Batman : Arkham Asylum is by far the greatest Batman / Superhero / Comic-theme game ever made. But it is much more than that. It represents a new superlative for stealth-based action games and is one of the best games I have played, not just in 2009, but across multiple generations and genres.
Probably the single greatest feature of Batman : Arkham Asylum is how true it is to its source material and how it totally nails the Batman experience. Batman was never meant to be armed with guns or to kill goons. Nor was he ever capable of single-handedly taking down a dozen thugs armed with guns or to win in a straight-up brawl with Killer Croc. Fortunately this game acknowledges that and remains incredibly accurate to the way Batman would approach a challenge.
For starters, Batman may be a superhero, but he can’t beat a bullet. Running into half a dozen enemies carrying guns would invariably mean a quick death. This is where the stealth aspect of the gameplay comes in. By design, Batman has always been good at stealth and never has it been more fun to take out a horde of armed enemies one by one by performing silent takedowns or the awesome inverted takedowns from the many gargoyles you will find in the game. An important component of Batman’s arsenal is detective vision, which allows you to see through walls to identify enemies, highlights areas of particular interest such as vents, weakness in structures, and riddler trophies (More on this later...). Combining detective vision with your many stealthy takedown moves is an absolute blast – Especially since enemies will react realistically to their comrades being taken out one by one by Batman, gradually showing heightened levels of panic. Adding to the fun is the Joker’s mockery of his own thugs, some of which can be ridiculously funny depending on the context. At times, it can seem a little odd that Batman can grapple away right above his enemies’ heads with them still clueless about his whereabouts, but this is built into the game’s level design with the game constantly throwing new challenges and so doesn’t really hamper the gameplay.
Speaking of grappling, Batman can use a variety of gadgets that are gradually unlocked during the course of the game. These gadgets will help you reach areas that earlier seemed out of reach in a way that oddly seems quite natural. The gadgets, including Batclaws, explosive gels, batarangs etc. have a distinctly Batman feel to them, which lends the game a considerable sense of authenticity.
If you like hand-to-hand combat, you will be floored by Batman : Arkham Asylum’s freeflow combat system . If you don’t like hand-to-hand combat, it’s probably because you have never quite experienced it in such a polished form. The freeflow combat allows you to shuffle between enemies easily and perform counters upon correctly timing your response to an enemy’s attack. You eventually add more moves to your arsenal. But the basic moves of strike & counter will make up the bulk of your combat. If you treat the combat as a random button masher, the combat might appear quite generic. But if you time your attacks & counters well (& therefore building a combo), you would truly begin to appreciate the combat for what it was meant to be : A free-flowing system which, depends more on rhythm than manual dexterity and which, when you are in rhythm looks like a real choreographed fight and makes you (As Batman) feel like the badass Batman was meant to be.
A word of caution for hardcore gamers considering playing this game on the Hard difficulty setting : The flashing indicators for an enemy’s attack are disabled on the Hard difficulty setting which means that you can no longer anticipate an enemy’s attacks with consistent accuracy which would probably make you go into button-mashing mode . This would certainly hamper your overall enjoyment of the game.
The Boss battles in the game feature some of Batman’s super-villains. While none of them are particularly challenging, what makes them memorable is how they present a setting and a gameplay challenge which feels very fitting for the particular villain. Providing more details would probably spoil some great surprises coz I would imagine that most gamers would probably remember atleast one of the scarecrow encounters long after they have completed the game.
Batman : Arkham Asylum’s visual presentation is top notch across the board, with high level of detail and excellent lighting. Batman animates superbly while moving or in combat and the bosses look great too (Although the usual enemies have a rather repetitive appearance about them). Even though Arkham Asylum takes place over the course of a single night and is set entirely in a criminal asylum campus, there is enough colour and variety in the environments to make you appreciate the nuances of each level/building/area. Probably the only blemish is the fact that lip-synch has a very noticeable disconnect from what you hear. But this is a minor nit-pick which doesn’t really draw you away from the awesome presentation.
The greatest aspect of the sound design is, of course, the voice acting. Batman : Arkham Asylum features a star cast and the voice acting is some of the best you will hear in all of gaming and is served to you in abundance, not only in the main story, but also via the Riddler’s Challenges, patient interview tapes and arkham mystery chronicles which add considerably to your immersiveness in the Batman universe and are, of course, an awesome treat for Batman fans and a good guide to newcomers who haven’t read too many Batman comics.
The extra collectibles/unlockables certainly add value to your purchase to your game since these are not the generic “find/collect this random item” sorta side quest you find in most other open-world games these days. These include interviews with some of the super-villains in the game (Some of which can make for great listening), an intriguing set of Arkham mystery chronicles and , best of all, the Riddler challenges, some of which will test your abilities to out-think the Riddler.
After you have completed the story mode, you can compete in the challenge mode which puts you through specific stealth/combat sequences from the campaign and come in two difficulties. While it lacks the immersiveness of the story mode, the combat challenges showcase the game’s freeflow combat system in glorious detail.
Regardless of whether you are a fan of Batman or not, you will find plenty to enjoy in Batman : Arkham Asylum