An array of combat opportunities and notorious villains make this comic-book-inspired adventure a must-play masterpiece!
Contains: Strong Violence, Moderate Horror and Sustained Threat
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Batman: Arkham Asylum is Eidos' comic book-inspired, fantasy action adventure stealth title that follows the caped crusader as he takes on the Joker and other supervillains in the titular madhouse.
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STORY - 5/5
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During a lengthy opening cutscene, Batman has just foiled The Joker's latest random attack at the Mayor's office, and is escorting his greatest nemesis via the Batmobile to Arkham Asylum, the fictional psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Gotham where many of Batman's other villains have been incarcerated, aswell as members of Joker's gang who have temporarily been imprisoned there. And sooner enough it's proved to be anything but a coincidence, as while Batman is accompanying The Joker to his cell, the asylum's security is overridden by Harley Quinn, and Joker subsequently escapes as Batman desperately tries to prevent him from getting away but without success. Batman quickly realises that these events and his arch enemy's easy capture were all part of the Joker's elaborate scheme he just instigated, and Joker makes it instantly clear who's in control of the asylum, and threatens to detonate bombs scattered around Gotham City should anyone attempt to enter Arkham, forcing Batman to work alone with the exception of communication assistance and guidance through Arkham from Oracle (formerly Batgirl). Batman investigates and comes to learn that the Joker is trying to create an army of Bane-like monsters to threaten Gotham City, and is forced to put a stop to the Joker's plans once and for all. The inmates of Arkham have been set free - and it's up to the Dark Knight to bring order to the chaos and take back the asylum. Descend into the core of the criminally insane as The Joker launches his most diabolical plot ever, and explore the depths of this never-before-seen island as you experience the darkest journey of Batman's life.
Gotham City's institute for the criminally insane is the ideal setting for this superhero action adventure, and the fantastic script by veteran Batman writer Paul Dini is compressed into the tightly crafted plot that is just flowing with entertainment, and composes of many confrontations between comic book hero Batman and his arch nemesis The Joker, and the memorable dialogue mix of Batman's seriousness and The Joker's crazy, murderous humour, matched by the terrific voice work from the talents of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, make for a memorable experience. Can even Batman survive a night locked up with all of Gotham's freaks and madmen?
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CHARACTERS - 5/5
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It's going to be a long night. Batman returns the crazed Joker to Arkham Asylum, but he has a plan, and escape is only the beginning. An insanely homicidal super-villain, the Joker's white skin, green hair, and blood-red lips belie the chaotic nature underlying his cartoonish appearance, and despite no super powers, the self-styled Clown Prince of Crime must be taken seriously even when his dialogue and behaviour often seem too comical to do so. Joker desires anarchy and violent mischief, and frequently concocts elaborate schemes, and is formidable when in control of a situation as he is in Arkham Asylum (basically Gotham City's version of Alcatraz). By the time the sun rises over Gotham he will have turned Arkham island into his twisted playground, and broken the Dark Knight himself. But Bruce Wayne's alter ego will never give up or surrender, and he'll make sure, no matter what it takes, that justice is served. Batman is constantly composed and his genius-level intelligence and mental peak never falter for a second, nor does his concentration levels, which is what makes him the expert superhero detective that he is, never showing alarm when all seems lost.
Batman and Joker head the cast, but they are supported just as well by other stars of the DC animated universe, and supervillains such as Bane, Scarecrow, Killer Croc and others, are woven into the unfolding events within Joker's scheme admirably along with the good guys (though much less of them, but still impactful).
