Batman: Arkham Origins - Xbox 360

I have all three Arkham games(all on Xbox), and I honestly believe they've gotten better with every installment. A lot of reviewers complained that this was just more of the same. I sort-of agree, but that's not a bad thing. Overall, I felt gameplay was subtly improved over Arkham City with little touches like the Shock Gloves going a long way to alleviate my annoyances with the previous installment's combat. Like when you're in a fight with a bunch of shield bearers and you end up spending more time taking shields and knives away than actually fighting. Yes, I'm referring to that open area in the old subway station in City. You know, the one filled with heavy's and shield bearers...A big complaint that a lot of people had was the way gliding get's broken by the city's seemingly haphazard design. And initially I agreed. I changed my tune after only a few hours of play though. Once you've got a good general idea of the city, it actually becomes pretty trivial to find glide paths from just about anywhere to just about anywhere and the more random layout of the city makes gliding feel more natural and less like a cheap gameplay mechanic. In fact, I found that I almost never used the fast travel except when I wanted to head back to the Batcave.The Riddler missions are essentially the same, but I found that the way they were presented in Origins gave a greater sense of urgency and made them a more compelling diversion from the main missions. TBH, I had a hard time caring at all about these in both Asylum and City, but I not only finished the Riddler plot-line in Origins, I enjoyed doing so.The story is, quite frankly, where Origins really shines though. While I do agree with most reviewers that certain of the assassins were rushed through(I'm kinda pissed about how small a contribution Deathstroke gave to this game, though the end credits scene gave me some hope in that regard), I have to say that, despite the way the trailers presented things, this game is not about Batman taking on assassins. There is a much deeper, and quite frankly, way better plot that develops behind the scene presented by the contract on Batman story presented in all the marketing.As a final addendum, I feel I should say that, I have yet to run into any of the bugs that people have been complaining about. Well, ok, i did run into one bug, but it actually helped me complete the challenge where you can't use detective vision during a conflict.(Hint: Enter the conflict with Detective Vision on and don't turn it off until the situation is done. May have been patched by now.)

this review is based off of only a few hrs of gameplay.i will just give a brief breakdown review and will not go into much detail to avoid any spoilers for those who may have not played the game yet.Gameplay: 10/10this game plays just like the first 2 that came out (Asylum and City). the controls are the same, which i do believe makes it easier to just pick up and play.graphics: 10/10For a 360 game, I am blown away by the detail put into Gotham. It is a huge world to explore, and if you played Arkham City, you will notice some familiar locations. The snow that is falling looks great too, which as small as it may seem, adds to the beauty of the game!One issue i did notice, is at times the frame rate seems a bit off and makes it feel laggy. This seems to only happen when flying.Story: 10/10i won't go too into detail here to avoid giving things away, but this game lives up to the Arkham name with a great story! there is a ton to do! after playing for about 2 hours, i still feel as though i barely completed 8% of what i can.Characters: (mainly batman)Again i won't go too into detail, but the way that the characters are portrayed is great! I will use batman as the example. This game is set before the events of Arkham city and asylum. It is the earlier years of Batman's existence, and his attitude shows it. that is all i will say, but i like it!overall: 10/10This is a fantastic game!!! i am very pleased with how it turned out. I strongly recommend to any batman fans! especially for the price!

Look, first off this game has only one major issue which many have expressed here and that is the occasional freezing issue. It happened a few times when I would fast travel but other than that everything went well.Secondly don't believe all the gripe about the environment looks the same as AC. That's total BS! Of course there are supposed to be the same buildings, it's Arkham City for god's sake, but there is different architect on each building and every area looked quite different to me. There could have been more grapple spots but they made the gliding system much better. The AR challenges are MUCH MUCH easier than the previous game.This whole game had a great story and must enough boss fights to keep it fulfilling and fun! Wish the ending could have included a bit more or been a little more dramatic but overall I can't complain.The fighting system is top notch and allows you to finish off enemies to your liking. They added lots of new upgrades and over 200 Enigma data packs to collect!!! Game is worth the money and don't listen to all the negativity people are giving the game.IT'S BATMAN! MAKE YOUR OWN JUSTICE AND PUT CRIMINALS IN THEIR PLACE! Be the BAT!