Hi. I was just bored and wanted to write something about video games. Wasn’t sure if I could do a good review, so this seemed as good as anything.

Now, as I’m sure most of you are aware, Batman: Arkham Origins was recently announced as the third entry in the popular Arkham Franchise, taking place before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum. It is set to be released on October 25, 2013 for the PlayStation 3, X Box 360, Wii U, and Microsoft Windows.

For those who don’t know, I love the previous two Arkham games. I love them about equally (I love the combat in City MUCH more than Asylum, and I LOVE the open world, side missions, and other playable characters in City, but I like all other stuff such as story, riddler trophies, and other in Asylum more. But this is going off-topic), and I rank them the second and third greatest superhero games of all time. In March, I heard that Warner Bros. had plans to announce a third Arkham game around the same time Injustice: Gods Among Us was released. I was thrilled. The day came, and I was so disappointed. Arkham Origins is just a terrible idea, and I have no clue why people are supporting this. In this blog post, I’m going to say why Batman: Arkham Origins is a bad idea. I have no clue where to start, so I’ll just start writing and see where it goes.

Prequels are Rarely a Success

For games, movies, and TV series, prequels are rarely a success. I could go down a long list of prequels, most of which were failures, but I don’t feel like it. But can anyone name any prequels that were successful? The only one I can think of was X-Men: First Class (I know that was a movie and Arkham Origins is a game, but this about prequels in general), and I hated that movie. But it was still successful. The only good prequel I’ve ever seen that I liked was X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but that was still a critical failure for some reason. I’m not trying to turn this in to a discussion about X-Men movies, but I’m trying to show that prequels just aren’t successful. Why would this game be any different?

It Has Nothing To Do With The Title

Here’s what we know of the plot so far according to Wikipedia (shut up, they’re a reliable source):

“The events of Arkham Origins are set several years before Batman: Arkham Asylum, in the middle of winter in fictional Gotham City. Batman is an experienced crime-fighter, but has not yet become the veteran superhero portrayed in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Batman has battled with normal criminals and gangsters and is used to being stronger and faster than his targets, but on a snowy Christmas eve he is confronted with far more dangerous enemies: super villains tasked with killing Batman. The sadistic and brutal Black Mask has placed a bounty on the superhero, and Batman must discover why the villain harbors a deep hatred for him. Black Mask is the most powerful man in the city, possessing vast wealth and resources, and controls Gotham's criminal underworld, having eliminated his opposition and begun consolidating his power. His mask conceals his identity, allowing him to operate publicly as Roman Sionis, head of Janus Cosmetics. Black Mask's henchmen help instigate a rise in crime and gang activity in the city. Captain James Gordon and the Gotham City Police Department are wary of the new superhero in their midst, and are not his allies with corrupt cops actively working against him. Arkham Origins will feature the debut of the assassin Deathstroke, Alberto Falcone, and the return of the Penguin and Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth from Arkham City.”

There’s what we know of the plot so far. I admit, it is a cool plot. I love the use of Black Mask and Deathstroke. However, this has nothing to do with Batman’s Origins. I have no problem with that, as it has been showed so many times it’s lost all meaning (I’ve seen his parents get killed more times than any other characters). But that plot has NOTHING to do with Arkham Asylum or some variation of it (like Arkham City). So why does this have the words “Arkham” and “Origins” in the title? This has NOTHING to do with the Arkham series, other than being about Batman (and I assume will have people such as Kevin Conroy and Nolan North returning as voice actors). This game does not relate to the Arkham franchise, and I don’t acknowledge it as part of the series. As far as I’m concerned, a third Arkham game has yet to be confirmed.

The Franchise Had So Many Directions It Could Of Gone

With everything in Arkham City, they couldn’t come up with something besides a prequel!?! There were so many great villains and stories that could of been used. Even if they were too lazy to come up with their own plot, they’ve never heard of stories such as The Long Halloween, No Man’s Land, Hush, and The Dark Knight Returns? The clearly had enough creativity to come up with a plot, so what would of been so difficult about turning their plot with Black Mask & Deathstroke part of a story that also involved Scarecrow, Hush, another villain or two, somehow involve Arkham, add in Azrael as a major part of the game and possibly a playable character, and boom! You’re done! Seriously, they can’t come up with anything to continue the franchise? I already have two ideas, and I barely thought about it for 5 minutes.

Batman: Arkham Terror

A more horror themed game involving Scarecrow as the main villain, also involving Man-Bat & Killer Croc as major villains. Azreal is now a playable character (similar to how Catwoman had 4 episodes in Arkham City). Takes place in an open world Gotham, including the now abandoned Arkham City. There’s also a level where you return to Arkham Asylum, now completely vacated.

Batman: Beyond Arkham

Taking place in 2040 (or 2050, changing it some from the TV Series), with Terry McGinnis the main playable character. The main villain of the game would be the Joker’s child (hinted at with Harley’s Pregnancy Test in Arkham City), with Blight, Inque, Shriek, Spellbinder, and Stalker possible villains. It’d be another open-world game, this time with the futuristic Gotham and the Batmobile playable. Hush would also be in the game. Some of you may be thinking how Hush would fit into the game since this takes place decades later. From what I’ve read online, Terry was introduced in the main DCU in Batman #700 and received his own mini-series a few months later. Hush was the main villain of that series (From what I’ve read). So, it worked in this comic, why wouldn’t it work in this game?

There, without even thinking, I just came up with two ideas that actually tie into the Arkham games instead of a crappy prequel. I admit that they were a bit lazily slapped together and need a bit more plot, but give me about a week, and I could have a full plot synopsis complete with side missions for both games, and both games actually have something to do with the previous Arkham games. If I can come up with these ideas with barely thinking, imagine what people who love Batman even more than I do and know much more than I do could come up with. Seriously Warner Bros, that prequel is the best you can come up with!?!

Conclusion

I was going to make this blog post longer. However, I can’t think of more reasonings (I wrote them all down somewhere. I need to find them) right now. But I think this is good for now. My biggest question about this game is “Why is this being made?” The best reasoning I can come up with is that with no Rocksteady, Warner Bros. was too lazy to come up with a plot to continue the series. Since they were too lazy, they just came up with their own plot. To make sure no one had questions like “What about Scarecrow? What about Hush?”, they just made it a prequel so it didn’t have to build upon the events of the previous games.

Now the title is probably incorrect. It should be titled “Reasons Why Batman: Arkham Origins is a bad idea to continue the Arkham Franchise.” The combat will be the same with is fantastic, plus I really like the plot. But for a way to continue the Arkham Franchise, this is just a terrible idea.

So in short, Batman: Arkham Origins is a bad idea to continue the Arkham franchise. I refuse to acknowledge this as part of the Arkham Series, and I eagerly await the announcement of a third game.

What are your thoughts on Batman: Arkham Origins? Are you excited? Do you share any of my thoughts? Please leave it in the comments.