Batman Arkham Origins - A Review

RIGHT! Let me start off by saying this is a PC review...a STEAM PC Game review. Let me explain WHY I'm reviewing a PC game on Steam.

Since my last PC built (designed for heavy photoshop and video editing work) was a little light on the graphics card side, I recently bought a new card. A GTX 770 4GB. A monster. So along with my SSD HD, i7 990x CPU and 24GB RAM, I thought I was in pretty good shape to see a new game in it's full glory. The GTX770 came with a free copy of Batman Arkham Origins. I was looking forward to seeing this game in full resolution. The day it came was a happy day.

That, is when the happy stopped. First, there was no CD/DVD...it's a coupon for a Steam game. SIGH. Whatever, it's a free game right?!

Not released until the 25th. Really? I have to wait two weeks. SIGH. Whatever, it's a free game right?!

It's a 26GB download!! Are you kidding me? An entire season of Buffy in HD isn't 26GB. All 3 Star Wars movies on BluRay aren't 26GB. Jesus. Whatever, it's a free game right?!

4 hours later, ok, let's get started. First I turn every single graphics parameter to MAX. Everything. Now let's see what it looks like.

It looks good...Like REALLY good. It's incredible just how gorgeous it is with everything turned up to MAX. WOW. Impressed.

Audio, great. Effects, great. Something about turning on the PhysX engine and watching exhaust from building vents swirls around you as you walk past. Like I said gorgeous!! A funny thing? The real time game play was so nice, it made the pre-rendered cut scenes look like crap. It was jarring just how bad the resolution drop was. This is, after all, why PC gamers are amendment that it's the best way to game. All the horsepower. This isn't my screengrab (cause it wouldn't let me) but this is really what this guy looks like "in engine" when you've got the power to do it! Amazing eh. Love this card :) (and it's killing my render times in After Effect!)

I really like the free flow fighting style of the Batman games. They're not button mashers. You need to be patient and time your actions, but it doesn't feel clunky. It's a great system. It's identical in this game, except I'm on a PC...with a f**king keyboard. How did I EVER play games like this. It's like the short bus of game controllers. Doesn't matter how hard it tries, it'll always be a little "off". I was tempted to go to the store to buy a 360 controller for Windows...but really, buy a $60 controller for a free game. The Scottish in me won't allow it.

Ok, this is an Origins games...taking place BEFORE the last two games, yet somehow he's got all the toys already. Whatever, it's a free game and I like toys. Let's go.

Then...THUD. The wheels fall off. Batman smells and robin (if there is one in this game) most definitely laid a huge turd of an egg.

Ok, so the story is a little ridiculous. The dialogue is weak and corny (even for batman) Not the voice actors, they're top notch. The scripted dialogue is just really lame in some parts.

I'm playing on Normal and I've finished the first major boss. I found the average baddie to be fairly easy to dispense with, but the first Major boss took me 5 tries and just over a half hour. Of screaming. And swearing. And screaming. Like ridiculous, just...ridiculous. In the end, it's nice to have HARD boss battles, but man, the contrast from regular game play just made it frustrating. If that's your thing, you'll love it. I'm still on the fence.

And now...for the worst part. This game, on a PC, bought and DLed from Steam....is the buggiest POS I've ever played. It's so bad, I don't think I'll even bother to continue to play it. I'm 5 hours in (not including DL) and I have no desire to play THIS game anymore.

After the first hour, I got stuck on a piece of ice while grapple hook pulling myself across some water....I couldn't get off at the other side. After 10 minutes of searching for another solution, I turned to the forums. Ah. BUG.

After beating the first boss, with tears streaming down my face, I couldn't leave the room. The door made the sound like it was opening, but it wouldn't open and I couldn't go anywhere. Another 20 minutes. Another BUG. Quit and restart. SIGH.

Alright, whatever...next "mission" to advance the story. I'm in a room, trap locks me in and I have to use the hookshot to pull a grate off. Grapple up to the vent and I'm stuck. Won't let me climb in. I'm just hanging there on the side of the wall. In the rendering, my hands are half inside the cement. I can drop down, but every time I try to grapple up. Stuck. For the love of... Now, I tried quitting and restarting 3 times. No different. Check the forums, yep BUG. BIG F**KING BUG.

I'm out. I've only been playing the game for 5 hours and I've had to restart my game over a dozen times and been forced to turn to the internet just to make sure I'm missing something (it happens). Crazy. The forums are full of reports of critical BUGS that cease you're gameplay entirely. These aren't simple rendering niggles or clipping errors, they're devastating, major BUGS. Good job Montreal. Mange la merde.

From what I've experienced, it looks like exactly the other two Batman games, only with less story and more boring excursions on the streets. It was pretty, sounded great, but yeah...too many critical bugs. Tried to take some screenshots...but they're doing something funky and I couldn't do them. Weird right? So then I hooked up my HDMI capture card and tried to capture footage, but that just gave me errors. WTF? Why sabotage still/video capture on the PC when you can do it easily on the PS3/360? If they(or Steam) are doing that, it makes no sense.

I'll probably pick this game up for 360 when it goes on sale, but I'm done with this Steam version. Plus, taking up 30GB on my 240GB OS drive is too much, so I'm going to delete it. Oh well, it's a free game right?!

I give this "STEAM" game for the PC a 2 out of 5.