Despite a long history of terrible super hero games, both Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City were easily two of the most memorable games of this generation, and even made a dent in our list of the best games ever. So of course we're hyped for another Batman adventure--but just what is Batman: Arkham Origins?

Revealed recently by our friends at Game Informer, we’ve rounded up everything we know about the game in this handy list, alongside our best Bat-guesses about what else we hope to see in the game. Let’s start with the Dark Knight himself…

Though the word “origins” is in the title, don’t expect this to be the story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman. This game glosses over the familiar territory already covered in the film Batman Begins and the classic storyline Year One. Instead, Arkham Origins’ Batman has some experience under his utility belt, though he’s still new enough to be described as “young and unrefined” by the developers. But what does that entail?

Has this Batman not yet forged a friendship with Commissioner Gordon? Is there no Robin or Oracle to back him up? Has he fought The Joker yet? Or joined the Justice League? The first press release mentions that “Players will meet many important characters for the first time and forge key relationships,” so we bet at least a couple of those moments will come up in Origins.

Image source: Game Informer

The game also appears to take place before Arkham Asylum even exists, so where will we see Batman slinking in the shadows now? Gotham City proper, a setting Batman fans have been dying to see explored in the Arkham series. However, this won’t exactly be the bustling metropolis that fans are clamoring for, thanks to an attack by old man winter--the season, not the supervillain.

Arkham Origins seemingly takes place over the course of one night--Christmas Eve--and Gotham is buried in snow. Is this blizzard a natural occurrence, or could it be the work of some evil plot? Either way, this means most regular folks will be off the streets, so don’t expect to see busy downtown areas like GTA IV’s Liberty City. And with fewer innocents out on the town, it’ll make it easier for Bats to find and punish the bad guys.

Image source: Game Informer

This Christmas Eve won’t be a normal night on patrol for Bruce, because eight assassins have come to Gotham with one assignment: Kill The Bat. Their reason for hunting Batman is unclear, but apparently they were hired by crime boss Black Mask, and one of the hired guns is Deathstroke. We’re guessing Deathstroke is the leader, because he really is the top dog when it comes to hired murder in DC Comics.

Deathstroke is one of the more popular bad guys in the comics, but non-comic readers will recognize him as Slade, the sadistic mercenary that battled the Teen Titans on their ‘00s animated series. The one-eyed hitman is usually written as Batman’s physical equal, a master planner, and a cutthroat killer. With skills like those, he’ll be more than a challenge for an inexperienced Batman.

Image source: Game Informer

Now for what might sound like bad news: Arkham Origins isn’t being developed by series creator Rocksteady. Instead, this entry has been handed off to Warner Bros. Interactive’s Montreal team. But don’t freak out just yet, because this team has a pretty promising background.

First off, WB Montreal made the quality port Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition for Wii U, so the devs already have Bat-experience. And the creative director of the game is Eric Holmes, lead designer on previous open-world super-games Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and Prototype. Plus, Rocksteady established the series so well in its first two games that it’d be pretty hard to screw up that formula, so we’re ready to give these Canadians a chance.

This fall will see the launch of at least one next-gen system, and titles like Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag and WatchDogs are covering their bases by launching on both current and next-gen systems. But Arkham Origins looks to be focused on the here and now, because it’s only coming to current systems. Specifically, that means it’s coming to the 360, PS3, PC, and Wii U worldwide on October 25, 2013.

While it would be nice to see how good Gotham City can look on a PS4, we’re glad Arkham Origins isn’t trying to straddle across two generations. We’d be worried WB Montreal was spread too thin working on both, so it’s safer to try to do the best it can with existing hardware. And in the long run, it’ll hopefully make the Bat’s next-gen debut all the more impressive when it finally happens.

Image source: Game Informer

Batman is taking over consoles in October, and while the big handhelds won't get straight ports, portable fans won’t miss out on the Caped Crusader action. Coming to the PS Vita and the 3DS on October 25 as well is Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, and early word is that it’s a totally separate 2.5D Metroidvania type of game.

