here we finally have a new B-LOG SLAYING post! Unfortunately for Arkham Origins, the three chapters of Dark Souls II DLC came out while I was playing it, and obviously anything Souls related takes precedence over everything else video game related. Arkham games and Souls games are at least slightly intertwined with me, because almost the exact thing happened with Arkham City. It came out right around the time Dark Souls came out, so Batman was pushed to the back burner. I wonder if Arkham Knight and Bloodborne will release concurrently?

Menacing

    Anyway, this post seems a little strange for me to write, because unlike the first three B-LOG SLAYING posts (Silent Hill: Downpour, Aliens: Infestation, and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy), this is a game that probably a lot of people have played, or at least heard of it. Sure, Silent Hill is a fairly well known brand, but I'm sure the number of people who have played--or at least heard of--it, compared to the number that have heard of or played the Arkham games, well it's gotta be like a 3:1 ratio*. So why should you land here, and read my thought about this well known game? Do you really have anything better to do? Yeah, I didn't think so. Without further adieu (and inane babbling from me), let's run through the cons and pros (note, bosses will have there own separate post. You can read it here):

CONS:

• There isn't enough new here. It's a lot of the same ol', same ol'. Which is fine for awhile, but I started to really get burnt out from the formula about halfway through
• Traversing the city is mighty annoying and tedious
• A minor annoyance, but there are some very lame, throwaway boss encounters (and missed opportunities, too)
• Finally, I'll also say that this game is not very hard. I mean, sure, I saw the "game over" screen more than enough times, but there's basically no penalty to dying/failing a mission. 

PROS:

• The whole game, from graphics, to voice acting, to story, are all very well done
• Most of the boss battles are great fun. They are highlights of the game
• The combat is still fluid. It flows beautifully, and it's still a sight to behold
• Lots to do besides main story mode

    My biggest complaint about the game stems from the fact that it just isn't different enough from Arkham City. The change from Arkham Asylum to Arkham City was big, and it made the resulting City game much better than its predecessor as a result. There was more to do and a much bigger world to explore. Everything was nicely tweaked and it made that game damn near perfect. The change from City to Arkham Origins is very subtle. It doesn't give you a brand new area to traverse (there are new areas, of course, but you're still in the same silent city you were in in the previous game), first of all. It throws in a few new enemy types, at least (I love those martial arts guys. Very fun to fight), but this still isn't a revolutionary change. You would expect new enemies in a new game. Riddler trophies are replaced with Riddler data packs to collect. They are still hidden behind traps. I found all of them in Arkham City. It was fun. It was also very frustrating. I wanted to find all those damn things. In this game, Origins, I really just didn't want to find all the data packs. Maybe I'm just too burnt out on the Arkham games in general, but all I wanted to do is get through the main story mode and see the credits. This is strange since I haven't played any of the games in about 2-3 years, so I shouldn't be burnt out. Make no mistake, this is definitely a good game. But for some reason, I'm very blah about it. Even when I think of other franchises that tend to play it safe with sequels, and I'll use God of War as an example, I don't find myself getting sick of them the way I have this game. Hell, God of War is probably more guilty of not changing the formula game-to-game than the Batman games are (come on though, God of War III is the one of the greatest games ever made. I won't accept, "no it isn't", as a response), yet I come back to GoW time and time again. Who knows? My fingers are crossed that Arkham Knight is not just Arkham Origins with next-gen (which is actually current gen. Weird how I still consider it "next-gen") graphics. Bring something NEW to the table, dammit! Is that enough italicisation for you for one paragraph?
    Getting around the city is, for the most part, a fairly large annoyance. Maybe I don't remember correctly, or maybe I'm looking at it through bat-shaped glasses, but I don't remember being annoyed traversing through Arkham City. Firstly, a new addition to the map is the Gotham Pioneers Bridge. This thing is a chore to get across, and you have to go back and forth over it (and do various things on/under/around it) probably 750 times throughout the game. You can unlock fast travel spots that your Batwing can bring you to, but I even find this mildly annoying to do. You have to go into the map menu, figure out where you wanna go, then watch a cut scene of Batman shooting a grapnel up to his flying automated ship, then watch a cut scene of it flying on an almost static background, until you get loaded back into the game. It almost takes as long as just repelling through the city. My game froze on one of these Batwing screens before, so I'm a little weary to always use them, which admittedly is kinda flimsy reasoning on my part (you came for the flimsy reasoning, and you stayed for the bad pictures, right?). Here's a good question though: why can't Batman hook onto EVERY GODDAMN ROOFTOP HE SEES? HE'S BATMAN! I realize the short answer is: it's a video game, and video games can't give you 100% total freedom. I understand that. But when I'm standing directly below a rooftop, and I can't hook onto it, even though I can hook onto one that's 800 feet away, that's very annoying. For all this game does to make you feel like Batman, this decidedly makes me feel like NOT-Batman.

