All Articles: Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman Is Forever: 4 Ways to Bring Back the Arkham Series
Rocksteady sent us all on a wild ride back when Batman: Arkham Asylum first launched, finally giving the world a chance to properly squeeze on that rubber cowl and proclaim, “I’m Batman!” Two sequels (and a WB Games Montreal-helmed prequel and an Armature-developed side-scrolling spinoff) later, the future of the series is still very much up in the air now that its original developer has stepped away… or have they? Regardless, it seems likely that someone will continue the legacy of the Bat, but what direction could the series possibly take? Well… I’m glad you asked, hypothetical Internet stranger! (more…)
Batman: Arkham Origins Review: Arkham Awful
After the previous two installments in the Batman: Arkham franchise were critically lauded, the pressure was on new studio Warner Bros. Montreal to make a third title that hit the highs of Asylum and City and closed out the generation with an awesome action-adventure extravaganza. However, the pressure must have been too much for them to bear. What was actually released, in the form of Batman: Arkham Origins, was a twisted, soulless mess that feels like little more than a shameless cash-in. (more…)
Batman: Arkham Origins “Cold, Cold Heart” DLC available April 22
After a New Year’s tease, WB Games has announced that the first downloadable campaign content for Batman: Arkham Origins will reveal the story of the first time Batman and Mr. Freeze met. The DLC expansion will be known as “Cold, Cold Heart” and it’ll thaw your heart this Spring.
Priced at $9.99, and available for free to Season Pass subscribers) the “Cold, Cold Heart” add-on will take place within the walls of Wayne Manor during an awards banquet that Mr. Freeze decides to crash. Batman will be able to use a variety of new toys including the new Extreme Environment (XE) suit, as well as Thermal Gloves and Thermocharged Batarangs. Maybe this is a stupid question, but if “Cold, Cold Heart” is the first time Batman will tangle with Mr. Freeze, why does he even have Thermal Gloves and Thermocharged Batarangs?
The “Cold, Cold Heart” DLC will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on April 22.
Animated Batman: Arkham movie will be released this year
According to Hollywood Reporter, there’s a Batman: Arkham Asylum animated film coming, which will be based on the Arkham video game franchise. Jay Oliva, who is building a shared continuity of DC animated films beginning with this month’s Justice League: War, will direct the film. The new Batman: Arkham film is considered a “stand-alone, continuity-free project,” and is due to come out as a Warner Bros. home release sometime in 2014. Oliva was quoted as saying: “We can do original content, we can do New 52 [based on the New 52 DC line] stuff.”
As of right now, it’s unknown if the film will be based on Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, or Arkham Origins.
2014 Writers Guild Awards nominees announced
The Writers Guild of America has announced the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Award. The award, which honors “Outstanding Achievement in Writing for Videogames,” will be given out on Saturday, February 1 during the 2014 Writers Guild Awards ceremony.
This year, the writers behind Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Batman: Arkham Origins, God of War: Ascension, The Last of Us, and Lost Planet 3 will all battle it out for the award. A full list of every nominated writer can be found right here:
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft)
Story by Darby McDevitt, Mustapha Mahrach, Jean Guesdon
Lead Scriptwriter: Darby McDevitt
Scriptwriter: Jill Murray
AI Scriptwriter: Nicholas Grimwood
Scriptwriter Singapore: Mark Llabres HillBatman: Arkham Origins (Warner Bros. Interactive)
Narrative Director: Dooma Wendschuh; Writer & Senior Narrative Designer: Ryan Galletta
Writer: Corey MayGod of War: Ascension (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Written by Marianne Krawczyk
Additional Writing: Ariel LawrenceThe Last of Us (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Written by Neil DruckmannLost Planet 3 (Capcom)
Head Writer: Richard Gaubert
Writers: Orion Walker, Matt Sophos
WB teases Mr. Freeze story DLC for Batman: Arkham Origins
As promised, WB Games made a “big announcement” concerning Batman: Arkham Origins. As we were all ringing in the new year with parties and playtime, WB Games had a different kind of party in mind: Gotham City’s Humanitarian of the Year Awards.
The gala event will be held at Wayne Manor and will serve as the setting for a story-based downloadable expansion to Arkham Origins planned for release this year. A post on the Batman: Arkham Facebook page confirms that the party will have an ice theme, which likely means an appearance by Mr. Freeze. Further evidence can be found in Batman: The Animated Series, which set the first battle between Batman and Mr. Freeze at the Humanitarian of the Year Awards.
WB Games has promised that more details will be revealed soon.
Batman: Arkham Origins iOS Review: Swiping Your Time With Another Free-To-Play Fighter
Even though NetherRealm Studios was only formed a few years ago, they have a long history in the video game industry. Originally known as Midway Chicago, they developed the original Mortal Kombat and its many sequels before their parent company went bankrupt in 2009. In the ensuing legal dealings, the development team was scooped up by WB Games, renamed themselves NetherRealm, and pushed out a fantastic reboot of the Mortal Kombat series.
But did you know that a small team resides within NetherRealm to pump out free-to-play mobile versions of some of WB’s biggest games? They did it last year with Batman: Arkham City. They did it earlier this year with Injustice: Gods Among Us. And now they’ve done it again with the recently released Batman: Arkham Origins. (more…)
Grand Theft Auto V is October 2013’s best-selling game
Once again, Grand Theft Auto V reigns supreme. The latest entry in Rockstar’s blockbuster franchise remains atop the NPD Group’s monthly tabulations of the best-selling games at retail.
It’s important to note that GTA5 didn’t pull off this repeat performance against a group of lightweights. The remaining spots in the top ten, all nine of them, were claimed by new releases. You can check out the rest of the top ten right here and, if you gambled that Pokemon X would sell more copies than Pokemon Y, it’s time to collect:
Bestselling Games in October 2013
1. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360, PS3)
2. Pokemon X (3DS)
3. Pokemon Y (3DS)
4. Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
5. Batman: Arkham Origins (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
6. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
7. NBA 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
8. Skylanders Swap Force (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS)
9. Lego Marvel Super Heroes (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS, Vita, PC)
10. WWE 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3)
According to Joystiq, GTA5 wasn’t the only big winner last month. The entire industry had a very profitable four weeks as last month’s software sales were higher than the same period from 2012, making October 2013 the third month in a row to see year-over-year sales gains.