Batman: Arkham Asylum marks a major turn in comic book based video games. For as long as I can remember I've stayed far away from video games based on either comic books or movies. The reasons are obvious to any gamer - these games tend to rely more on association to the source material & a pre-existing fan-base to attract buyers more than quality gaming. Batman AA bucks the trend of poor comic book based games and delivers a fantastic gaming experience.
The storyline is dark and complex and involves the Joker taking control of Arkham Asylum located on an island close to Gotham City. I refrain from giving away plot spoilers but I'll just say that the story in Arkham Asylum is excellent. It's developed with some of the best voice-acting I've heard from any video game, period. Many of the voices are dubbed by the same cast responsible for the animated Batman series, including Mark Hamil as the Joker. Along the journey Batman will encounter and face many of his most devious foes including The Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Bane, Killer Croc, Zsasz, and more. Each character is expertly narrated and I honestly felt that Arkham Asylum the game is better than many of the Batman movies.
Graphics are also top-notch. Each character is rendered beautifully and moves in a realistic way. Arkham Asylum is simultaneously dark & gritty, though beautiful in it's own right. A standout moment in the game takes place when when Batman emerges from a cave and surveys the entirety of Arkham Island with Gotham City gleaming in the background. It's one of those supremely memorable gaming moments when you realize a game is so good and you can't wait to continue adventuring though you can't help but pause and take in the scenery.
The main adventure took me around 10 hours to beat on the 'Normal' difficulty setting. Though there are plenty of extras to keep the adventure going longer. Spread throughout Arkham Asylum are riddles and challenges that were put in place by The Riddler. It's up to the gamer solve the riddles which vary from finding a solution to an actual riddle or finding a hidden 'Riddler Trophy'. More unique challenges await too, such as finding The Riddler's tell-tale calling sign - the "?" - these challenges require finding and aligning the different parts of the question marks spread throughout Arkham. All told there are 240 Riddler Challenges. Additionally the game is packed with Easter Eggs that give more insight into the cast of characters in the game and on Arkham. Finding patient interview tapes for example will give brief snippets of recorded conversations between Batman's foes and their doctors at Arkham Asylum. The player is also rewarded for solving the Riddler's Challenges with Predator & Combat Challenges along with highly detailed player trophies (think virtual action figures) and character profiles. All told there is tons of content to keep players busy long after the story has been completed.
I've seen a few reviews that knock Batman AA for not having an online mode. Personally I don't think having online game play is at all a necessity. A game like Arkham Asylum is really meant to be an engrossing, story-driven experience for a single player. However, for those concerned about replay value I can understand that online game play is a way to keep the experience going. Still Eidos & Rocksteady Studios have done a marvelous job keeping the replay value high. The Challenge Rooms is the primary method they have done so. Challenge Rooms come in two varieties as I mentioned before, Predator and Combat. In Predator Challenges the gamer is tasked with defeating a set group of enemies. In each room the player is given three unique ways in which an enemy must be taken down. Some are simple and others not simple at all. But the challenge is great fun. Combat Challenge Rooms are more straightforward - defeat a set amount of enemies over four rounds in each room. The goal is to acquire as many points as possible by chaining combat moves. Each round is tallied at the end and a rating is issued. Furthermore, on the PS3, the developer has included the Joker as a playable character in specific Joker Challenge Rooms. All told there is plenty of content to keep you busy.
For a game that seemingly came out of nowhere and has surprised almost everyone with it's quality, it comes at no surprise then that Arkhan Asylum is being thrown around as a potential "Game of the Year". Well, ultimately that's to everyone's individual taste, but Batman Arkham Asylum is certainly one of the best games I've played all year! Highly recommended that you stop reading and buy this game!
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