Batman Arkham Origins DLC :: Cold, Cold Heart

For Review of the Original Game Click HERE !  

Arkham Origins came into our hands on Oct 25th . WB Montreal followed up with a lot of downloadable content that kind of managed Arkham Fans for the sever backlash they heaped on the main game . Including Initiation DLC and few other skin packs with a mix of 2 extra MP maps . Lets face it . Batman multiplayer kinda sucked . I mean after 2 months of its release the servers were just plain empty .  Now exactly six months after that on April 22 , finally we get our hands on a worthwhile Campaign DLC . Way to go WB , Thanks to Ubi for starting this trend ;)

Story :: 

The story picks off after a few months from the main Game's story . It opens up with a video where its all warm and pleasant and enter Mr.Freeze who chills the hell out of everything . Now its upto The Dark Knight to once again put a stop to this Cold Criminal .

Although the story ain't that impressive, given that Ardent Batman Fans already know the story behind Mr.Freeze , the game still shapes up to a wonderful 2 hr entertainer.

Gameplay :: 

Gameplay remains the same with Batman's unique weapons and Traditional Attacks ending with Critical strike and a dramatic Slow mo for the enemies . Out of the numerous Areas that were available for Origins only 2 are accessible to fly across in this DLC . I guess they did not want the players to stray too much outside of the story mode. That was a real bummer . I was so looking forward to stream in my Jet here and there :( But still hey , you can't expect more form a DLC can you ? . Unlike Far Cry 3 DlC where  they just unlocked some key places which was already there in the real game , this was a entire new add on . SO I guess they needed to segregate it .

Still the highlight of game is the Thermo Suit that you get to don 20 min into the Story . Damn Batman looks cool . If you thought the initial suit made him look bad A** , wait till you see this . Especially with the bottom half of his face closed , he looks even more meaner and like a Dark Avenger . And the way the suit lights up with Orange (i.e) Thermal Energy is just too damn good. Although there are no new Gadgets , Hmm I don t think you can consider Cryo drill as a gadget bcos you get to use it only once , the game sure has its fine moments . Like Fighting against the guy with a Freeze gun . Doge here and there and when you get a gap , Stun him with the Bat Cape and pull his Freeze machinery out of his back .

Your Electric Gloves which you get from The Electrocutioner is still with you ( I still laugh at the way that guy was taken down :P ) but say hello when they change them into Thermal Gloves . Although they don't sound and feel dramatic the effect they have on the enemies is just the same . One thing that was cool is that I finally Got the hand of continuing my critical Strikes without breaking the combo .Phew ! Although Batman did look silly flying from one corner to the other hitting enemies here and there looking more and more like Flash !

The final Boss Battle where you do get to take on Mr.Freeze was a huge disappointment. I mean we already did face him once in Batman : Arkham Asylum . Atleast that was a little challenging and employed the use of some cool gadgets and some other unique moves . This is just routine Perch and Glide and attack and then again run back to your vantage point and wait till Freeze comes under your Ice pinnacle . Boring ! Altleast they could have finished it out with a dramatic Flourish like they did in Origins .

Only 4 side missions do occur in the map . Anarky is again to his usual stuff and you have to find the bombs before he cause mass destruction. Not challenging enough .

And Oh ! I forgot . I could have finished the game in 1 hr. It was just because of a major Game stopping bug that I was unable to complete it at all . I had to borrow a save file from one of the guys in Forum who had experienced the same issue .

Pro's :: 

1. Play as the ultimate Dark Knight in a even more Bad A** suit .
2. Extra 2 hrs of Story Campaign .
3 .BGM is much cooler than the original Game . Felt more like the Hans Zimmer Version :D
4. Gameplay feels more smooth than ever .

Cons:: 

1. Boss battle was pathetic.
2. Major Game Stopping bug where Batman just falls and falls into a empty dark space forever. No official Patch yet . Only workaround is to get a save File from one of the guys in Forum and hope it does not get corrupted too.
3. Too Small .
4. No Jet :( .

Verdict :: A definite buy for Batman Fans . But is it worth the 10$ . Well I guess it definitely is .

Rating :: 8.8 / 10

Regards
Ram

Thief

I have never played the original Thief game myself . But I have heard of its praises everytime in various Gaming pages. It was the first Genre which brought Stealth in a First person perspective . So Like all games which paved a way for future games Thief became a legend in the gaming world for its impressive idea , but most of all ,  it was the first game to implement the new and Unique concept . Now 16 years after the Original Game made its debut , Thief comes back as a reboot , thanks to Eidos Montreal and Square Enix . 

