As someone who owns neither a PS3 or Xbox, I came late to the Arkham games. When I purchased a Wii U, I purchased BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY. Finally, my eyes were opened to the cinematic awesomeness of the games. By far the best superhero experience I have ever had on a console, ARKHAM CITY was worthy of carrying the name BATMAN.
I am now extremely excited for the prequel game, BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS. Each game builds on the quality of the previous title and this looks like it will carry on the awesome backbone set up by both ARKHAM CITY and ARKHAM ASYLUM. Here is a brief synopsis:
The events of ARKHAM ORIGINS are set several years before BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM, in the middle of winter in fictional Gotham City. Batman is an experienced crime-fighter, but has not yet become the veteran superhero portrayed in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. He remains a mysterious force with even the police unsure if he is a vigilante, a myth or supernatural. Batman has battled with normal criminals and gangsters and is used to being stronger and faster than his targets, but on a snowy Christmas eve he is confronted with far more dangerous enemies: super villains tasked with killing Batman. The sadistic and brutal Black Mask has placed a bounty on the superhero, and Batman must discover why the villain harbors a deep hatred for him. Black Mask is the most powerful man in the city, possessing vast wealth and resources, and controls Gotham’s criminal underworld, having eliminated his opposition and begun consolidating his power. His mask conceals his identity, allowing him to operate publicly as Roman Sionis, head of Janus Cosmetics. Black Mask’s henchmen help instigate a rise in crime and gang activity in the city. The Gotham City Police Department, led by Commissioner Loeb, and Captain James Gordon are wary of the new superhero in their midst, and are not his allies with corrupt cops actively working against him. Old Gotham, the segment of Gotham City which will become the Arkham City prison, is not yet walled off or ravaged by flood, and contains slums, lower buildings, a large shopping mall, and docks where Penguin’s ship The Final Offer is stationed. Across the bridge from Old Gotham is New Gotham, the more modern metropolitan area of the city filled with towering skyscrapers.
Since I am more of a casual gamer, I am fine with assuming the gameplay will be on par with the first two titles in the series. I am more interested in how the game will look cinematically. With that in mind, WB Games released a five minute trailer that puts some of the best superhero movies to shame. Everyone is here from Batman, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, and new villains including Black Mask and Deadshot. This game looks amazing and I cannot wait to play it. Even if it takes years before we get a new BATMAN movie or even JUSTICE LEAGUE, it will be nice to know these games are out there.
BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS will hit Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on October 25, 2013.
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