Once I was told that the Nintendo 3DS version of “Batman Arkham: Origins” (“Blackgate” on the 3DS version) was more like a platformer than a reinterpretation of “Batman Arkham: Origins” for a console, I was immediately interested in it. After a couple hours of gameplay, my opinions are fairly mixed.

This game is not a platformer, and subpar style graphics and the extremely linear path that you have to follow are not the sole components of one. You use the circle-pad to move to the left or the right. I was disappointed, but I do not believe the game was trying to be a platformer. There is no jump, and sometimes I fight with Batman telling him to get off a ledge and keep looking around.

When I say the game is linear, that can be either a good or bad thing. Sometimes the linearity is used very well, like in a boss battle in the industrial area where you have to electrocute puddles of water, but it can also be tedious when you have to backtrack through rooms. The map layout is extremely confusing, kind of like a bad version of “Metroid Prime.” You move to the left or right waiting for cues to come up for one of Batman’s tools. The tools include his grappling hook, claws, the sticky launcher from “Dark Knight” and batarangs.

What does not make sense in this game is that even though the maneuvering in this game is completely different from its console brother, the combat is trying to be the same. You mash Y to punch, X to counter and A to swing Batman’s cape. The only problem is that the moves you’re supposed to counter can be interrupted by a good Batfist to the face so the entire game is a button mash, which does not work very well on a handheld device, and enemies have an obscene amount of health sometimes and just do not go down. I actually enjoy the clunky combat because it forces stealth into the game in a very interesting way, but giving enemies guns while I only have fists hardly seems fair in a narrow corridor.

Here is a protip for “Blackgate”: if you are stuck, scan the entire screen for the blatant answer to the puzzle. Honestly, detective mode is more annoying than anything because you need to scan things to interact with them. In that boss fight I mentioned earlier, you activate the wires by detonating the sticky bombs. The only problem with that is if you forget to scan them as you walk in the room, you then have to scan them while simultaneously not getting trampled. If you do get stepped on, the scan gets interrupted. It might not have been so bad if it was not for my biggest problem with the game: the camera.

The camera shows you what it thinks are the most important aspects of the room and is completely disorienting. At many times during that boss fight, I was unable to set up the trap to deal damage to the enemy because the camera would not show the targets.

“Blackgate” looks alright: The visual style is mostly appealing, the music is all right and the voice acting could have been much worse. The only noteworthy aspect of the graphics is in the cutscenes, which are, fittingly, a cross of film noir and comic panels. There are highlighted colors in the black and white scenes, which is kind of cool from an aesthetic standpoint, but it does not mean anything important.

My biggest problem with the presentation is that is just OK. I know it is not a valid criticism or anything, but so far, every 3DS game I have played has had stellar graphics. “Pokemon,” “Luigi’s Mansion” and “Fire Emblem” are all beautiful games, and this is OK at best. The 3-D only adds to the game during the cutscenes, so keeping it off will not hurt at all.

The story is as dull as the presentation. Basically, two weeks after the ending of “Arkham: Origins,” there is an explosion at Blackgate prison. Batman, upon arriving, discovers that three of his biggest adversaries have staked their claim over a third of the compound, and that there are hostages locked deep within. To access them, Batman must fight the Penguin, Black Mask and the Joker. He gets help from his questionable friend, Catwoman, along the way.

At the end of the day, I cannot recommend “Blackgate” at full price. It certainly is not a platformer as much as it looks like one, and the combat is completely incompatible with the with the linear corridors, and really with those two aspects being more tedious than fun there really is not a good reason to buy this game.

2/5