Maybe not the hero we need right now
I've been hankering for a Batman fix for a while, and figured I may as well start with "the bad less-good one."
Batman: Arkham Origins has an awkward start - despite being a prequel, it feels like it assumes a moderate understanding of Batman and of how the Arkham games work - and the story pacing is a poorly-architected mess. (Ugh, the Joker psychoanalysis sequence... way too long.) Its side missions and optional content are generally uncompelling, its mechanics are minimally innovative (that's not a freeze blast, it's a glue grenade!), and it's impossible to finish the game without noticing at least a few bugs.
One of the more amazing bug examples I observed in my playthrough was, while interrogating a crime suspect and talking with Alfred on remote comms, the suspect's lips moved in sync with Alfred's dialog. Yikes.
But by the game's end, its missteps and stumbles are mostly overshadowed by some solid high-octane set pieces, and by the excellent fundamentals of the Arkham series: free-flowing combat, tense stealth segments, and satisfying Metroidvania-style progression. Even a "bad" Arkham game is a fairly good game overall.
So here's where I make an unusual link between video games and current events: the state of civil unrest in the U.S. has some poignant echoes in Gotham City's rampant police department corruption, and in Batman's brute-force approach to "justice." Sure, Batman is a community hero and a defender of the peace -- and he even refuses to kill! But his propensity for applying overwhelming physical force, including literally stepping on suspects' faces while interrogating them, takes on a new and chilling undertone today.
Batman has been portrayed in many different ways over the past 80 years, and a fascinating foible of our modern, "dark and gritty" Bat is the occasional admission that his revenge-fueled vigilantism isn't something to be admired -- even that it, in part, propagates Gotham's endless cycle of violence. But it's not like he's about to stop taking matters into his own hands, and breaking the bones of whoever stands in his way. The overall message can be ... a little mixed.
Better than: Marvel's Spider-Man (though, admittedly, it's close)
Not as good as: Batman: Arkham Asylum (as I remember it -- a memory I'll be testing soon)
I learned my lesson from last time: and won't be bothering with the Riddler's collectible bullshit again.
Progress: Finished on Normal, 32% completion.