This is the bridge...

    I won't spend much time on the boss fights, since they will have their own post, but some of the battles are just Lame, with that capital "L" for some serious emphasis. Mad Hatter barely even qualifies for a fight, and Electrocutioner is severely disappointing because it could have been so very cool (I would guess). When these games get bosses right, they are memorable, fun, interesting, and challenging (or at least tricky). Why couldn't the 'Cutioner be all of those? For shame! As far as Hatter, they could have given us a more appropriate battle. I mean, why the hell not? Also, battles like Anarky, Deadshot, and Black Mask are literally just fighting a big mob of enemies with a slightly tougher (or not, in the case of Anarky) enemy thrown in the mix. Luckily the good battles are great.
    Let's talk about the difficulty briefly. I know once you beat it, you can go through on a NG+ deal, where the enemies are harder and they don't give you the colored "counter" warnings. However, speaking of the main game first playthrough, it's not very hard. Sure, I've been either killed or had a mission failed plenty, but that's partly because I can afford to be careless. The worst that happens if you die is restarting at the last checkpoint, which was probably three minutes away. So, if you die, eh, oh well! You'll just get back there and do it again. Boss battles range from, "easy" to "mildly challenging". Nothing rage inducing. Maybe I shouldn't call the difficulty a con, because I don't plan on going through again on NG+. Does that make this whole argument null and void? Hmm, maybe. Just know, going in, your first playthrough will not be terribly challenging.

    Okay, I've torn this game up enough. Let's talk about why this game is still great fun, and a worthy addition to most gamers' libraries.

    I kind of rolled up graphics, story, and voice-acting into one singular pro. Firstly, the graphics are great. I mean, obviously they are, right? It's a late (then) current era game. I feel like talking about graphics for PS3 games is kind of pointless, unless they are stupendously awesome or horribly trashy. The city, thugs, villains, and Batman, all look great here, and better than the previous games. The voice acting too, while it doesn't have Kevin Conroy or Mark Hamill as Batman and the Joker (respectively), is still great. The new guys (Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker, again, respectively) are fabulous, and I don't personally really even notice that the same two voice actors weren't used. Joker, specifically, is played magnificently here. Everyone else is also good. No complaints there. Finally, the story, I think, is mostly great. Ignoring the problem of Batman's arsenal (this is a prequel to the first two games. When Batman acquires all the cool gadgets, gear, and upgrades in this game, they don't transfer over to the other games, obviously. It's strange from a story perspective that Batman wouldn't keep all this stuff with him. Maybe he lost it all?), the story is a great, engaging one. Black Mask has put a bounty on Batman's head, and eight masterful assassins have descended on Gotham to find and kill Batman, and claim that reward. I want to mention one part of the game, probably about three quarters in, that frankly, blew me away. So, be warned, spoilers ahead!

I'm Batman! Don't read spoilers!

    There's a segment where you are trying to get to the Joker in a penthouse high up in a building. This is where you fight Bane, and really meet the Joker for the first time. From the cut scene right before you fight Bane, until you finally take control of Batman again, it's absolutely stunning and gripping. Firstly, when you get up to the Joker, you get a cut scene of Bane quite literally just manhandling Batman like a damn rag doll. It shows Bane's brutal strength great. After that battle, Batman saves Joker's life from falling to his death. Joker then promptly gets arrested and is sent to Blackgate Prison. There, he gets analyzed by a very familiar looking psychologist (hint: it's Harley Quinn!). As Joker is telling the psychiatrist things, you get to play as Joker as you wander/fight through a nightmarish indoor amusement park. Part of this has you donning a red cape and a red helmet (sans eye- and mouth-holes). The whole thing is a great insight into the relationship of Batman and Joker, and it's a hell of a first meeting of the two (as far as the game's lore is concerned). It also showcases my favorite thing that plays between Batman and Joker: Batman can't kill anyone, even this deranged psychopath. Joker can kill everyone except Batman. I know it's an oft-treaded topic between these two, but this whole section is another satisfying part of that story to be added.

