Batman: Arkham Asylum Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 3rd September 2009

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Batman heads to the madhouse.

Batman: Arkham Asylum Details:

	Action
	PC/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360
	Rocksteady Studios
	Eidos

15+

Out Now

There have been many super hero games over the years, a large number of which have featured the Dark Knight himself. Sadly though these have often failed to live up to gamers expectation more often then not delivering a below par playing experience! But this is about to change with the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum from Rocksteady and Eidos.

Batman: Arkham Asylum places you in the role of the caped crusader, as the game starts you are escorting The Joker back to the asylum after his latest escape. However, once there things soon take a turn for the worst as the villain springs his plan into action trapping Batman and everyone else in Arkham Asylum while fiendishly plotting to unleash terror on Gotham City. Of course it’s up to you to stop him.

The game is very much a stealth based action game, as you use the shadows, vents, and roofs in order to get the drop on The Jokers hired goons. Of course you have a whole host of Batman’s gadgets to aid you, and these allow you to access new areas, uncover hidden passages and so on. Like most action games, though you don’t have access to all the equipment from the off as it’s unlocked as you progress through the game. However, there are times in the game when you won’t be able to rely on Batman’s stealth abilities and inevitably you will have to resort to getting down and dirty into a fist fight. Like most games, these fights are highly weighted against you, usually having to face multiple thugs, some of which will be armed with anything from lead pipes to stun batons. Thankfully the game features an absolutely brilliant fighting mechanic that allows you to chain together impressive and punishing combos with absolute ease. The combat system also allows you to easily counter enemy attacks and then instantly move into a combo knocking your enemy out. The games combat system is absolutely flawless allowing for highly fluid combat. In fact I would probably go as far as to say its one of the best I’ve encountered in an action game.

The game though doesn’t allow you to deal with armed hostiles in the same way, for this you have to use the games predator mechanics and stalk groups of armed thugs, waiting for them separate from one another using the games environment and your gadgets to take them down one by one. There are a number of environmental takedowns you can perform these include pulling enemies off ledges, ambushing them from behind corners and even an inverted takedown that has you hanging off gargoyles, before swooping down and hanging a thug upside down. This aspect of the gameplay is brilliant and really helps to immerse you into the role of the Dark Knight.

Enemy A.I is solid throughout the game, thugs will keep a close eye out for you and attack in numbers. Also, if one of them gets taken out this will put any others in that area on alert resulting in them covering each others backs and moving around the game environment with more caution. Apart from the regular thugs the game also gives you the opportunity to fight some of Batman’s greatest arch enemies such as Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Bane, Killer Croc and of course The Joker.

There are times in the game when it’s not obvious what you’re supposed to do. However, this is no cause for concern as Batman has a detective vision mode which gives him an infa-red view of the world. This highlights points of interest and also allows Batman to easily spot any enemies in the area, which are portrayed as skeletons, and look brilliant.

Away from the games main story the single player campaign also features a couple of side stories for Batman to get to the bottom of, these include hidden objects that unlock content such as character bios, trophies, and background information.

It’s very difficult to fault the gameplay of Batman: Arkham Asylum, however, if one thing did spoil it for me it was the way at times the game seemed to guide you through certain aspects of the game. There’s also a fair bit of backtracking to do. These two minor issues however aren’t enough to spoil the overall playing experience of the title.
The games story mode should take around 10 to 12 hours to complete. There’s no online multiplayer mode the game though does include a challenge mode that allows you to test out your hand to hand combat and invisible predator skills against other gamers via online leaderboards. These challenges are pretty enjoyable to play through pushing your skills to the limit at times and overall are a worthwhile addition to the game.

Graphics in the game compliment the gameplay well and are perfect. The game looks absolutely clean, sharp and highly detailed. Character models are perfect. Environments represent the darkness of Gotham City many will have read about in the comics. The game environment is full of little details that help create a living world and of course there are countless references to the Batman universe within the game.

The games audio has also been done to the highest standard voice acting is superb, with Mark Hammil reprising his role of The Joker and Kevin Conroy once again the voice of the Dark Knight. Other voice acting throughout the game is superb and Jokers henchmen can often be heard discussing various topics. It’s also nice that few of these conversions are repeated. Although this is not always the case as you will come to notice in The Jokers announcements over the asylums tannoy system. The games soundtrack is also very fitting with the games dark atmosphere, whilst you could be forgiven for thinking the various sound effects used throughout could have been taken straight out of the latest Batman movie.

Whilst other superhero games have often failed to live up to their billing, Batman: Arkham Asylum for me surpasses itself. This is not only one of the best superhero games ever, but one the best action games I’ve played in a long time. A definite contender for game of the year with the Dark Knight detective at his best.