Preview - Batman: Arkham Origins

Let's be honest with ourselves for a second. Who, upon hearing that Batman: Arkham Origins wasn't to be developed by the excellent Rocksteady, wasn't scared? The studio that handled the two excellent games in the Arkham series stepped aside for this one to allow new developer Warner Bros. Games a stab at making a triple-A title - a nice gesture, or a foolish one?

Fortunately, from what we've seen there's nothing for Batman fans to worry about.

We start off our playthrough in a usual position for Batman, standing on the edge of a building and looking out over Gotham. We're then directed to take a running jump before gliding over the streets below, and straight away this just feels right. Tapping the shoulder button and using your Batclaw to catapult yourself up huge buildings is next, and the simple and intuitive system is perfect for getting to places quickly and with as little hassle as possible.

Then we come across our first batch of enemies, a random group of thugs who are up to no good. The combat in the Arkham series was always one of its strong points. A fast, button mashing mechanic that rewarded players for blocking their opponent's attacks. It was so easy to get used to but it still felt so rewarding when you managed to dispatch three enemies without breaking a sweat.

Thankfully, Warner Bros. Games has kept that same combat system so that fans can pick up and play with no fuss at all.

The idea of Origins is to tell the story of Batman's beginnings. We know him as The Dark Knight, the man that Gotham fears above everyone else, but how did he become that hero? What struggles did he go through? Did his personality change over time?

Right now it's too early to tell if we get to see the in-depth, dramatic backstory for Batman that we want. Maybe the narrative will fail at depticting The Caped Crusader's struggles as he turns from normal man to city saviour. But from the short time that we've spent with Arkham Origins we can see that everything is in place here to deliver another game worthy of the Arkham name.