The mobile edition of Batman: Arkham Origins – developed by NetherRealm Studios, who also developed Mortal Kombat, Injustice: Gods Among Us, the Injustice mobile game and Batman: Arkham City Lockdown – is an over-the-shoulder brawler meant to whet the appetite of players eager for the console games’ release. The mobile edition has the same plot setup as the main game: it is still early in Batman’s career, but the Black Mask is already tired of dealing with the vigilante. Mask decides to offer a large sum of money to anyone who can kill the Bat, attracting the attention of a small group of assassins including Deadshot, Deathstroke, and Bane. In Arkham Origins, the player takes control of Batman and goes toe-to-toe with these assassins, but not before beating up every thug, convict and smuggler in the city.The game employs the now familiar “free-to-play” model, being itself a free download but offering micro-transactions to players who would like to exchange real money for things like character boosts, extra experience points or alternate versions of Batman’s suit. The Bat-suits will easily be the most tempting for fans of Batman comics and there’s plenty to chose from including versions from “The Long Halloween,” The New 52, and even Batman Beyond. If a player creates or logs into a WBID account they can get the “Red Son” version of Batman as a free bonus. There are other cross-game bonuses to be had for registering the console version of Arkham Origins to the same WBID.The game uses a map of Gotham City as a hub. Its split into four districts and you’ll have to clear all of the essential missions and defeat that district’s boss – one of the assassins – before unlocking missions in another, but you can always return to previous districts to repeat or retry missions. Players spend stamina to attempt each mission, which refills over time or can be refilled instantly by spending one Waynetech Point(the equivalent of 20 cents). Most of the core missions are simple brawls with a group thugs or False Facers, but some side missions are trickier. There are daily missions, timed challenges, and “most wanted” missions (which can be repeated for a higher rating) that usually have a special circumstance added to them. Batman might start off poisoned or enemies may be more aggressive than usual, for example. The rewards for completing these side missions are greater than the rewards for completing the main missions.
