Although I purchased a 3DS and six 3DS games (alongside my PS Vita and games for it as well) last summer, I have only now come around to playing some of those games. One of them was Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, the only handheld Arkham game so far. It was released for both the 3DS and Vita, but I ended up buying the 3DS version. The game, other than the dual screen functions in the 3DS edition and the clearer graphics in the Vita version, is the same across both platforms. This marks my introduction into the Arkham game universe. Blackgate represents a very solid offering that excellently combines a Metroid-like style with the mechanics of the acclaimed series this title serves as a handheld companion to.
Production Values
The visuals are mixed in quality. Graphic novel-type cinematics that mark key moments of the story are absolutely gorgeous in 3D, but gameplay graphics can look jagged at times, although turning on detective mode (a vision filter that highlights the skeletons and body heat of enemies and secrets and interactive objects in the environment) actually can make the visuals seem clearer.
As expected for a game in this series, the audio is fantastic and the voice actors do splendid jobs with their respective characters. Troy Baker serves as the voice of The Joker instead of Mark Hamill, but other cast members from the series reprise their roles. Brian Bloom is Black Mask and Grey DeLisle is Catwoman, for example, at least according to IMDB.
The production values are great overall, but I expect that the Vita version, which I have not played, would win in this department due to the enhanced visuals. The 3DS version, of course, does boast 3D depth, which some people may prefer over smoother in-game graphics. Other than these differences, there's nothing to complain about.
Gameplay
Unlike its console counterparts, Arkham Origins Blackgate is a 2.5D side scroller with quasi-third-person portions, with the game usually balancing exploration, mild puzzles, and combat sections. Although it is a side scroller, that title almost doesn't capture the true nature of the game, as, although the camera usually remains fixed in a 2.5D style, you can grapple up to background objects, access new areas facing different directions, and have the camera change as the player enters a different plane.
It is a Metroidvania-style game where you begin scarcely equipped and thus many areas are initially inaccessible. As you obtain new devices and upgrades for them, more sections become available, meaning that backtracking to discover parts for new costumes, "Armor Reinforcement" components, and other miscellaneous items is very profitable and beneficial. For instance, "Rush Upgrade" items add or extend a rush meter which can amplify the damage of your attacks, which can prove very useful in certain fights.
This format is actually surprisingly like the console Arkham games, as many similarities between them exist. The slow-motion close-up knockouts during fights appear here, as do many of the wonderful gadgets like the gel gun and the line launcher that the other games utilized. The Joker, Black Mask, Deadshot, The Penguin, Solomon Grundy, and other villains return also, as does detective mode. This game just represents a side-scrolling version of the exact same formula in the other games in the series.
Story
As the game opens, Batman meets Catwoman for the first time and pursues her across Gotham's rooftops, climaxing in the first boss fight of the game. Two weeks later, an explosion at Blackgate allows the inmates to make hostages of the prison staff, with Black Mask and The Joker having a rivalry and their minions patrolling separate areas. Some of this information is given to Batman by Catwoman, who helps him because she wants a lesser prison sentence in a safer environment.
From that point onward, Batman encounters and defeats classic villains, rescues hostages, and returns order to Blackgate prison. The story isn't ultimately very emotional or particularly deep, but it does fit into the universe of the Arkham games well.
Intellectual Content
There are plenty of hidden items, upgrades, and collectibles for completionist to search for and recover, and the process of obtaining them may seem stimulating and satisfying to some players. Besides collectible hunting, puzzles like hacking minigames constitute the more intellectual aspects of this game. As you receive higher clearance for your hacking device, the puzzles become more complex, though I would certainly not label them difficult.
Conclusion
Although I have this review classified as a review of a 3DS game, the title was also released for the PS Vita as I mentioned in the introduction. The Vita version has trophies and at least somewhat clearer graphics, so owners of both handhelds who are interested in this game will need to choose between the two systems. Arkham Origins Blackgate offers an entertaining side scrolling take on the franchise that took me more than eight hours to complete with almost 100% of the items [1], and the order that you choose to defeat certain villains in will change the ending and thus extend the potential replay value by having three total endings. If you have a 3DS (or a Vita) and like Batman, you may find this game very satisfying and enjoyable.
Content
1. Violence: The player has to fight and stun numerous enemies, but they are usually not killed, merely incapacitated or left restrained. There is no blood.
[1]. There is a glitch that prevented me from obtaining a secret item in the industrial section (an Internet check revealed this object is the gloves for the Red Son costume). While I found the other collectibles without any trouble or external assistance, this one remained inaccessible due to an infuriating glitch. If the PS Vita version has this error too, then it will be impossible to get the platinum trophy.
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