Batman has arrested Joker and has taken him to Arkham Asylum; Gotham's island prison. Batman remains suspicious since Joker let himself be captured way too easily. He remains with the prison staff and Commissioner Gordon, escorting The Joker through Arkham. As soon as he is separated from Batman, Joker manages to escape, attack the guards and start a riot with the help from an insider; Harley Quinn.
Batman must help regain control of Arkham, taking on the likes of Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, Bane, Killer Croc and Poison Ivy. Some characters are voiced by the same actors from Batman Animated Series: Kevin Conroy plays Batman, and Mark Hamill voices the Joker.
The game takes a while to throw you into the action, since you are slowly walking with Joker and listening to dialogue. The atmosphere is really good though, which is great throughout the game. When you do take proper control, the gameplay is very good. What impressed me most in this game is how it mixes up gameplay elements to keep things fresh. It's mainly combat and platforming, but there's moments where you need to use stealth, or explore to locate entrances or follow trails.
The combat is simple but quite satisfying. Batman moves quick and can jump between foes with ease. It's weird to see Batman move with such agility because he is usually quite sluggish in other Batman games. Once you deal enough damage with punches, you can perform a finishing blow. You are still vulnerable to attack whilst performing a finishing move, so the combat is about crowd-control, and choosing your moments wisely. As the game progresses, you are introduced to different enemy types. Certain enemies have to be stunned with a cape whip, or leaped over, before attacking. If Batman chains successful attacks without being hit, he is rewarded with more points, and deals stronger attacks. Defeated enemies turn into bats which is weird.
In terms of platforming, you can climb objects by standing next to them and pressing the A button. If you hold A to run and reach the end of a platform, then Batman automatically jumps, then holding A allows Batman to glide using his cape. You can shimmy along ledges and drop down on them. There's also the grappling hook to pull yourself to higher ground which is also great for attacking enemies from above.
There are sections where you must take down several enemies using stealth. Batman is great at taking down unarmed enemies, but he doesn't last long when it comes to guns. Here he must watch the guards patrol and wisely choose his moment to attack. Once you render a guard unconscious, then its a good idea to flee, using your grappling hook to get back to higher ground.
There are times where Batman needs to follow a trial. Early on, you are tracking Commissioner Gordon who has left bits of tobacco, other missions have you follow a trail of fingerprints. You can enter “Detective Mode” which allows you to these, as well as see enemies through walls, find structural defects, and find hidden/smaller objects. The tracking moments are pretty boring but it helps mix up the pace of the game, and is often used to guide you into new areas.
There are loads of Riddler trophies and Audio samples hidden around the Asylum. “Detective Mode” can often be useful for finding these, but its a good idea to keep your eye out for ventilation shafts which they are often hidden in. There's a lot of ventilation shafts, especially in the early part of the game. Luckily, Batman can move really fast through these, rather than being forced to crawl at a slow pace.
As you completes objectives, obtain collectibles and defeat enemies, you gain points which allow you to unlock abilities. There's some combat abilities, health upgrades, and abilities for your gadgets.
As you progress through the game, Batman acquires Batarang, Explosive Gel, Batclaw, Cryptographic sequencer (hacking device) and Line Launcher. These gadgets allow Batman to reach new areas, and some give extra combat options.
The game uses Auto saves so you never need to go trawling through menus to save your game; it's seamless. If you die, you don't have to go back far due to the checkpoints in each area.
The game looks slightly dated now (but still looks good), and plays really well. Usually superhero games are poor, but Rocksteady have done Batman fans a great service here. The gameplay is varied, and the cinematic approach makes Arkham Asylum feel a great place to explore.