Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate is a 2013 2.5D action video game with 3D Art developed by Armature Studio and released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita and later they released it for the same platforms as Arkham Origins.

Plot
Three months after the Blackgate riots, the majority of Gotham City's most notorious thugs have been locked up. Unfortunately, a prison breakout at Blackgate has occurred. Batman, at the request of James Gordon, decides to investigate. He soon realizes that a full-scale breakout has resulted in all of Blackgate's staff being held hostage by convicts.

Gameplay
Armature Studio has looked through the back log of the previous Arkham games to see what features would work for Blackgate. The developer has taken many features from the main console games, such as grappling, gliding, crouching and climbing, and were able to implement them in the 2.5D space, while supplementing them with gadgets like the batarang and explosive gel. The explosive gel has been designed to act more like the movie version, where it can be shot over a distance, rather than sprayed on a surface from the previous games. The game does not feature an XP system, with the whole game being item-based.

The free-flow combat system that is present in the other Arkham games has been built from the ground up. Batman will still move from left to right, but will have the ability to be in the foreground or the background. Director Mark Pacini added that they added a few more layers to the predator/detective mode. Players will be able to see the sightlines of the enemies, which immediately allows to know whether Batman can be seen or not by enemies. When Batman is in detective mode, Batman will change color based on their proximity or based on how close he is to being seen. Vantage points, floor grates, silent takedowns, glide kicks, weapon use, and breakable walls will be returning from the console games as well. The level design will allow for the player to face the bosses of the game in any order, at anytime. Blackgate also makes use of the Vita and 3DS's touchscreens. Hovering your finger over a specific object (e.g. convicts, weapons, crates) will reveal additional info on the item.

There are also certain types of enemies, such as thugs who wield blades that need to be stunned to defeat (similar to the High Security Henchman from Arkham Asylum), thugs wielding stun batons that need to be hit in the back, and thugs with flamethrowers who need to have their flamepacks pull from behind with the Batclaw.

Heroes

 * Batman (Voiced by Roger Craig Smith)
 * Captain James Gordon (Voiced by Michael Gough)
 * Martin Joseph (Voiced by Khary Payton)
 * Selina Kyle /Catwoman (Voiced by Grey DeLisle)
 * Amanda Waller (Voiced by CCH Pounder)
 * Captain Rick Flag (Voiced by Adam Baldwin)

Villains

 * The Joker (Voiced by Troy Baker)
 * Oswald Cobblepot /The Penguin (Voiced by Nolan North)
 * Roman Sionis /Black Mask (Voiced by Brian Bloom)
 * Cyrus Gold /Solomon Grundy (Voiced by Fred Tatasciore)
 * Bane (Voiced by J.B. Blanc)
 * Floyd Lawton /Deadshot (Voiced by Chris Cox)
 * Ben Turner /Bronze Tiger (Voiced by Gary Anthony Sturgis)

Development
The game was first revealed on the cover of the May 2013 issue of Game Informer magazine, revealed on April 9, 2013. Director Mark Pacini revealed that the game has been in development since early 2012. As many of the production team has come over from Retro Studios, which worked on the Metroid Prime games and Donkey Kong Country Returns, Origins Blackgate will have a similar feel and construction to those games. None of the console-game technology is being used for the game, with everything being done by Armature from scratch. The game will use a checkpoint system to save, as well as have the ability to save anywhere at any time. All of the 2D animations were done in house at Armature and will be fully voiced. While set after the events of Arkham Origins, Armature Studio worked closely with WB Montreal to allow the games to be played in any order and not spoil any of the material from either game.

Trivia
fr:Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
 * Its plot is remarkably similar to Arkham Asylum's, with Batman having to investigate a prison breakout.
 * Also similarly, the fact that the prison is split into 3 factions, 2 of which belonging to The Joker and Penguin respectively, is not unlike how Arkham City was split up.
 * However, the story is set chronologically seven years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum.
 * Another reference to Arkham Asylum is that Batman has an outpost or "satellite cave".
 * It is the first Arkham game on a handheld.
 * This is the only "main" entry in the series where alternate outfits affect the gameplay, although some Batmobiles slightly affect the gameplay in Knight.
 * When Batman finds the Batclaw, the design of it and the Grapnel Gun change to the Ultra Batclaw design.