Other info is scarce, but early buzz says that the portable game takes place after Origins, and it’s set in Blackgate prison, the lockup that houses Gotham’s less theatrical criminals. Batman will explore the penitentiary to try and stop a riot, and he’ll be using much of the same equipment and combat skills as in the main games. Currently, we’re most curious about what differences we’re going to see in the Vita and 3DS iterations of the game.

Image source: Game Informer

Now that we’ve covered what we know, it’s time to start guessing about the unknowns. For example, we’re sure Batman’s now standard combat controls and weapons will stay the same, but things can’t stay too static. Bats needs some new moves and expanded counters, and since this Batman will be younger, perhaps he’ll be more nimble and aggressive than he’s ever been.

And if Bruce is full of youthful energy, perhaps he also uses fewer gadgets at this point in his career, or at least not use such incredibly advanced tools. If Origins represents the greatest challenge in his early career, maybe this means he’ll use some more experimental, prototype versions of items like his grapple hook or the explosive gel. We’d like to see a more back-to-basics Bat, because it’d be a real change from his deep collection of toys in the previous Arkham games.

The brief description of the plot makes it sound like this will be the first time Batman battles some of his greatest foes among those hired assassins. Out of the entire DC universe, there are many intriguing killers for hire out there, like Chesire and her poison fingernails, or Lady Shiva, a woman famous for being Batman’s equal in martial arts. There are other high profile DC cutthroats, like Shadow Thief, Copperhead, and K.G. Beast, but it’s hard to hear the word "assassin" and not think of Batman’s archenemy Ra’s al Ghul and his League of Assassins.

Ra’s played a pretty big role in Arkham City, so it’d be fitting for him to appear in Origins to fill in some of the backstory between him and Batman. And unlike Black Mask, Ra’s has the kind of power and connections necessary to bring in someone as elite as Deathstroke. However, even with Ra’s, the Origins would be lacking without one murderous clown...

As good a Kevin Conroy is at playing Batman (we’re assuming he’s back in Origins), the previous Arkham games were a tour de force for Mr. J and his go-to voice actor Mark Hamill, but the ending of Arkham City makes it difficult to imagine the character will easily appear in any future Arkham games. And Hamill was pretty clear that he was stepping away from the role after Arkham City, which he stuck to by skipping the role in Injustice: Gods Among Us. Even so, would Hamill still allow someone else to portray Joker in a series as popular as Arkham?

This prequel would allow for Mark Hamill to play the Joker again without having to deal with any of the fallout from Arkham City. In fact, the Batman and Joker have been such old enemies in the first two games, and the possibility of seeing them battle early in their careers, perhaps even for the first time, is undeniably interesting. There’s a good deal of important territory we hope to see between Bats and Mr. J, because it wouldn’t be an Arkham game without Hamill’s memorable Joker laugh.

Origins opens up Batman’s potential bad guy roster a bit, where he’s facing people outside his standard rogues gallery, so perhaps the same openness will expand to his allies too. We love the gritty world of the Arkham games, but it might finally be time to invite some of Batman’s super friends over just to keep us on our toes.

Now we aren’t asking to play as Wonder Woman, or have Green Lantern appear with a giant green shovel to clean up Gotham. Instead, Justice League cameos could be handled just like Robin’s appearance in Arkham City: brief, fan-pleasing, and something that opens up the world in an interesting way. It could be as simple as having Superman do a brief flyby, but an infusion of Kal-El could keep the series from getting stale.

So that’s everything we know currently about Arkham Origins; be sure to check back on this page, because we’ll be updating it with every new piece of information that’s revealed. Until then, feel free to share your predictions for the game in the comments.

And if you're looking for more, check out why Batman: Arkham City is one of the best games ever made and a history of Batman games.