Amazing combat and stealth mixed with engaging detective work. Its not just a Batman game, it a Batman simulator.
User Rating: 9 | Batman: Arkham Asylum X360
This game takes everything great about Batman and makes it playable and joy to keep coming back for more. The free-flow combat system is incredibly intuitive and makes fighting The Jokers goons different and fun every time you play it. There is never an instance where you fight a battle the same way twice and the variety of combos only adds to this truth. The stealth gameplay is excellent as well. Its challenging without being frustrating or cumbersome and its very satisfying to take down your foes without a sound. There are also a variety of options in this mode as well that make every stealth encounter fresh and invigorating. The visuals are georgeous and show off every fiber of Batman's costume and every scale of Killer Croc's body in vicious detail. The music is superb as is the sound effects in general. The voice acting from everyone is fantastic especially from Mark Hamill (The Joker) and Kevin Conroy (Batman) reprising their roles from The Batman Animated series that aired on FOX in the 90's. Their voices are incredible bookends that really make this game a treat. The drawbacks are few but important to note, the boss battles while fun actually are the same battle over and over again, except for Poison Ivy she is really the only true boss battle in the game aside from Bane. But the monstrous henchmen of the Joker function exactly like Bane. So you essentially fight Bane several times throughout the game and in multiple numbers but with a different skin. Even the final bout with The Joker is a bit lack luster. And even though you get to see the cells of various famous villains not getting to see them or fight them feels like a missed opportunity. A small nit picky thing about the camera is that its very close to your body when walking and could have been backed up just a tad so that the screen has a little room to breath and doesn't seem so claustrophobic. It doesn't get in the way of running, combat or gliding but it does feel a little tight when walking. These things aside the game is fantastic and should not be missed. 
