Batman: Arkham Origins – You are the Night

Following the success of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, the dark knight returns for a third installment – this time, however, he appears slightly younger and a touch less refined. Batman: Arkham Origins is set to chronicle an early period in the life of Bruce Wayne as the caped crusader, showing players his first few years behind the mask.

The game will take place more or less five years before the events of Arkham Asylum, while the plot itself will follow a Batman hunted by eight assassins hired by a crime lord named Black Mask, all of them after the 50 million dollar bounty awarded to the first killer to successfully take down the bat. Old acquaintances such as Joker, Bane or the Penguin will make an appearance alongside newcomers to the Arkham series, including Deathstroke, Firefly and Copperhead. Although the game itself isn't supervised by Rocksteady, creators of the original two titles, Arkham Origins seems to be in good hands regardless: its creative control, as we have learned, is overseen by Eric Holmes, the man responsible for the highly successful The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.

Detective mode

Batman: Arkham OriginsPlatform: PC, PS3, XBox360, iOS, AndroidGenre: Action-adventureDeveloper: Warner Bros. Games Montréal, Splash DamagePublisher: Warner Bros. Interactive EntertainmentRelease: 10/25/2013Rated: 16+^PEGIIn terms of the fundamental elements of gameplay, players who have experienced the earlier installments will find themselves on familiar territory once again – we are given relatively free reign within the city of Gotham, its explorable region now roughly twice the size of the prison that served as the predecessor's setting. This time, however, Batman's honed detective skills will enjoy more attention: the brand new and improved Detective Mode will allow players to completely re-enact crimes of the past via a virtual reality system. The footage playing out before our eyes can then be freely fast-forwarded, rewound and stopped in order to give us the best angle to gain that one crucial clue needed in figuring out the source of the crime.

Additional tweaks include the „Crime in Progress” system, in which Batman will assist the Gotham City Police Department in solving crimes or saving citizens, thus increasing his reputation and general standing with the force. While roaming the streets of Gotham, Arkham Origins will make sure to give enough non-essential content for players to enjoy – sidequests that aren't tightly related to the main plotline. While the combat system uses the same well-oiled formula based primarily on chain combos and counterattacks, the developers are also promising new types of enemies for added variety. New gadgets and a fast-travel option via the famed Batwing will also make an appearance in the prequel.

Joker vs. Bane vs Batman&Robin

Unlike the first two entries in the Arkham series, Origins now introduces a multiplayer component as well, which will allow players to take part in a 3 vs. 3 gang war unfolding between the forces of Joker and Bane. The situation is made even more exciting by the presence of both Batman and Robin on the field, both of them also controlled by human players - the result is the fairly unique „3 vs. 3 vs. 2” multiplayer model advertised in the game's trailers. Several game modes will allow us to impersonate either the two iconic superheroes, or join the side of the gang members, fighting in the colors of either Joker or Bane while trying to sabotage the efforts of the two legendary crime-fighters.

Arkham Origins will be available world-wide on October 25, both on current-gen consoles and PC.

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