Batman Arkham Origins

Batman: Arkham Origins proves beyond a shadow of doubt that RockSteady Games is an incredibly tough act to follow. Not to pour pressure onto WB Montreal – Lord knows the studio had enough to deal with when they were assigned the Arkham series – but Arkham Origins fails to meet the sky-high standards established by the British developer that helmed both Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Asylum. The fact that Arkham Origins has been constructed using a lot of the same assets of its predecessors can't help but throw its shortcomings into sharper relief.

Anyone who picked up a copy of either of RockSteady's entries in this series will be in familiar territory here. Like Arkham City, Arkham Origins is set in the open-world map of Gotham City that looks like a metropolis designed by the architects behind Gormenghast. Thanks to the Unreal Engine, Batman and nearly every goon in the city look like they've spent an awful lot of time down the gym.

Players navigate the map using Batman's cape to glide between the rooftops and his BatClaw to give him a boost through the air. The one-button-attack combat is still as sublime as ever and players are able to take on multiple attackers by mixing counters with punches and gradually building up a flow. There are predator rooms. There are puzzles to solve. There's Batman's range of wonderful toys and, yes, Batman's Detective Vision is both present and correct.