Batman: Arkham Origins’ flaws overshadow its improvements (review)

Snow falls on the empty streets of Gotham City while most of its citizens are indoors celebrating. Meanwhile, Roman Sionis, the criminal also known as Black Mask, has gathered eight of the world’s best assassins and given them one night to hunt down the constant thorn in his side: Batman. Long used to being the ultimate predator on the streets, Batman now has to cope with being the prey.

Warner Bros. Games Montréal takes the helm of this third installment in the Batman: Arkham series. Available now on PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U, Batman: Arkham Origins bills itself as a grittier prequel to the first two entries. While it doesn’t represent a proper origin story, it serves as Batman’s first time encountering some of his iconic foes, at least in the timeline started by developer Rocksteady Studios in Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City.