Yes, casually, the Batou is already in its third episode in the Arkham series, all released on the current generation of machines. First small sign of shortness of breath, Warner Bros. Interactive has chosen to play the somewhat easy but still effective prequel card. Batman Arkham Origins takes place indeed, as its name suggests, before the events of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Bruce Wayne has only been back in Gotham for two years, after a training course with the ninjas, probably provided by dear Paul Emploi. The boss of Wayne Industries is therefore only at the beginning of his career as a vigilante in the game, he does not yet work with the police, plagued by corruption and who consider him more or less as a threat. Gordon is also only captain and the Joker has not yet come to set the mood in the middle of Gotham gangs who have put the city in control. Despite this setting, which is a bit out of the ordinary, the beginning of the plot does not sell a dream: Black Mask put a contract on Batman's head on Christmas night, with 50 million dollars for the one who will bring down the Dark Knight before dawn. Needless to say, it's the perfect excuse to integrate a large panel of eccentrics and madmen from the DC comics and even if the scenario expands towards the end of the game, the string is a bit big. Especially since the characters who have been chosen to face Batman do not all shine with their charisma … But we will come back to this later because there is more disappointment once the controller is in hand.
Indeed, once the new era and the new scenario are rather pleasantly integrated, we very (too?) quickly have a nasty impression of deja-vu. Warner Bros. Montreal inherited all of Rocksteady's work on the first two Arkhams and it's very hard to spot the new stuff. The graphics engine, the camera angles, Batman's movements, the combat system, the gameplay and even the gadgets (except for one or two useless trinkets): a huge part of the game has already been created for the needs of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Like the latter, we progress in the game by strolling through Gotham, between the common thread and the secondary objectives. The city is obviously a few years younger, but the essentials are already there and if we add to that the dubious choice to place the story of Arkham Origins in the middle of winter (which was already the case for the second episode), we sometimes finds himself wondering if we are indeed playing a new title! Obviously, pumping it up in this way has its good sides: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are always excellent titles, and taking their recipe to push it a little further can only give at least an equivalent result. Those for whom this would be the first Batman will find there an artistic direction that is as detailed and meticulous as ever to offer hyper-detailed environments, a combat system based on countering and dodging against opponents that are still superior in number, great fidelity to the Batman universe and a really gripping rhythm management. In short, all the qualities of the previous opuses...
But there is still a little badly copied side in this Batman Arkham Origins. A bit like this Lacoste polo shirt with the crocodile baring like a lollipop because it comes from Ventimiglia, but which looks good all the same. So, despite the number of criminals present in the game, not all of them are incorporated into the main plot. A certain number of them are the subject of side quests which will be accessible more or less early in the game, in the form of "Go to point A, B and C then go and beat up the boss". It's nice because it allows you to integrate a variety of characters more or less known to the general public, but it also makes a little artificial casting... And we're not even talking about the Electrocutioner, who dies without even having faced the Bat or Killer Croc, one of the most creepy villains in the Batman universe, who is taken down in the first quarter of an hour of Game ! Unthinkable. Still in the aisle of badly imitated ideas, more or less important, we think of the poisoning of Batman by Copperhead (very close to that of the Scarecrow), the integration of a strong-mouthed assistant for the Penguin (although heard similar to Harley Quinn's banter) or even Edward Nigma's jamming tower system, which must be unlocked in order to use the Batwing's fast travel function and which are downright reminiscent of Assassin's Creed or Far Cry. Incidentally, fortunately this feature was included, because bumping into Gotham's endless bridge crossing every two missions quickly gets on your nerves. It should also be noted that Warner Montreal did not take the opportunity to correct the few imperfections in the gameplay of its elders, including sometimes a little rigid handling and approximations during combat. Ditto for the aging of a game engine whose framerate drops are quite worrying...
But Batman Arkham Origins still has its own qualities (understand non-inherited). Yes, the little guys from Warner still gave a little added value to this episode. The scenario, despite a bit heavy beginnings, ends up finding its rhythm halfway through and even becomes frankly likable at the end (but we prefer not to tell you more). If you don't pick up during the first hours faced with a title that tastes of deja vu, the following hours can only hook you a little more, as long as you are a little bit attracted by the saga. The boss fights are generally better made than in the two previous games, even if the arena syndrome tends to repeat itself a little bit. Special mention for the fight against DeathStroke, which perfectly places the timing of the counter-attack at the heart of its gameplay. The infiltration phases, now called Predator fights, require more thought but also offer more possibilities. Jammers on some opponents' backs can prevent you from using Detective's Vision, while you can mute the speakers with your own device. The AI of the enemies is also much more developed (sometimes too much, we get spotted without understanding), forcing them to move in groups difficult to circumvent. You will need to develop your Predator skill tree to obtain useful abilities for infiltration, while you can focus on Close Combat on the Vigilante tree. You will also find this theme in the three series of Dark Knight Challenges, 15 in number each time, which will extend a gargantuan lifespan, with tons of challenges to take up and objects to recover. Finally, we cannot emphasize enough the quality of the soundtrack, in the vein of the Dark Knight trilogy, but also the quality of the English dubbing, which is as good as the VF is disappointing.