Taking control of the Joker is short-lived, but it's still great

End spoiler-y goodness here!

    This section was a true highlight of a story I enjoyed throughout. Definitely a strong suit for the game. Another section of the game, that comes right towards the end, I also thought was magnificent. Trying to apprehend Firefly (this isn't a spoiler. He's one of the eight assassins you see in that cut scene after the Killer Croc battle waaay back in the beginning of the game) on Gotham Pioneers Bridge was fun, varied (combat, predator encounters, hack/decoding, platforming/navigating through a twisted, destroyed bridge), and frankly, exhilarating. My favorite part of the whole game, I think.
    Again, I won't spend too much time on the bosses, but as I said above, when this game gets the boss fights right, they get them super duper right. Fights like Killer Croc, Copperhead, and Bane (the first time around) are interesting, and it's nice to beat these goons to a pulp. The highlights are clearly Deathstroke and Firefly. Those are two amazing looking, fun-as-hell battles! One of my favorite parts of all the Arkham games are the boss battles. Usually, across the trilogy so far, they get them right (that icky Sammy Sosa-looking Joker battle at the end of Asylum notwithstanding). I might have said it too many times, but these fights really are fun. Isn't that why we play games in the first place? To have fun? Here's to hoping Arkham Knight has more memorable boss battles. Maybe they'll even change the ways we look at boss battles. If there is one series that could revolutionize boss battles, it very well could be this one.
    Combat in these games has always been another delightful highlight. I could be a real pessimistic asshole and say the combat straddles being more of the, "same ol' same ol'" crap that I bemoaned above, but I won't. Because this Bat-glass is half full. The combat flows very fluidly, and it is a true sight to behold. Jumping into a gang of a dozen (or more) thugs and beating their asses, without taking damage, and really taking minimal effort, makes you feel like a Bat-god. It starts off simply enough, with only really one button commanding all of Batman's moves, but it has sneaky depth and complexity. Admittedly, I'm not that great at the game (another symptom of wanting to rush through to the end?). I hardly utilize the various specials and combos that I have available. I usually just forget how to do them. I believe you can turn screen prompts on to let you know when (and how) you can perform a certain move. Perhaps I should explore this more? At any rate, the combat is rewarding and fun (there's that word again!).
    Finally, besides the main story, there is a lot in-game for you to do. As mentioned, you can find the Riddler's data packs (they are still all puzzle-based, and some seem quite head-scratchingly irritating). Edward Nigma is part of a large set of side quests called Most Wanted. These are where you'll fight many of the bosses in the game. The whole goal is to apprehend these criminals at large. They are fun and diverse. There are nine total, and completing them all will certainly take some time. As you traverse Arkham City, you'll pick up crimes-in-progresses, where the police will ask for any available officer to a crime-scene. If you choose to pursue these, you'll end up at a large group of enemies to dispatch. I think this just nets you XP, but they are still a nice distraction. You can also analyze crime scenes throughout the game, and arrest the perpetrators of these crimes. While I appreciate the inclusion of the whole crime scene analyzing stuff (Batman is a detective, after all), it's nothing more than looking for highlighted objects in first person, then holding "X" while they are scanned. Even so, they are provide a little bit of deviation from the normal shenanigans of beating people senseless. Finally, and maybe I should devote more time to this (but I'm not going to), there are challenge maps (dedicated challenges to be completed with certain objectives or limits) that can be played outside of the main game. I haven't tried any of them yet, and unfortunately I don't plan to. If my backlog wasn't 90+ games long, I'd probably jump into them, because they were enjoyable in Arkham City. As it stands, I just don't have the time. Oh hey, there's also an online multiplayer mode that can be played. I've never played it; I don't plan to play it; I don't even know what it's all about exactly. So, with all that stuff mentioned, there's a hell of a lot to do with this game, if you have the time.

SO MUCH FUN!

    This game can be great fun, and you could certainly do worse, but this is definitely the worst of the trilogy. Now, "worst" doesn't mean "bad. On the contrary. I would suggest this to any fan of the first two. Hell, even for the newbies out there, this wouldn't be a bad place to start, if you haven't played an Arkham game yet. This game just doesn't differentiate itself enough from its amazing predecessor, and that lends to a feeling of retreading old ground. In the end, I'm glad I played it, and I'm sure eventually I'll come back and re-play it, or try to get 100%, or something like that.

Snow!