Why I'm Not Worried About Batman: Arkham Origins

            If you are familiar with gaming then you know that licenced games have a very bad track record. They are usually assigned to lesser known and smaller teams that are rushed to get the game out in order to either help market the product, like a game coming out to promote a movie or one that is coming out to capitalize on something’s current popularity. Even though they have so much lore and so many stories to draw upon, licensed superhero games have also struggled to come out with strong games. Batman had arguably the worst lineup of games for any superhero, until Warner Bros. assigned Rocksteady to the franchise.

            Unlike other studios Rocksteady was not rushed when making Batman: Arkham Asylum, in fact the game was even delayed to give them more time to make as good of a game as possible. Rocksteady’s love for Batman and his world came shining through in almost every inch of Batman Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. This not only lead to games that Batman fans would enjoy, but ones that were legitimately great even for those that did not already love Batman (although I don’t know why they didn’t love him, that just sounds bat-crap crazy to me).

            The games made you feel like you were Batman by highlighting his many awesome skills such as fighting, sneaking around and solving puzzles. The hand-to-hand combat was fantastic and is still what I consider to be one of the best combat engines in any game. The stealth mechanics were quick and responsive, allowing you to methodically take down your enemies without having to take up an immense amount of time or rob the player of a feeling of power and excitement. I’ve never been a big stealth guy, but in the Arkham games I loved clearing a room of enemies before anyone even realized I was there. Then there was the puzzle solving. Rocksteady not only littered both games with optional riddles from the Riddler based on Batman’s immense history that you could solve, but they gave us Detective Mode. Detective Mode was so good at highlighting enemies and objects without beating you over the head with what to do, that for me it almost became my primary way of navigating the world.

            This next part is a tangent that I did not expect to write, but is a testament to how much fun Rocksteady’s Batman games are. At this point in the article I had been thinking about Arkham Asylum & City so much that I was faced with the overwhelming urge to play one of them. I stopped writing even though I really wanted to get more of this done, popped in Arkham City and played some challenge maps. This is not a joke; I actually couldn’t stand thinking about the games this much and not playing one of them.

            Now I know at this point the title of the article may seem a little strange. I have been doing nothing but praising the work that Rocksteady did with their Arkham games and now the reins are being handed over to Warner Bros. Montreal for Batman Arkham Origins, yet I am not worried. Why?

            Because all of Rocksteady’s work is being handed over to Warner Bros. Montreal. The combat engine, the stealth mechanics and detective mode are all available for this new studio to tweak, refine or keep exactly the same. From a gameplay standpoint there is nothing to worry about and gameplay is one of the two things Rocksteady nailed. The other was knowledge & passion for Batman and I feel like a Warner Bros. built studio meant to handle its Batman games that are finally good and selling well would be comprised of people who care about Batman. As for the rest, I don’t see why these guys would do any worse than Rocksteady.

            I liked the stories in both Arkham games, but the writing in Arkham City left something to be desired. That being said there must be countless good Batman stories out there since he is such a great character and the set up for Arkham Origins already has me intrigued. I feel like there is a good chance that the story will manage to be on par with the other Arkham games and topping Rocksteady’s writing seems like a task that is more than manageable.

            Another issue people have taken with Arkham Origins are the absences of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill (Batman and Joker respectively from the previous Arkham games and Batman: The Animated Series). Mark Hamill announced his retirement as the Joker prior to Arkham City’s release, so even if Rocksteady was developing this game he would not be in it.

              Now we need to talk about Kevin…Conroy. When I was a kid I watched Batman: The Animated Series and I thought it was great, it’s how I fell in love with Batman. Kevin Conroy’s Batman voice is great and instantly recognizable to me. However, there is more to being a good voice actor than being able to do a cool voice. You also need to be able to act and convey your emotions properly using just your voice, which isn’t easy. Batman: Arkham City had multiple sections where the story had set up more dramatic and emotional moments and just about everyone in the game completely dropped the ball during them. They forgot to act, they just did a voice. It wasn’t just Kevin Conroy, the people who played Barbara, Alfred, hell even Mark Hamill’s Joker at the end all failed to convey the emotions that the game demanded in those scenes. I’m glad Conroy isn’t coming back because while he was great and his voice still is, he simply doesn’t appear to have it anymore. I so rarely care about the quality of voice acting in games, but for Arkham City it was one of my key issues. Ideally Bruce Greenwood, who has done a great job as Batman in Batman: Under the Red Hood and Young Justice, would have gotten the part. Instead we have Roger Craig Smith (known for such characters as Chris Redfield, Sonic and Ezio) who has done a good job in other games causing me to feel like he is a definite step up from Conroy, even though he isn’t my first choice.

             Rocksteady did a great job with their Arkham games and crafted mechanics that are so good that Warner Bros. Montreal would be foolish not to use them. I think new voice actors, a new art style and a new take on the series from a different set of developers will help Arkham Origins, not hurt it. That is why I am not worried about Arkham Origins and why I am actually more optimistic about the project than I would be if it was Rocksteady’s third outing. They already tossed everything they had at the series, twice. Why not let someone else run with the foundation they laid and see where it takes us.