I have played many superhero games in the past, the best one I played was Spiderman for PsOne, but Batman Arkham simply takes everything to the next level. I purchased it quite recently and when I turned on my PS3, I never didn't get enough of the Asylum. It's so immersive, beautiful and it's flawless from the start, I enjoyed every minute of it and Arkham Asylum is a perfect setting.
Story
Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy) captures the Joker (Mark Hamill) and brings him to Arkham Asylum, but as a great detective, Batman suspects something is wrong. Things go from bad to worse in seconds, when Joker takes over the Asylum and you also face other villains like Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Victor Zsazs, Scarecrow, Bane, Gordon, Oracle etc. The Riddler acts a side character, offering you 240 challenges to solve around Arkham island. Story is quite complex and each villain get their moments, it's like a well written movie script, where every one get screen time and a conclusion.
Gameplay
Batman Arkham Asylum offers many new things for a superhero game: Freeflow combat, basically Bat's combat moves are divided into simple button combinations and the main goal is to keep a combo going. It's really simple and only thing it requires is to keep your combo going. You have a 1 sec window before your combo stops, I usually evaded (double tap X) to the next enemy, than kicked his ass. Quickfire gadgets are also useful if you want to get rid of enemies faster.
Enemies start from regular henchman, who's punches you can counter (triangle), when a "spidey sense" mark appears on their head. Next type are with knives, you have to stun (circle) them to get a punch in. Stun baton one's I considered the most annoying,
you can't run into them, use evade and than hit them from behind. Titans are Bane like henchman, you can stun them when they charge. You can also use them against the henchmen. Poison Ivy's spore's make an appearance too and there are also creepy psychos, they are weak, but damn, stealthy.
There are total of 9 combat moves total, I would recommend tape a small note on your tv, when your doing the Challenge Rooms.
What would Batman be without his gadgets ?
Arkham offers various toys for Bats such as Batarang, 3xBatarang, Explosive Gel, Batclaw, Line Launcher, Hacking device and a Remote control Batarang. The last one is bit hard to control, but in Arkham City it's been fixed and works so much better. You can hack terminals using a Cryptographic sequencer, where you move the analog sticks to get the right frequency. Batman can also use a Grapple to pull himself to high areas and glide from higher areas. Gargoyles offer you vantage points, but I recommend avoiding them, they just make the game too easy, although it's really fun to pull a henchman up there.
Stealth and fear plays a big role in this game, where henchmen start to make mistakes when there is only 2 left. Another addition to Batman's arsenal is Detective mode, where you can see all the enemies, vantage points, where you can use Explosive Gel etc. Detective Mode also solves Riddles, like perspective and environment ones. You have to line up a question mark in a correct perspective. Riddler's challenges range from trophies, interview tapes and by bataranging Joker's teeth around each area.
Interview tapes offer backstory to the villains, these are really interesting and I was really hooked to find them all and hear the full story.
Other Modes, collectibles
Doing Riddler's challenges you can unlock Challenge maps, character bios and 3d trophies of them.
Other modes you can play are Challenge Maps, divided into Predator and Combat maps. They feature locations from the game and have specific score or challenges to complete. Overall pretty fun to do, but be warned, Shock and Awe extreme is quite frustrating map.
Sound
Sound wise Batman Arkham is simply perfect, the soundtrack is dark and moody, voice acting for each character was spot on.
Conclusion
Batman Arkham Asylum is the best superhero game I have ever played, it's even better than City because it's claustrophobic and creepy at times. I was even jump scared few times during the game. I reviewed GOTY version of the game, what offers pretty tense challenge maps to boot and also on PS3 you can play as the Joker (Challenge maps only).
In conclusion it's a game recommended for a Bats fan or also for newcomers, who are new to the universe and are interested in a game, what is easy to get into.