Biff Bam Pop’s Holiday Gift Guide 2013 – Batman: Arkham Origins

Some of the greatest Batman stories have taken place in and around the holiday season, amongst them Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s The Long Halloween, Christmas With The Joker from Batman: The Animated Series and even Batman Returns (“Santa Clause? ‘Fraid not”). This year, the latest and greatest Batman video game, Batman: Arkham Origins is set on Christmas Eve, and is definitely  the ideal gift for the Bat-fan in your life.

After the huge success of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, WB Games has actually given us a prequel to those games, with Batman: Arkham Origins being set years before those stories, with a Batman still establishing himself in Gotham City. How early on into the Bat’s career are we – well, James Gordon isn’t commissioner, if that gives you some idea. In Arkham Origins, The Black Mask has put a bounty on Batman’s head, leading to a showdown with eight assassins, including Deathstroke, Deadshot and Bane. Along the way, other rogues also appear, including The Joker and Mad Hatter.

As someone who has been spending his gaming time with Lego and WWE titles, playing Batman: Arkham Origins reminded me of just how amazing video game graphics can be. Arkham Origins looks simply fantastic – you can almost feel the cold of Christmas coming off the screen. The gameplay is essentially the same as the previous entries in the franchise, which was great for a casual gamer like myself. It was nice to feel like I wasn’t faced with a huge learning curve as I set about playing. There are lots of gadgets and great fighting sequences as you go through the story, and additional downloadable content gives this one some decent replay value.

Like the previous instalments, Batman: Arkham Origins gets the character, his supporting crew and his city down perfectly. It’s like you’re walking right into another Batman film. For the DC Comics or Batman fan in your life, this one is a guaranteed hit for the holiday season.

You can order Batman: Arkham Origins here.