Is Arkham Origins Bigger Than Arkham City? A Deep Dive into the Arkhamverse
The question of map size often sparks heated debate among fans of the Batman: Arkham series. While Batman: Arkham City boasts a reputation for its sprawling urban playground, the claim that Arkham Origins is bigger, though seemingly true, requires a deeper look. While the playable area in Arkham Origins encompasses a larger geographic space than Arkham City, the term “bigger” isn’t simply about square footage. It’s also about map design, density, and overall gameplay experience. In terms of sheer land mass, Arkham Origins does indeed feature a larger playable area than Arkham City, but it’s a difference that may not feel as pronounced in practice. This article breaks down the nuances of this topic and provides a detailed comparison of map sizes and other related facts about the Arkham titles.
Map Size: A Tale of Two Cities
Arkham City: The Dense Metropolis
Arkham City is an interesting beast. It is a walled-off portion of Gotham City, repurposed into a massive, open-air prison. While the playable area isn’t vast in terms of raw land, its strength lies in its dense, vertical design. The city is packed with multi-layered buildings, interconnected alleyways, and a plethora of side-streets, all brimming with crime and secrets. This meticulous design creates the feeling of a living, breathing city, despite its relatively smaller size. The map also has some indoor sections with interesting challenges.
Arkham Origins: The Expanded Landscape
Arkham Origins, on the other hand, expands on this concept by placing players in a significant portion of Gotham City before its transformation into the infamous Arkham City. The map stretches beyond the densely packed urban sections into more open, less populated areas, including large bridges and industrial districts. This provides a feeling of a much larger play area, though some may find that the vastness of the map can be deceptive. This is because the amount of actual, packed play space is much more spread out. The geographical area is larger, yes, but the density is less.
Not Just About Size: Gameplay Density
While Origins boasts a larger map geographically, the gameplay density of City arguably makes it feel more substantial. Arkham City’s tightly packed urban sprawl offers a plethora of encounters, secrets, and collectibles within a relatively smaller space. This constant interaction keeps players engaged at every turn. In contrast, Origins has more open areas, which might feel less engaging to some players, despite the larger overall play area.
Combat and Traversal
Moreover, the gameplay of each title is crucial to understanding why the maps function differently. Arkham City’s compact design allows for fast-paced traversal using the grapnel gun and glide, creating a highly engaging experience as Batman quickly moves between encounters. In contrast, while Arkham Origins introduces the fast-travel mechanic to traverse its larger map more quickly, it cannot match City’s flow of traversal through tight spaces and dense verticality. The map itself was designed to keep the player from having to fast travel and instead encouraged the use of quick movement.
Arkham Knight: The True Giant
If we’re talking map size, it’s crucial to acknowledge that Batman: Arkham Knight is in a league of its own. Its map is five times bigger than Arkham City, according to the developers themselves and the in-game map. Knight’s sprawling rendition of Gotham City dwarfs both Arkham City and Arkham Origins, introducing an unparalleled level of open-world freedom, albeit with the inclusion of the Batmobile, without which the scale would be too much for the player. This larger map and the use of the Batmobile also makes gameplay very different from previous installments.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is Arkham Origins a prequel to Arkham City?
Yes, Arkham Origins is a prequel that takes place several years before the events of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, making the chronological order of the games Arkham Origins, Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and finally Arkham Knight.
2. Is Arkham Origins considered canon?
Absolutely, Arkham Origins is canon within the Batman: Arkham universe. It is referenced in Arkham Knight, and characters and events from Origins are mentioned, solidifying its place in the timeline.
3. What are the key differences in combat between Arkham City and Origins?
Arkham Origins makes minor changes to the combat system. Specifically, in Arkham City, you can counter and strike after a counter. In Origins, you can quickly run into a fast counter chain of 3 or more enemies and easily drop, as animation canceling is not possible. This means that the rhythm and flow of the combat is different, and many find City’s combat system to be more intuitive.
4. How big is the map in Arkham Knight compared to Arkham City?
The map in Arkham Knight is roughly five times bigger than the map in Arkham City. This makes it by far the largest playable area in the main Arkham series.
5. What’s the smallest game in the Arkham series?
Batman: Arkham Asylum is the smallest-scale game. It takes place entirely within the confined setting of the titular asylum.
6. Which Arkham game has the best gameplay?
Many argue that Batman: Arkham Knight has the best gameplay. This is primarily due to its refined combat and predator sections and the introduction of the Batmobile.
7. Which Arkham game is considered the hardest?
Opinions vary on this, but generally, Arkham Origins is considered difficult due to its multiplayer mode and different combat flow. Arkham Asylum is also cited for its challenging harder mode and challenges. Arkham Knight is considered slightly harder than City for a similar reason.
8. Can you 100% Arkham Origins?
Yes, it is possible to achieve 100% completion in Arkham Origins. This requires collecting all data packs, completing all challenge maps, unlocking all character trophies and costumes, and finishing all side missions.
9. Why is Arkham Origins often seen as underrated?
Arkham Origins is often deemed underrated because of its more grounded and personal storyline compared to the more world-threatening narratives of City and Knight.
10. Did Rocksteady develop Arkham Origins?
No, Arkham Origins was not developed by Rocksteady Studios. WB Games Montréal took over development duties as Rocksteady was focused on Arkham Knight.
11. Which Arkham game has the most replayability?
Batman: Arkham City often tops the lists for replayability due to its engaging gameplay loop and dense world design.
12. What is the longest game in the Arkham series?
Arkham Knight is considered the longest game due to its significantly larger open world and amount of available content.
13. How many main games are there in the Arkham series?
There are four main installments in the Batman Arkham series: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Arkham Origins, and Arkham Knight.
14. Which Arkham game has the best Batsuit?
The best Batsuit is a subjective matter, but often cited as the best are the XE Batsuit from Arkham Origins and many from Arkham Knight, particularly the Harley Quinn, Batman Incorporated, and Batman Beyond suits.
15. Should you play Arkham City before Arkham Origins?
It is recommended to play Arkham Origins first, as it is the first chronologically in the series timeline. However, it is the third game in the series, so it is up to the player if they want to play in release order or chronological order.
Conclusion
While Arkham Origins boasts a larger geographical map than Arkham City, the gameplay experience is a complex mix of both design and playstyle. The density and verticality of Arkham City’s urban playground, however, make it feel more compact and engaging, while the scope and narrative of Origins may be more appealing to those who prefer a larger map to explore at their own pace. Ultimately, each game provides its own unique take on the Batman universe, and understanding these nuances allows one to truly appreciate the entire Arkham series.