17 Glorious Minutes of Arkham Origins Gameplay

With Arkham Origins being released on Friday, WB Games released a video of some gameplay. It lasts almost seventeen full minutes and features the Batcave, but more importantly, it also features Alfred.

The game takes place early on in Batman’s career, acting as a prologue to Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. In fact, it is set before Batman developed a working relationship with the Gotham City Police Department, as is shown in this gameplay video. They’re in the antagonistic point in their relationship.

The story also seems simple and easy to follow. Black Mask wants Batman dead, so he puts an enormous bounty on him. Infamous DC assassins congregate in Gotham on Christmas Eve to kill Batman.

Arkham Origins has the same basic appearance as its predecessors, especially Arkham City. Much like Arkham City, Origins is very open. You can go wherever you like and do whatever you like. You can focus on the main villains (Black Mask and the assassins), or you can go after the criminals that are lower on the food chain.

It also doesn’t hurt that, according to the video, Gotham in Origins is more than twice the size of Arkham City. Of course, that was to be expected, seeing as Arkham City took place in one, walled-off section of Gotham.

Now, if you’re a Batman fan (like I am), you’ve probably been dying to see the Batcave, especially when it’s still really new and when it has Alfred in it. Alfred has always been one of my favorite characters in the Batman continuity. Getting to see him in video game form is incredible.

The video gives us a nice tour of the Batcave and shows off some of its more exciting features. We get to see the workbench with all of Batman’s gadgets, the training area where challenge maps and various training exercises can be accessed, and the Batwing, which allows you to travel quickly around the map.

The training area is an awesome feature. You can practice using various gadgets and fighting different types of enemies. Take it from someone who died a lot in both Asylum and City: this is wonderful.

During the gameplay video, Batman has to sneak in to a precinct of the GCPD. He finds that a SWAT team is actually going after him for the bounty, too. Origins seems to be focused mainly on showing just how Batman has changed and progressed through the course of his career.

We’re used to seeing games with an established Batman, so I’m excited to play Origins when my copy is delivered on Friday. Of course, I’ll miss having Mark Hamil and Kevin Conroy as the Joker and Batman, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this game will be every bit as awesome as its predecessors.