I plead Insanity: Please Send Me To Arkham.
I won't spoil anything in this review so let's begin with the gameplay. The combat in the game is relatively simple to grasp; but extremely rewarding when you string together combos utilizing all your moves. Right when I began to feel comfortable with taking on Henchman, the game began to introduce new types of foes that stirred things up a bit.
For example, enemies wielding knives and stun batons cannot be attacked or countered, so you must tackle these enemies differently that just mashing the attack button. Throw in Lead Pipes that deal massive damage and disorientate you and lethal fire arms, and you'll find yourself moving to take out these targets first before they can attack you.
The stealth gameplay has it's ups and down. While it's satisfying to perform an inverted takedown on a unsuspecting foe or separating an inmate from his buddies so you can knock his lights out; you'll find yourself wondering why they can't see Batman whipping across the stage with his grapple or gliding across the room to deliver a kick.
Batman has a lot of tools, but when dealing with enemies you'll find yourself using one of the many variations of the batarang for the most part. My favorite variation was the multi-batarang, allowing me to throw three batarangs at once. However once you get the batclaw, you can deviously use it to pull guards off walkways which never gets old. Lastly there is the explosive tool that I only used on a handful of occasions; it is amusing when the game sets the scene so you can blow up walls behind unsuspecting henchman, but I did not rely on it.
Speaking of exploding walls, exploring Arkham Asylum is extremely rewarding. As you get more and more tools, you will gain access to many places previously inaccessible. Exploration will reward Audio Interviews with the inmates of the Asylum, and all of them are extremely interesting, even to casual Batman fans like myself. These interviews will further flesh out the psyche and backstory of the villains you encounter in case you aren't familiar with some of the lesser known villains.
I can't talk about exploration without mentioning the Riddler, who also is on the loose. The asylum is literally filled with trophies you must collect, some of which are hidden in plain sight, or in the most remote nooks and crannies of the island. Not only are their the trophies, but each location usually has a riddle you must solve. Riddles can be something as easy as spotting a landmark or object in a map, or only seen in detective mode.
Lastly, the story is your typical Batman Affair, but it comes to life through the voice acting. Hearing Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy take over their respective roles as The Joker and Batman respectively brings back old memories. Scarecrow really does turn out to be the intriguing villain, so I'll just leave it at that. My only comment again is that the conclusion feels a bit rushed, but it's overall a satisfying tale.
I still haven't done the game justice with this review. There are tons of details and aspects I haven't even touched upon, but I could probably write all day about Arkham Asylum, but I will not. Simply put: you need to play this game. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go play now.