Zero Punctuation: Batman: Arkham Origins

[Hutzpah Chicken]

Batman is starting to take a downward swing? Golly gee, how can we enjoy the DC Universe without him? I think the game would be more interesting if it was just between Deadshot and Deathstroke. See if they can make it as enjoyable as the end of Villains United.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

So I heard WB hired that studio to fill in a Batman game to give Rocksteady time for a real sequel, which I hope is true. Because with the

Spoiler

Joker gone

there is only one direction to go...BEYOND.

So I'm really hoping that rumor is true, that ROCKSTEADY is doing it, and it is a Beyond game. Because they already made the suit model, and jet boots could replace the grapple accelerator, and...well...OK so most of the Beyond villains suck, but it would still be awesome.

I always feel like I would LOVE a Batman Beyond game, until I remember how absolutely overpowered Batman would be and how there's really no possible way to have stealth sections what with Batman having the ability to turn invisible.

They'd have to seriously nerf his gadgets and abilities in order to make the game a challenge.

 

[boradis]

I bought it on the first weekend based on some positive press and I'm seriously regretting my decision. It should be called "Bugman: Arkham Glitches."

From the XBox hangs and freezes, to the numerous missions with no hint as to what you should do, it's a mess.

Right now I'm trying to break some lanterns in the Mad Hatter's mind-fuck mission but I can't even target the batarangs.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

Not sure which is more sad. Those who had to stop the video to check on the villains, or myself. Who didn't. No, not even for Crazy Quilt.

I feel the same way. Every time Yahtzee said that these were all the D list villains it made me cringe a little. Just because they haven't appeared in a movie doesn't make them D list. Deathstroke is fucking awesome, and so is Firefly, so quit banging on about Firefly.

I know, right! And Firefly's name is Garfield! What's not to love about that???

 

[octafish]

I don't care what you say, Deadshot is awesome. Just don't ask him to stop Rick Flagg from killing a corrupt senator.

 

[Butzkey]

Looks like someone forgot to speed up the video by 5%...or maybe I discovered bullet time? shitty-5%-internet-video bullet time but I'd take it.

 

[twosage]

The bugs are inexcusable and the lack of polish is upsetting, but beyond that the game is actually pretty good. Good writing and performances, fun gameplay, and the boss battles are actually very enjoyable.

I'm not criticizing the review, because I know Yahtzee is trying to simultaneously entertain, critique, and inform, but I enjoy the lesser-known villains getting their moment in the spotlight. The Copperhead and Firefly designs are much more interesting than any other adaptations of them I've ever seen, and Bane is fairly well done, as well. In the other Arkham games, he's pretty much a dumb wall of muscle meat, but in Origins, we see a bit of depth and evolution in him. Overall, it's not as good as Arkham City, but (if upcoming patches sufficiently fix the bugs), then it's actually a pretty good Batman game. It's also a lot better if you forget all the "prequel" nonsense and just treat it as a standalone game.

Right now I'm trying to break some lanterns in the Mad Hatter's mind-fuck mission but I can't even target the batarangs.

You have to walk onto to platform when it isn't electrified to lock on (or just stand on it and take the hits as I did).

 

[Darth_Payn]

Matt Damon & Mark Wahlberg wearing fruit on their heads? How do you know what goes on at George Clooney's house parties? I wouldn't say Deathstroke is specifically a Batman villain; he's a merc, he'll fight almost anyone for the right price. Then again, if he does have a nemesis, that would be Dick Grayson, since they butt heads going back to the old Teen Titans days when he was Robin, then Nightwing, and few years ago as Batman.

 

[IrisNetwork]

Well, despite all the hype, I guess Yahtzee pretty much called on this one in his "The Sandbox that killed the Bat" Extra Punctuation column.
And those bugs... Ugh.
Welp, might as well try to 100% Arkham City, or Asylum on hard.

 

[balladbird]

He is not.

Oh... you weren't really asking? Just making a point? And now I've gone and shown my uber-nerd undergarments because I know exactly who the Ten-Eyed Man is?

Dog bollocks.

It was a little bit curiosity on my part, too. if they were really digging through the dregs of lame obscure villains, I figured they'd want the one batman routinely defeats by tricking him into holding hot/pointy things. XD

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

He is not.

Oh... you weren't really asking? Just making a point? And now I've gone and shown my uber-nerd undergarments because I know exactly who the Ten-Eyed Man is?

Dog bollocks.

It was a little bit curiosity on my part, too. if they were really digging through the dregs of lame obscure villains, I figured they'd want the one batman routinely defeats by tricking him into holding hot/pointy things. XD

Yeah, hard to be a credible threat to Batman when you can be defeated by a game of Hot Potato.

