The Dark Knight has swooped back into action to save Gotham City - and himself - from a Christmas campaign of terror in Arkham Origins, as eight assassins battle to claim Batman's scalp to earn a $50m payday from the villainous Black Mask. With the likes of Penguin, Riddler and Joker also at large, it'll be a fist-filled festive season for the caped crusader. But is it any good?
"A great Knight out," quips the Official Xbox Magazine UK in its 8/10 review. The lingering criticism is that Origins doesn't add much to the already excellent framework established by Arkham City. "It doesn't bring many new tricks to the table," reads the review, "but Origins is still thoroughly entertaining."
The US Official Xbox Magazine, meanwhile, offers a 9/10. "Origins doesnt quite match the brilliance of its predecessors," it says, "but boy does it come impressively close. Its not a leap forward like City, but it stays the course with steely resolve and ultimately serves as a worthy addition to the growing Arkham legacy."
Videogamer.com delivers an 8/10 verdict, once again highlighting the lack of any new features as the main thing holding it back. There's lashings of praise for everything else though, including a "fantastic" story and "the best combat system in all of gaming."
Finally, GameTrailers weighs in with an 8.7 score. "The quality of the combat, the diversity of the dialogue from lead characters to two-bit crooks, and the sheer amount of things to do make this stretch of Gotham an enjoyable place to visit," is their conclusion.
Oh, and we gave it 9/10 in our own review.
Batman: Arkham Origins is out now for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Wii U.