Fans feel rightfully cautious whenever a beloved franchise switches developers. Batman Arkham Origins is the first game in the Arkham series developed outside of series progenitor Rocksteady. The newly established WB Montreal assumes development duties on this prequel. Fans are undoubtedly going to question if an untested, unproven team can make a Batman game worthy of the Arkham label. Based on an early hands-on with the game, it appears Montreal doesn't plan on changing the formula too much. Instead, Origins largely follows the blueprint established by Arkham City.

Read more: 'Feels like an expansion pack' »

The Arkham series loves making its villains playable as DLC. In Arkham Asylum, you could play as the Joker in free PS3-exclusive DLC. In Arkham City, you could play as Catwoman in a story integrated into the main campaign--provided you bought a copy of the game new. And in Arkham Origins, you'll be able to play as Deathstroke, provided you pre-order the game from Amazon.

Read more: But will it be exclusive? »