Arkham Asylum combines aspects from many different stealth action games, and makes one of the best to be released.
Superhero games are a common antic these days. Developers are always throwing them out freely, and usually, each one is just a stand alone beat-em up that usually turns out to be mediocre. This absolutely does not come into affect with Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is one of the better Hero games to come out in this generation of platforms, due to great gameplay, a good story, and memorable and fun characters. The game is just simply that good.
Batman: AA takes place, of course, on Arkham Asylum, whereas Batman has just taken The Joker to be locked up. While transporting the Joker to the lower areas of the Asylum, he escapes, and starts wreaking havoc all over Arkham Island. As Batman, it is your mission to stop Joker at all costs, and to save the day once again, but this may actually prove a problem, since Joker has teamed together some of the other bigger opponents Batman has come to face in the past, who each try their best to help the Joker take him down. The story is great here. The scripting is wonderful, the voice acting is top notch, especially from Mark Hamill's classic Joker. The atmosphere of Arkham Asylum is great, and truly sucked me in from the start, and felt like I was actually in the game. The only real problem is that there is some back tracking, and the areas can get repetitive, but since the Island looks and feels so realistic and well, there really isn't a problem with it at all. Although the length is rather somewhat short, ranging from 8-10 hours, there are still countless other things to do after the first play through.
As Batman, you are able to go into 'Detective Vision Mode'. Where you're able to see through walls to pinpoint the enemies' location, or to an area you're supposed to go through in order to progress farther. This mode didn't feel like a useless tacked on improvement to the game. Instead it fit in perfectly, and it actually helped balance out the game at times. One of the biggest highpoints in the game has to be the Stealth mechanics, as it combines elements from such games as Splinter Cell, Metal Gear Solid, and of course Batman and you truly feel like a great superhero with some stealth up his sleeve. Also as Batman, you of course have the ability to access an array of different gadgets and gizmos to your disposal. This does include the Batarang, Zip Line, Explosive Gel, and weapons to take down your foes. Batman can also use his Cape to fly down from ledges or cliffs, and lay an explosive kick down on his enemies. During the course of the adventure, you're able to gain experience by defeating foes or bosses, and then using that experience to level up one of the Bat's many abilities or weapons, etc. The only real problem was that there felt to be not as many weapons as there were upgrades. The Riddler is in the game, and during the course of the game, he sets up 240 riddles for you to solve, ranging from different styles. They really never get old to find, and nearly each one is unique. After completing a playthrough, or a separate part of the game, you have the ability to go back and replay a certain area or part in Challenge Mode. A mode that amps up the difficulty and times you to take out a certain amount of enemies in as little as time as possible. The replay value is great here, and will add on countless other hours while finding riddles and/or participating in Challenge Mode. Another few slight problems with the gameplay was that the enemies can get easy and a little repetitive, the fact you couldn't fight some of the other villains left me wanting more, and that the last boss battle was frankly, a little disappointing.
The graphics were amazing, and it's really easy to make out a lot of things from facial expressions, to clues hidden around the Island. The hand to hand combat is really coordinated well, and seems so realistic, along with the great graphics. The sound is good, from the footsteps of Batman, to the whimpering, and scared feelings of your enemies as they are picked off one by one. The controls are pretty simple to master, as one button may perform various options, whereas the fighting can only be used with one button if you don't count the take down moves as well. The game truly looks, sounds, and feels great.
The A.I. is wonderful, as the Joker's henchman will sometimes flank you if you're out in the open, gang up on you in bigger numbers while in hand to hand combat and they'll go and check on loud noises or disturbances in the night. The enemies feel realistic and harsh in the rest of this dark and dangerous Asylum.
Overall, Batman: Arkham Asylum is probably the best superhero game I have ever played. Developers have finally done a Batman game right, as it feels you are in the shoes of the Caped Crusader the entire way through. Although it is hunkered down by some repetitive areas, backtracking, and some easy gameplay, it shines with the amazing stealth mechanics, graphics, a breathtaking story and atmosphere, and very memorable characters. If you have yet to play this game, you are truly missing out on one of the better games to come out this year. A 9.5 out of 10.
-horrorboy