Batman: Arkham Origins

Batman: Arkham Origins is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by WB Games Montréal and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is a prequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, but was not made by Rocksteady Studios. Set on Christmas Eve, it follows a younger, less trusted Batman in his second year of fighting crime in Gotham City. Roger Craig Smith voices Batman, while Troy Baker plays the Joker, taking over those roles from Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill for this installment. The story begins when Black Mask places a fifty-million-dollar bounty on Batman, attracting eight assassins to Gotham: Bane, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Copperhead, Electrocutioner, Firefly, Killer Croc, and Shiva. Batman learns that the supposed Black Mask is actually the Joker, who has seized Roman Sionis and appropriated his identity. His investigation takes him from Penguin’s ship, the Final Offer, to Gotham landmarks including the Royal Hotel. Along the way, he confronts corrupt police and gradually earns the respect of Captain James Gordon. Batman’s relationship with Gordon changes after the captain sees him rescue civilians and pursue the threat despite the city’s hostility toward him. Origins retains the series’ freeflow combat, predator stealth, detective work, and gadget-based traversal. Its enlarged Gotham is divided by a bridge between Old Gotham and a newer district, and Batman can use fast travel after restoring access to radio towers. Crime scenes introduce a reconstruction mechanic: players scan evidence and replay events to identify leads. The game also adds a remote claw for creating ziplines and manipulating objects, alongside familiar tools such as Batarangs and explosive gel. Optional Most Wanted cases feature villains including Anarky and the Mad Hatter. A challenge mode includes combat and predator encounters. Unlike Arkham City, Origins included an online multiplayer mode, developed by Splash Damage. It pitted a Joker gang and a Bane gang against Batman and Robin, with gang members able to become their leaders after filling a meter. The story expansion Cold, Cold Heart, released in 2014, introduced Mr. Freeze to this continuity and drew inspiration from Batman: The Animated Series episode “Heart of Ice.” Set on New Year’s Eve, it has Batman investigate GothCorp and confront Freeze, whose cryogenic technology is central to the case. Warner Bros. Games Montréal also created the game's Wii U version; the game launched for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and Windows on October 25, 2013, in North America and Europe.