BATMAN – ARKHAM ORIGINS, “Cold Cold Heart” [DLC Review]: Freeze! Play this please.

Hey there Congregationalists, the “Reverend” Ryan Ford is back with another review. It’s been just over a week since the WB released their latest DLC for the BAU, or Batman Arkham Universe for the layperson. In my humble opinion, this DLC is freakin’ sweet! So lets put some Foreigner on the jukebox, crank the dial up to 11 and get rockin’!

(And don’t forget, our own “Monsignor” Travis Moody went above and Batman Beyond the call of duty to gather some notes from WonderCon’s 75th Anniversary of Batman panel. Proceed to read notes and see clips on our blog’s second page.)

Adding on to the holiday-driven events that unfold in the main story, Batman: Arkham Origins‘ Cold, Cold Heart takes place just after the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. Bruce Wayne, in his philanthropic benevolence, is hosting an event for humanitarian and Gothcorp CEO Ferris Boyle. That is until the walking refrigerator himself decides to crash the party. From there on, the Dark Knight must use his keen detective skills to unravel the mystery of Mr. Freeze…

Arkham Knight delayed? Say it isn’t so! Ha-hah!

Compared to Harley Quinn’s revenge, this DLC offers much more in terms of dynamic game play. Granted, you don’t get to play as the Boy Wonder, but what you do get is the opportunity to see the inside of Wayne Manor. There are several predator and melee challenges that take place before you can chase after the snowman in the open world of South Gotham island.

The open world portion is sightly truncated, but there is still plenty to do. The three side missions actually tie into the gameplay and help you advance the story. So they got that goin’… which is nice. Whether it be battling Anarky‘s horde of hippies or defrosting GCPD’s numerous cop-sicles, each mission unlocks key elements of the game. The detective mode, which can be somewhat annoying during the main game, does a nice job of enhancing the Batman experience, making the DLC as a whole totally worth the download.

4.75 (out of 5) Batarangs.

(Flip the page for BONUS WonderCon bulletpoints from the Batman: 75th Anniversary panel!)