Story :: 

Once again story revolves around the main protagonist of the game , Garrett the Master Thief . Who is extremely good at making off with Loots and your valuables that the entire " Fantasy " world is in awe and in deep Fear of this Dark Ghost that looms in the shadows. Erin , Garrett's apprentice and him move along to complete a Job for Basso ( the guy who gives us the odd jobs here and there to keep his own pockets filled ). The Simple mission takes a un-expectable twist when Garrett comes upon the Baron and his friends cooking up a weird Ritual that may provide them with the ultimate power . But something goes weirdly wrong and Erin and Garrett gets caught up amidst of the entire procedure . Garrett wakes up after one year to find the entire City suffering from a unknown disease known as the Gloom . Now its upto Garrett to team up with Basso and Orion to find out the cause of this Gloom and to find way to reverse it . 

Gameplay :: 

Whoa !! Deja Vu  , Nah .. Not likely since i had never played the previous game :P . But still the game reminds me so much of Dishonored . ( Now that was one hell of a game ). Game feels like exactly as it felt in Dishonored but here there is no Blink , instead we have swoop , no Close Kills but Take downs . One thing that is cool is the ability to climb above the walls and higher areas with the help of the Claw . Just when you feel trapped in a corner with a guard approaching you ,  at the last moment , just glace up and move out of his range of vision. 'Phew that was close' moments were a lot in this game . 

And the ability to Extinguish the flame with a Water Arrow or to Reach higher areas with the help of Rope Arrow , the game sure does supplement the player with a lot of choices . But the poor thing is that they are so limited that they never can be used in a full on head to head combat. Maybe you could take one guy head on but more than one , Tuck your tails and run like Crazy . Oh yeah ! Don't forget to throw a smoke bomb to confuse the guys or else there is no use in running. These guys are so bent on catching you that they will follow you wherever you run . You may believe that you had lost them , when Wola ! they appear in front of you and Bam you are dead . And what is up with the heart stopping Sound that pops up " You are Dead" whenever you die. I mean , I agree that I am dead but sheesh ! is that amount of volume really necessary . I mean there was one time I was playing with the headset on ,that the sound just scared the C**P out of me .

Especially that level where you had to roam around a Crazy Asylum . No Sireee !! no headsets for that :P  

Asylum

Graphics :: 

The game is so demanding that 5 minutes into the game with all the eye candy enabled can make any PC to sweat . But at the same time it does not tax your PC to its core . Since there are no colorful imagery associated with the tone of the game , the developers only had to worry about the light and Dark areas . The difference between a dark spot and a medium spot to a extremely bright spot is shown remarkably . Black and Various shades of Grey forms most of the Color Palette with a few dips of yellow for the flames from the Lamp and Mast heads and Green for the Arrow with Gas . But still even as you play it , you can see that the game is beautiful in its weird and Gloomy sort of Way . Although the game can instill a sense of depression when you play it for a long period of time :P 

Weapons and Mods :: 

What is a Thief without his tools of profession. I am not just talking about the Lock picks and wrench tools . Garrett comes fully loaded with Water Arrows ,  Flame Arrows , Blunt Arrows ( for turning on switches and using them as distraction) , Gas Arrows , Rope Arrows , Pointed Arrows , Smoke Bombs and the a Poppy Flower that stimulates him enough to give him a extra sensory perception of his surroundings . And finally some med Kit in the form of food . Its good to see a game that is employing the old school method of using Med kit to refill your Life bar instead of the Auto fill bars of the recent games . Say hello again to our long forgotten Friends " Quick Save " and " Quick Load " :) God I missed you guys so much .

The only way to upgrade your abilities is to 1. Donate gold to the Queen of Beggars and purchase Focus upgrades, or 2. Deal with the shady merchant near the Crippled Burrick tavern purchase new Tools and Trinkets.Damn this can be irritating . I mean who in the right mind is going to go back again and again to the same place to upgrade . Why couldn't they just blend it and and makes those guys appear whenever there is a break in the main story line . I just met the Queen only once and Shady guy thrice throughout the entire game .Who needs a upgrade when you are good as me :P But seriously not even a map to guide us back to those guys . Come on . Wat is up with that.

Queen Of Beggars - Scary isn't she ;)

The way the Bow unlocks and expands in Garrett's hands is just too cool .

Pro's :: 

1. Once again step into a Game that takes First Person Stealth to all new level.
2. Gameplay mechanics though old , do make you glued to the game all the time.
3. The surprising change between FP and third person camera was exciting at some places .
4. Some levels really need a lot of strategic thinking if you are planning on going in un detected .

Cons :: 

1. Game reminds me too much of Dishonored .
2. Gloomy Setting and Environment that may depress you if you play for long . Definitely a Eye sore if you play for more than 5 hrs at a stretch.
3. Story feels boring and the gameplay never ever mixes it perfectly . Its just there for namesake .
4. No Good BGM .
5. Fighting Mechanics feels poor and repetitive .

Verdict :: A game that will be Enjoyed only by those who Love Stealth in First person perspective .

Rating  :: 7.2 / 10

Regards
Ram