Yes, casually, the Batou is already in its third episode in the Arkham series, all released on the current generation of machines. First small sign of shortness of breath, Warner Bros. Interactive has chosen to play the somewhat easy but still effective prequel card. Batman Arkham Origins takes place indeed, as its name suggests, before the events of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Bruce Wayne has only been back in Gotham for two years, after a training course with the ninjas, probably provided by dear Paul Emploi. The boss of Wayne Industries is therefore only at the beginning of his career as a vigilante in the game, he does not yet work with the police, plagued by corruption and who consider him more or less as a threat. Gordon is also only captain and the Joker has not yet come to set the mood in the middle of Gotham gangs who have put the city in control. Despite this setting, which is a bit out of the ordinary, the beginning of the plot does not sell a dream: Black Mask put a contract on Batman's head on Christmas night, with 50 million dollars for the one who will bring down the Dark Knight before dawn. Needless to say, it's the perfect excuse to integrate a large panel of eccentrics and madmen from the DC comics and even if the scenario expands towards the end of the game, the string is a bit big. Especially since the characters who have been chosen to face Batman do not all shine with their charisma … But we will come back to this later because there is more disappointment once the controller is in hand.
Indeed, once the new era and the new scenario are rather pleasantly integrated, we very (too?) quickly have a nasty impression of deja-vu. Warner Bros. Montreal inherited all of Rocksteady's work on the first two Arkhams and it's very hard to spot the new stuff. The graphics engine, the camera angles, Batman's movements, the combat system, the gameplay and even the gadgets (except for one or two useless trinkets): a huge part of the game has already been created for the needs of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Like the latter, we progress in the game by strolling through Gotham, between the common thread and the secondary objectives. The city is obviously a few years younger, but the essentials are already there and if we add to that the dubious choice to place the story of Arkham Origins in the middle of winter (which was already the case for the second episode), we sometimes finds himself wondering if we are indeed playing a new title! Obviously, pumping it up in this way has its good sides: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are always excellent titles, and taking their recipe to push it a little further can only give at least an equivalent result. Those for whom this would be the first Batman will find there an artistic direction that is as detailed and meticulous as ever to offer hyper-detailed environments, a combat system based on countering and dodging against opponents that are still superior in number, great fidelity to the Batman universe and a really gripping rhythm management. In short, all the qualities of the previous opuses...
But there is still a little badly copied side in this Batman Arkham Origins. A bit like this Lacoste polo shirt with the crocodile baring like a lollipop because it comes from Ventimiglia, but which looks good all the same. So, despite the number of criminals present in the game, not all of them are incorporated into the main plot. A certain number of them are the subject of side quests which will be accessible more or less early in the game, in the form of "Go to point A, B and C then go and beat up the boss". It's nice because it allows you to integrate a variety of characters more or less known to the general public, but it also makes a little artificial casting... And we're not even talking about the Electrocutioner, who dies without even having faced the Bat or Killer Croc, one of the most creepy villains in the Batman universe, who is taken down in the first quarter of an hour of Game ! Unthinkable. Still in the aisle of badly imitated ideas, more or less important, we think of the poisoning of Batman by Copperhead (very close to that of the Scarecrow), the integration of a strong-mouthed assistant for the Penguin (although heard similar to Harley Quinn's banter) or even Edward Nigma's jamming tower system, which must be unlocked in order to use the Batwing's fast travel function and which are downright reminiscent of Assassin's Creed or Far Cry. Incidentally, fortunately this feature was included, because bumping into Gotham's endless bridge crossing every two missions quickly gets on your nerves. It should also be noted that Warner Montreal did not take the opportunity to correct the few imperfections in the gameplay of its elders, including sometimes a little rigid handling and approximations during combat. Ditto for the aging of a game engine whose framerate drops are quite worrying...
But Batman Arkham Origins still has its own qualities (understand non-inherited). Yes, the little guys from Warner still gave a little added value to this episode. The scenario, despite a bit heavy beginnings, ends up finding its rhythm halfway through and even becomes frankly likable at the end (but we prefer not to tell you more). If you don't pick up during the first hours faced with a title that tastes of deja vu, the following hours can only hook you a little more, as long as you are a little bit attracted by the saga. The boss fights are generally better made than in the two previous games, even if the arena syndrome tends to repeat itself a little bit. Special mention for the fight against DeathStroke, which perfectly places the timing of the counter-attack at the heart of its gameplay. The infiltration phases, now called Predator fights, require more thought but also offer more possibilities. Jammers on some opponents' backs can prevent you from using Detective's Vision, while you can mute the speakers with your own device. The AI of the enemies is also much more developed (sometimes too much, we get spotted without understanding), forcing them to move in groups difficult to circumvent. You will need to develop your Predator skill tree to obtain useful abilities for infiltration, while you can focus on Close Combat on the Vigilante tree. You will also find this theme in the three series of Dark Knight Challenges, 15 in number each time, which will extend a gargantuan lifespan, with tons of challenges to take up and objects to recover. Finally, we cannot emphasize enough the quality of the soundtrack, in the vein of the Dark Knight trilogy, but also the quality of the English dubbing, which is as good as the VF is disappointing.
