Batman Arkham Asylum Review

When they first announced Batman: Arkham Asylum, my first thought was that this game would suck. Batman hasn’t exactly been known for it’s amazing video games, in fact the last good Batman game was on NES. I’m happy to say however that I was dead wrong about this game.

Batman: Arkham Asylum was firstconceived after the success of The Dark Knight. Many thought that Arkham Asylum would be some sort of continuation to the film, but it turns out this is its own storyline, which is good because it doesn’t have to follow the timeline setup in the films.  The game kicks off with Batman returning Joker to Arkham Asylum. Knowing the Joker all too well, Batman suspects somthing is up since he was able to bring him in without much of a fight.  Joker’s plot is revealed as soon as he enters the Asylum. What kind of evil schemes is he planning? Can Batman stop Joker before it’s too late?

Let’s get on a breakdown on what’s HOT and what’s NOT in Batman: Arkham Asylum

HOT

Lengthy Adventure
If you thought Batman: Arkham Asylum would be a short game, then you’d be wrong. Expect roughly 10-12 hours of adventure in the big open world of the Arkham Island. There is a lot to do in the game and a lot to accomplish. I doubt you will finish the game in less than 8 hours. From solving all of the Riddlers challenges, to collecting voice memos, this game will keep you busy for a while.

Great Story, Characters, and Voice Acting
What makes this game so exceptional is the great story, characters, and voice acting.  Fans of the Batmanc comics will surely enjoy this game as a lot of villians and allies make an appearance. Not everyone will make an apperance but the popular ones will.

The voice acting in this game is some of the best I’ve ever seen. Many of the cast members from the classic Batman: The Animated Series, reprise their roles, including Kevin Conroy as Batman, and the always awesome Mark Hamill as the Joker.

Replay Value is so high! Riddlers Challenges, Voice Memos, and a lot more!
Finshing the main storyline will take you about 10 hours, but even after you’re done there’s a lot more to do. After the last boss fight, the game continues and you can do things such as Riddler’s Challenges, collect Voice Memos to learn more about the characters in the Batman world, collect all the Character Bios, or just run around the Arkham Island and use the batarangs whenever you want!

Phenomenal Graphics
Batman: Arkham Asylum runs in 720p and it is a pleasure to see the game in high definition. The character models in the game are well done and all of them are highly detailed. As soon as I got out of the Intensive Medical Lab and was able to explore more of Arkham Island, I was pleased to see some really dark yet highly detailed enviorements.  Looking from the top of the cliff, I felt like I am really Batman and it gave me the chills.

Brawling can be repetitive? I don’t think so, this is Metal Gear Meets Assassin’s Creed
The game’s battle system is brawling. From the time you start you will never get bored with the brawling in this game. Throughout the game you’ll attain upgrades  that will enhance the fighting in the game. You can plan out your attack or you can be as sneaky as Solid Snake and do a Silent Takedown. Point is, this isn’t just a button masher. To make your way through, you’ll have to be smart and use both offensive and defensive strategies to take out your enemies.

There are a lot of gadgets that you can use from Batarangs to an Explosive Gun. Well, you can use those gadgets to do a sneak attacks or trap a bunch of villains all at once. The battle system in this game can be compared to Metal Gear Solid and Assassin’s Creed. It is indeed a brawler, but you have to use your sneaking skills to do it.

Challenge Modes are CHALLENGING!

Aside from the story mode of the game, there’s also a Challenge Mode. There are four rounds in each challenge, and you have the option to post your highest score online and see where you rank against other players around the world. There are a total of 16 challenges that can be unlocked. You unlock them by completing the story mode, and more will be added later though DLC

Downloadable Content in the future.
As I said before, challanges and other content are going to be added through downloads. As of now, we really only suspect that extra challenges will be added. But who knows that the future holds, we might even see Superman taking on the crazies within the Asylum.

NOT

Riddler’s Challenge can be annoying, like really annoying.
Throughout the game, there will be Riddler’s Challenges that can really be annoying and sometimes seem impossible to solve. It will eat up much of your time and you might even feel the urge to throw your controller and trust me, I’ve done that more than once.

VERDICT

Honestly? Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of the best game I’ve played this year. It’s easily a contender for Game of the Year and has a good chance to win. . If you are a huge Batman fan then this is the game for you. Even if you’re just a casual gamer, still give this game a try because even though it’s Batman, it’s still a solid adventure game. This game is amazing, and i can easily see it getting a sequel.

[Editor’s Note: Batman: Arkham Asylum was reviewed on a Xbox 360 platform. The DLC was supplied to us by the publisher.]