PN Review: Arkham Origins: Blackgate

When it comes to video games, our beloved Dark Knight has gotten far better treatment than many other super heroes. (I’m looking at you, Superman.) While Batman enjoyed success in the days of both the NES and SNES, his popularity in games really took off with the success of RockSteady Studio’s, Batman: Arkham Asylum. In a follow up to this wildly popular game, Arkham Origins looks to tell the story of a younger, more inexperienced Batman. As a hand held title meant to compliment the home console release, Arkham Origins: Blackgate finds Batman in the middle of a riot in Blackgate prison. Will batman be able to navigate the treacherous prison to rescue the hostages in time? How will he cope with the devious traps set by villains such as the Penguin and Joker? Is the game worth playing? Read on to find out!

Graphically, the game presents itself with nice 3D visuals that are pleasing to look at. While maybe not as visually impressive as titles such as Metal Gear Solid 3D or Resident Evil Revelations, Batman still incorporates that dark and gritty style the series is known for. More impressive, however, are the game’s cut scenes. Rather than using the in-game models to create the majority of the cut scenes, Blackgate presents them in a hand drawn comic book style that captures the spirit of the action perfectly.

Unlike its older brother, Origins, Blackgate is a 2.5D sidescroller. Although this means the game has plenty of long stretches of hallways, Batman can use his grappling hook to navigate to rooms placed just about anywhere in the game’s environment, and the game’s creative use of this helps make the prison you explore feel more three-dimensional and fleshed out. Unfortunately, because of this design choice this also means that the game’s predator missions (where you must take out your enemies without being seen) feel clunky and awkward. They may be few and far between, but I often found myself accidentally attacking an enemy when I really meant to move to another hiding spot, which made me dread these sections of the game.

As you navigate the prison with the help of catwoman, you’ll pick up various Wayne Tech gadgets to help you get past obstacles in your way. Batman can make use of electrically charged batarangs, a grappling hook, explosive gel, and a cable launcher. The items work similar to the way they do in Arkham Asylum, and my only complaint is that the items seem more useful for exploration than they are for combat. Along with the gadgets, Batman can also find upgrades to his gauntlets to increase his strength, stronger armor to resist damage, and even new batsuits. This makes backtracking through areas of the game less of a chore because the upgrades are definitely worth collecting.

Also important to exploring Blackgate is Batman’s detective vision. By holding down the detective vision button on the 3DS’ lower screen, you can use the control stick to shift your focus to different objects that you can scan. This is crucial to navigating the prison, as many objects won’t be intractable until they’ve been scanned. As a sidequest, every area you visit has plenty of hidden clues for you to scan, and scanning them all will solve a mystery about how that section of the prison was taken over by a certain villain. The clues are well hidden, and it’s a neat way to replace the Riddler sidequest from Arkham Asylum. Solving a mystery unlocks special artwork giving the game a nice bit of replay value.

While exploring every nook and cranny of Blackgate prison, eventually you’re going to run into some bad guys. Luckily for you, the combat is quick and fluid just like the home console versions. Batman punches, stuns, and counters with ease, but again, due to hardware limitations, only so many enemies can be on the screen at one time. This means the range of enemies you’ll encounter at any one time is limited, so incorporating weapons into the combat or stringing together combos isn’t as important as it once was since combat ends rather quickly. The combat really shines, however, in the game’s boss battles. Each one incorporates clever use of an item into the fight, and it’s genuinely entertaining to figure out how to topple the bad guys with your gadgets.

All in all, Arkham Origins: Blackgate may have its quirks, but it still manages to be an entertaining gaming experience. The game’s fantastic comic book style cut scenes are impressive and they tell the game’s story exceptionally well. Exploring and finding secrets within Blackgate prison is fun and rewarding, and the prison feels incredibly fleshed out despite the game being a 2.5D sidescroller. Unfortunately, the predator missions suffered in the transition to 2.5D and navigating a room whilst being undetected can be cumbersome. Combat is fluid, but the limit on how many enemies that can be on the screen at one time simplifies the fighting a bit. Arkham Origins: Blackgate sets the groundwork for what I can only hope will be sequels that continue to improve. If you love the universe of Batman, then you’re going to enjoy having a Batman game on the go for your 3DS. The bat gets a 7.5 out of 10 from Pure Nintendo.