At a glance...

Batman: Arkham Asylum review

I have to admit that I wasn't particularly interested in Batman: Arkham Asylum in the months leading up to its release. Superhero games have tended to fall somewhere between "OK" and "Not even worth playing if you paid nothing for it", and the only action-arcade game on my radar before the year's end was Uncharted 2. The free demo being released on the PlayStation Store, and the subsequent time spent with the game at the Gamescom expo changed that. Suddenly I was interested in the title that would become a surprise hit for publisher Eidos.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is a dark, gritty, and more adult approach to delivering a superhero-based video game. As mentioned, it's an action adventure title, that primarily features brawling, puzzling, jumping and climbing. While not perfect in any of these areas, it does deliver a consistently enjoyable experience. The fighting is particularly satisfying, each punch has a solid feel and it offers a variety of moves that can be strung together in visually pleasing combos. You're also given a range of utilities, in true Batman style, to combat your enemies, such as the good ol' Batarang, and a grappling hook which allows you to escape enemy attacks, and position yourself to swoop down on enemies. Your action will earn experience, and throughout the game there are opportunities to purchase "Wayne Tech" upgrades to your tools and your moves.

As well as satisfying combat, and enjoyable agility moves, the game also gets you thinking with its detective mode. Although somewhat simplistic, and a little overused, it's still a good way to break up the action, and get you exploring levels for clues. The game itself is somewhat open world, and the puzzles guide you from one section to another without breaking the atmosphere in the way a large on-screen arrow does, and help the story progress.

Probably one of the key elements to the success of Arkham Asylum has been Rocksteady's decision to deliver an independent Batman game. This isn't tied into some film or other media release; it was created as its own game, with an original story from its own writers. It has also used the comics as the source, rather than any of the films, in contrast to most other Batman game, in a move which should please the fanbase and the wider audience. In doing so they've brought along a range of key Batman characters. The main protagonist is The Joker, but you'll also encounter the likes of The Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and The Riddler. In fact, the Riddler plays a part from a distance, with a range of Riddler challenges to complete and Riddler trophies to collect throughout the game.

The story focuses on The Joker being returned to incarceration at Gotham City's infamous Arkham Asylum, only for things to go horribly wrong. As usual. The Joker has plans, and Batman, who was on the scene to see him locked up once more, is an unwilling part of those. The story has many twists and turns, and should hold your interest for the 10 or so hours that it will last. The Riddler content mentioned earlier will add more time to the game for collectors, though it is the Challenges which will extend the game further. There are two types of challenges; FreeFlow Combat sees you battling as many enemies as you can as you fight for survival, where as Invisible Predator sees you using stealth skills to take down your targets. There are a good selection of levels for both, with even more available for free via the PlayStation Store.

Visually, Arkham Asylum is rather impressive. The dark world of Batman has been captured well by Rocksteady, as they deliver their own interpretation of the comic books. It's an interesting combination of real-life with comic book exaggeration, that comes through in both the characters and the environments. Having said that, it isn't the Heath Ledger version of Joker present in this game; again, Rocksteady have not used the films as a reference material, and any darkness come straight from the original art. Even the presentation demonstrates what a well put-together game this is; sleek menus integrate features such as the map and upgrades into the gameplay, and the game over screens I was seeing all too often show plenty of effort too.

One extra thing to note is that the PlayStation 3 version carries a couple of advantages over the Xbox 360 and PC versions of the same game. As proclaimed on the box, you can actually play as the Joker in his own set of challenges, similar to the ones mentioned earlier which feature Batman. The game also unlocks a Batcave that you can visit in PlayStation Home, though it isn't much more than a novelty.

Overall, it's one of the most impressive and enjoyable licensed games for sometime, and almost certainly the best superhero game we've seen.

Ratings

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