Batman: Arkham Origins swooped down on us like…well, a bat.

The Batman: Arkham games have been big successes for Warner Bros and developer Rocksteady, and as we all know, money talks.  Batman: Arkham Origins hit the shelves October 25th, and it's a prequel showcasing a young, inexperienced Dark Knight as he faces off against several supervillians for the first time.  It sounded pretty awesome, but there is a caveat - Rocksteady is not the developer.  The reins instead have been given to WB Games Montreal, an unproven studio whose biggest output to date was the Wii U port of Arkham City.
Cause for concern?  Perhaps, perhaps not. WB Montreal will be using Rocksteady's customized Unreal engine to create the game, so expect it to look and feel simile.  Arkham Origins takes place in a fully open world Gotham, which they promised to be much more alive and functional than Arkham City.  It's was also claimed that it was twice as big.  To make getting around a doodle, the Batwing jet offers fast travel for those tired of traversal.
It takes place Christmas Eve, as notorious crime boss Black Mask brings together eight assassins to hunt down and dispose of the Batman.  You see the debut of Deathstroke and Alberto Falcone, as well as the return of the Penguin and every one's favorite butler, Alfred Pennyworth.
Combat is similar but we assure you there are lots of new gadgets to play with, including the 'Remote Claw', which allows Batman to shoot two targets before pulling them towards one another.  You can create dangling explosive traps, string foes up or just smash two dudes heads together - sound like fun?One of the most interesting things about Arkham Origins is the new included multi player mode for the first time in the series.  Team based mode where players, acting as gang members affiliated to either the Joker or Bane, try to take down Batman and Robin.  We don't want to give away too many specifics, but it's an intriguing add on.
But what of Rocksteady?  Rumours have been around for a while that the studio is focusing on a prequel of it's own, based on the silver age of comics and not only starring Batman but several members of the Justice League.  This sounds like it could be the best thing ever, but we wonder how likely it is considering Arkham Origins is also a prequel.  There's one thing we do know - a Rocksteady game that lets us play as the The Flash will win every game of the year award, every year, forever.