Batman - Arkham Origins Walkthrough, Part One: Blackgate Prison

Welcome to the world of Batman! The Dark Knight is spending Christmas on the prowl this year, and he's rewarded for his vigilance with a breakout in progress at Blackgate Prison. Strap on those tights, old chum, it's time for some crime busting.

Blackgate Prison

- Your first step is to become accustomed to the controls. If you've played an Arkham game before, the controls will be familiar; if not, pay heed to the prompts on the screen, and practice them often. You'll need them all.

- Approach the hole in the wall and crouch down to enter the prison. Follow the passage until you're prompted to crouch again. You'll unlock the Blask Mask personnel profile in the process.

- After the short cut scene, counter the thug threatening the Warden as prompted. Do the same for the Warden himself. Afterward you'll unlock the Commissioner Loeb profile. Talk to the Warden a few times to unlock Warden Joseph.

- Head down the hallway.

Cell Block A

- Take the stairs straight ahead.

- There are thugs to beat up ahead. Though the game only prompts you to Strike and Counter (the latter of which you should do whenever you see somebody winding up to hit you), it's also advisable to use your cape to sweep enemies and stun them for a short period of time. (On 360 this is B; on PS3 it's Circle; on Wii U A. Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these.) There are four guys to beat up. Note that the game gives you experience based on the speed of your takedowns; the better the fight goes, the stronger your Batman will ultimately become.

- Afterward, interrogate the last guy still talking to find out where Black Mask is headed.

- Continue through the next door.

Block A Holding Cells

- Follow the drone through the corridor. You'll come across thee more thugs to trounce. Use the same strategy as before, though mind that the corridor is narrower and you have less room to maneuver in.

- Grapple up and out of confinement. Onward.

- There's an armoured thug ahead. The only way you can get past him is by sweeping your cape, then following up with normal strikes. Either keep doing this until he falls or use a takedown strike, as noted on-screen. The faster he goes down, the more experience you earn.

- Grapple up to the next ledge.

Prisoner Processing

- Activate Detective Mode. Use a Batarang, as prompted, on the highlighted control box near the far door. Then quickly slide under the door to get the drop on the thugs beyond, before they know you're there.

- This battle can be a little tricky on higher difficulty levels. There are four thugs, and you're facing them in a very small area. Countering is incredibly important here, as is sweeping to keep your foes occupied. Don't be afraid to leap across the room if you're surrounded, even if it means having to readjust yourself. You'll gain the Vicki Vale profile for winning the fight.

- Open the elevator shaft ahead using the control panel. There's no elevator, but you can use Explosive Gel, as prompted, to destroy the floor.

Death Row

- Pry open the vent to your left. Crawl through.

- There are five guys waiting on the other side. Use a surprise takedown on one of them, then go after the other four with kicks, punches, the usual. There's more room to move here, so this battle's easier than the last. Watch out for the dude with the baseball bat.

- There's still one thug left, but you can't get at him. Enter the small room to your right and use the Batclaw to yank the grating off of the wall. Once inside the duct work, make your way to the weak wall beside the mobster and use Explosive Gel to take him out. This will earn you the Mobster character trophy.

Execution Chamber Access

- Quickfire your Batarangs to open the next door.

- There's another vent to yank down in the next room. Do so and climb in.

Execution Chamber

- Watch the cut scene. You'll receive the Calendar Man profile once it's done.

- Dive through the glass. Now you're up against three thugs, one of which is armoured. Concentrate on the lightweights, diving around the room and countering whenever the opportunity arises. Try to split them up so you can corner and pummel them, one at a time. Don't try to wail on the armoured guy first - he takes a fair few hits to go down, and you'll likely get tagged in the process. If you take a while, one of the guys will probably try to throw a fire extinguisher at you, and you can use it to your advantage to blind everyone if you manage to counter and catch it.

Security Corridor

- Down the hall and to your right.

Watch Tower

- Grapple and climb up the tower to the top. Boss fight time! You're facing down Killer Croc in the next section of this walkthrough!