Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3) Review

Beware the Dark Knight.

 Batman: Arkham Asylum was one of developer Rocksteady Studio's early successes, for a good reason. They took the crime fighting world of Batman and made it into a videogame. Sounds simple, but they took great care and effort into making a thrilling ride. Additionally, it was among 2009's best games, and received many 'Game of The Year' Awards from critics. Now that I have finished it for the second or third time, let's journey into the world of the Dark Knight. 

STORY- After subduing him from his latest crime, Batman takes Joker to Arkham Asylum, a hospital for many of Gotham's criminals. However after getting there, Joker breaks free, takes over the asylum's security, and takes Commissioner Gordon hostage. He also claims to bomb Gotham if anyone tries to get into Arkham Asylum. Obviously, it's up to Batman to stop Joker's latest plan. Along the way, Batman will meet up with many other villains such as Bane, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and more. Also, the story is written by Paul Dini, whom worked on the excellent Batman: The Animated Series TV show, so expect an engaging narrative.

Batman is in for a tough night.

GAMEPLAY- The gameplay is another major aspect of the game. Its a third-person action-adventure game with some stealth elements. The early areas at the beginning of the game are slow and are mostly tutorials, but once you're done with that you're free to explore Arkham Asylum. The asylum is filled with lots of thugs, and they're not nice, which brings up the next gameplay aspect: combat. 

 Its easy to learn for beginners, but packs a challenge for experts. Batman moves faster than his enemies, thanks to his moblie suit and ninja skills, and can deal serious damage to enemies. You can mash buttons to take-out the enemies, but its more rewarding when you link combos together. When an enemy is about to strike you, Batman has an option to evade his attack at a press of a button, similar to Spider-Man's senses.

Beware the Batman.

 You can take on the stealthy approach and choose to take-out enemies from behind or stun them with Batman's Batarangs. What's more fun is striking fear at them when you hang a guard up a gargoyle or knock him out cold. The environment can be used to your advantage as well. You can cause a distraction by blowing up a wall-- thanks to Batman's explosive gel-- make the guards panic, and start picking them up one by one. Stealth is your best friend against armed enemies. Though, the enemy A.I. can be at times dumb.

 Batman always needs his gadgets, which is another gameplay aspect. The Batarang can be used to stun and distract enemies, useful when you're in a messy situation. The Batclaw can be used to remove vent covers and disarm armed enemies, again useful for messy situations. Also, the explosive gel is used to destroy hidden paths for secrets and is a useful distractions for eliminating enemies. Another neat gadget is the Cryptographic Sequencer, which is useful for open locked doors and unlocking new areas.

The gameplay is fast and fluid.

 Another helpful feature is Detective Mode, which helps Batman solve countless puzzles and keep track of enemies, all in an X-ray-like fashion. You'll be using it a lot to track down blood samples and fingerprints in the story. It also tells you if an enemy is armed or not. I found myself using it all the time to look for any hidden secrets and nearby enemies.

 As a reward for landing chained combos, you earn XP, which is used to unlock upgrades such as better armor, batarangs, and so on. In terms of extras, there are many to be found in the game. There are over 240 Riddler clues to collect, interview tapes featuring Gotham's dangerous criminals to find, and much more.

Detective Mode is a helpful tool while navigating the asylum.

The bosses in Arkham Asylum are good, but not great. They often are repetitive and feel a bit anti-climatic. One instance is the Bane boss fight, which has you evading and throwing batarangs at him, another is Killer Croc, which is basically one long boring chase. However, the Scarecrow battles does something new by evading his line of sight and get to the light signal. 

 If you are still looking for more, the challenge maps should suffice. They feature specific goals to finish such as beating all enemies or sneaking around them. It's a nice and neat little distraction for those looking to put their skills to the test.

PRESENTATION- The presentation is one of Arkham Asylum's strongest points as well. The visuals are looking great as well as Batman and the environments. The in-game character models and some textures are a bit iffy, though its a minor detraction. The voicework is one of the presentation's strongest points as well. Batman: The Animated Series' Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, reprise their roles as Batman and the Joker, respectively. The performances are great and fits the tone of the game.

Escape the fear.

OVERALL- Batman: Arkham Asylum is how comic book adaptations should be. Despite some minor setbacks, its engaging, fun, and faithful to its source material, its a must-play for any Batman fans or those new to the Dark Knight's adventures. It goes as one of the best games of the seventh gen. of consoles.

EXCELLENT