Before I begin this article, I should state that I do not want the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins to be either a critical or a commercial failure. Arkham Asylum and its follow-up Arkham City are amongst the finest games that have been released in recent years and whilst a new entry wouldve been welcomed a while back, there are a number of negative signs (in my opinion, at least) looming over this upcoming prequel that cannot be ignored, though Id happily be proved wrong when the game is released on the 25th October. In principle, the game is similar to its predecessors, featuring the Caped Crusader as he uses his detective skills, combat abilities and array of gadgets to thwart the plans of supervillains across Gotham City. On the surface, more of the same gameplay that made the previous two games great, so why do I have my doubts? Let us continue
4. Its Release Date
As previously stated, Arkham Origins has an autumn release date the 25th October. Its predecessors were also released at that time of year and sold well despite being made to compete with the yearly iterations of Call of Duty, FIFA, Assassins Creed et al, but there are a few other things on the horizon that could deflect the attention of gamers away from the Dark Knights latest outing. This year, Batman is competing not just with other games in the busy autumn/Christmas market, but two new consoles, the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, both of which have currently unspecified Q4 release dates. As Arkham Origins is exclusive to the current generation Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, it could well be ignored by early adopters of the new technologies, who may wish to spend their money on next-generation open world games such as Watch Dogs instead. Theres also the small matter of Grand Theft Auto V, which is released worldwide on the 17th September and is one of the most eagerly anticipated games of all time. Its sheer size, widespread appeal, heavy promotion and likely dominance of shop floor space could easily make some gamers forget about the existence of Arkham Origins, particularly as the current state of the economy means that some individuals can only make one major gaming purchase every few months or so.