 

[Mr. Q]

Didn't need to pause the video at all. I know these characters like the back of my hand.

I'm a comic book geek. It's my job... that I wish I was getting paid for just for knowing this shit. ^^;

Yeah, Arkham Origin just reeks of cash-in sequel with little to no effort. Not surprising since Rocksteady and the original voice actors for Batman and Joker bailed on the third installment.

Also, what is it with you and jetpacks, Yahtzee?

 

[Foolery]

Personally, I'm enjoying Origins' story more than I did City's or Asylum's. I prefer it over the cheesy Titan formula plot. Call it grounded if you want, but I like it. I can't take Yahtzee's remark about villains seriously, either. They are all well known DC and Batman villains. Especially Dead Shot, Killer Croc, Deathstroke, and Fire Fly. Point is, these games are made for comic book fans. They know their audience. If you don't get it, well, too bad, I guess.

 

[Jezzy54]

There's potential in giving the more obscure villains some exposure, but only if you write them well. I always kinda liked Firefly, so I like the idea of a game giving him a chance. If only it wasn't this game.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

You definitely hit the nail on the head, Yahtzee. Bane is really only here to take advantage of his Dark Knight Rises fame. He's been in all three games, and while Bane is a great villain, there's only so many ways to fight him and I'd much rather see someone else, even if they are as boring as Firefly. It's why I was miffed about the Joker thing, I'd hoped they were going to keep him around in the background and just allude to him, rather than standing him up on the goddamn pedestal.

Yeah, we get it, the Joker is awesome. I need another game to tell me that like I need yet another X-Men movie that stars Wolverine as the main protagonist, which is to say not at all.

 

[EHKOS]

So I heard WB hired that studio to fill in a Batman game to give Rocksteady time for a real sequel, which I hope is true. Because with the

Spoiler

Joker gone

there is only one direction to go...BEYOND.

So I'm really hoping that rumor is true, that ROCKSTEADY is doing it, and it is a Beyond game. Because they already made the suit model, and jet boots could replace the grapple accelerator, and...well...OK so most of the Beyond villains suck, but it would still be awesome.

I always feel like I would LOVE a Batman Beyond game, until I remember how absolutely overpowered Batman would be and how there's really no possible way to have stealth sections what with Batman having the ability to turn invisible.

They'd have to seriously nerf his gadgets and abilities in order to make the game a challenge.

Oh that's right, I forgot he could turn invisible. Then again, it's the future, so maybe we could bring some heat sensing goggles into the mix or something. Maybe a virus could infect the suit's systems in the middle of the game as a side mission kinda thing like in ZOE 1 with ADA.

 

[Jburton9]

Great video, thanks Yahtzee : )

I tried this game out and kept finding one issue after the next, narrowed the counter window deliberately just to extend game play, blocked going after jamming radio towers out of sequence because "well we said so" - so much for a sandbox game, bugs bugs oh and more bugs.

Seriously they have all the assets of the previous games, it is not like they had to go out and do development stuff on their own but it is mucked up with bugs anyway?

When a friend of mine asked if this game is a must buy: "Save your money and go purchase the current humble bundle. Add two quality batman games to your games list to enjoy now or during the holidays. Oh and they are both game of the year editions with everything all in one tidy package to enjoy" : )

 

[FallenMessiah88]

I was already getting a bit tired of this series with Arkham City. As such, the announcemet of Arkham Origins left me pretty cold. I just hope the story is good, although it doesn't seem like it's anything special.

 

[Redd the Sock]

I'm wondering if the bugs are overblown, or if I'm just very lucky. I beat the whole game without any crashes or lockups, and while the interrogate prompt didn't come up twice, anything that reloaded my last checkpoint cleared it right up. HAd one funnyone where in the middle of a fight I was suddenly over water, but I couldn't replicate it. To hear the complaints I thought I'd be resetting every hour to make the game playable like skyrim. Maybe my PS3's just in better shape.

As for the D-listers, I'll hold comments about some's actual threat level people only familiar with the movies or animated show would be unaware of and just point out at a lot of villains don't start at the top. I mean, any comic fan would laugh at the thought of Scarecrow being a serious threat to Batman, but it was pulled off with decent writing in Arkham Asylum. Granted, that didn't happen here, but I'm willing to at least give lessor knowns a shot if only because, yes, the story's biggest problem is the use of the overexposed Joker and Bane.

 

[Winnosh]

As to the Mad Hatter showing up. While the games haven't done him justice I just find him a far more interesting villain than Scarecrow ever was in the comics.