Remember Batman Begins? Of course you do-it was phenomenal, and you saw it like twelve times. It's downright impressive, and helps lift up the already surprising narrative, even if some opportunities for greatness in the story are totally botched when Origins tries to be too much.Īnd that's the biggest problem with Arkham Origins. Baker's mad clown is absolutely spectacular, and sounds similar enough to Mark Hamill's to be recognizable without feeling too derivative. It's fine, but it never rises above the ranks of impersonation-and he certainly doesn't seem to take to the role as well as Troy Baker does to The Joker. Smith's Batman sounds like your friend who does a really good Batman voice. Instead, it's sort of a dry amalgamation of Christian Bale's 'SWEAR TO ME!' and the classic Kevin Conroy take on the character. This Bruce Wayne is a less experienced vigilante, creating an opportunity for Roger Craig Smith-Batman's new voice actor-to try something fresh. It's an interesting twist and works well, and absolutely could've been used to create a more focused experience. You're donning the cowl of a much younger Dark Knight than previously found in the Arkham games, one who has only been spending money on metal boomerangs for a handful of years. had a great excuse to tone things down for Origins. You'll eventually get the hang of it, feeling like… well, feeling like Batman, but it takes a good long while to reach that level.

The game incentivizes you to use your abilities with the inclusion of a leveling system and new 'Dark Knight Challenges,' which reward you with experience and skills for completing mini-challenges-but it's still a little overwhelming. You'll be spraying Explosive Gel on walls, ripping down grates with the Batclaw, launching yourself into the air with the Grapnel Gun, throwing Batarangs at hapless thugs, dropping Smoke Bombs to escape gunfire, and hacking computers using the Cryptographic Sequencer and that's just what you start with. Partially, the problem here is Batman's comically (as in funny, not comic book-inspired) hefty utility belt full of tools. You'll be experiencing your moment of ecstasy as a whirling dervish of destruction, until you head inside a building and notice the occasionally shoddy level design has you utterly lost.

But then, those pesky conditions crop up again.

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