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GAMEPLAY - 5/5
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The two major aspects of gameplay are hand-to-hand combat, and stealth sequences. Batman is an expert in most known forms of martial arts and so facing a multitude of psychotic inmates and halting their attempts to subdue you with your bare hands accompanied by an arsenal of gadgets is constantly entertaining and never repetitive despite the simple combat rules of attack. The innovative FreeFlowing combat system strings together basic attacks with a continuous tap of a single button, and you'll constantly be rewarded with varying moves, combinations and brutal takedowns that accurately exhibit Batman's array of abilities while producing conflicts that never end in death, but merely unconsciousness for the foes trying to prevent your progression. Arkham Asylum isn't a violent game, but the action is still strong in nature, and makes Batman's intentions purposeful as he strives solely to engage them without ending lives, but just to make a clear point that he shouldn't be challenged, and those rebellious (or stupid) enough to do so, will wake up with a severe headache for their mistake and inability to confront him posing a real threat. The enemies that appear more threatening and come equipped with a blunt instrument or sharp object taken from the surrounding can be easily detained through careful observation while engaging in a fight with the lesser equipped enemies, and an icon appears above the opponent who is about to attack - a visual cue that gives you the chance to disarm them with a counterattack or perform a cape stun to allow you to get in close and deal the appropriate damage to put them out of action indefinitely. The combat is stylish and satisfying, and a number of powerful attack animations that get displayed to you the more your combo goes up makes keeping your combo going a primary goal to set yourself, as this nets you more experience points for upgrades later on that are relevant to the hand-to-hand sequences aswell as other aspects of the game to make Batman even more formidable in gameplay.
The stealth-encouraged sequences change the pacing of the game and add another layer to the gameplay, featuring endless moments that resemble a separate part to Bruce Wayne's alter ego as he goes about silently and efficiently at dispatching vulnerable adversaries by using bat-like traits to disguise his position and enforcing his "Predator" style of attack. You resort to stealth when enemies aren't easy to approach with fists, mainly because they are equipped with firearms that deal incredible amounts of damage to you, but also because they traipse around the environment in groups that would be more of a challenge for Batman to deal with. Surreptitiously grappling on to gargoyles, hiding in air vents, and distracting opponents to reach your objective is one of the best aspects of the game, and there are so many options placed around that encourage thought process and creativity to take down each enemy that it's enjoyable to prolong that gameplay section for as long as you want until you are satisfied with your victory over a handful of unlucky criminals placed solely to be embarrassed by Batman's cutting edge technology, environmental knowledge and analysis, aswell as his cunning mind that balances out the outnumbered odds stacked deliberately against him. Patiently waiting in the shadows for the correct moment is what entices you to think cleverly and be imaginative with each attack, and causing a distraction in one area to lure away many enemies, and then preying on a foe who initially stands his ground with either a glide kick from distance (expanding your cape to descend) or an up-close silent takedown is extremely fun. Stalking enemies from a safe position while using the decisive, x-ray like, detective vision mode that shows enemies skeletons, highlights their weapon, their threat level and monitors their vitals/condition is a masterful implementation that makes taking control of Batman even more awesome. And with this ability to literally see opponents through walls, you can have endless amounts of fun at splitting up a pack of foes while tracking them around an area until you deem it necessary to act upon and handle the inmates one-by-one while the others are oblivious to your actions despite your proximity. If you are spotted, evading enemy fire reduces damage, while your priority stands to break the line of sight and become invisible to the untrained eye again. Whether by swinging from the gargoyles up high, or seeking refuge in the floor ventilation down low, you'll regret your mistake and make yourself even more efficient the next time you make an appearance in the artificial light that surrounds the moderately-scaled environment. Methodically and tactically eliminating foes without being seen is very satisfying, and will be undoubtedly what you'll want to strive for in each stealth-orientated scenario when a hands-on approach is deemed suicidal.
Being able to take control of the Dark Knight, you'll be able use a uniquely beneficial detective tool called Detective mode (mentioned above aswell). Detective mode is literally an advanced perspective of what you are already seeing normally, and grants sharper analysis of the surroundings of what the normal eyes can evaluate. Gargoyles provide tactical vantage points to survey your surroundings, and detective mode locates objects like these for interactivity within the area, so you can spot them highlighted against the unimportant background. Aswell as scouting out vantage points for stealthy evasion and tactical techniques, detective mode is a key part of finding clues for Batman to locate people he intends to find on a story-related objective. Once he identifies something relevant, whether a sample of alcohol in the atmosphere or a fingerprint marking a surface only visible when utilising the advanced technology he's able to access, Batman can then follow the evidence trail to get closer to his goal, and it's presentation is amazing. As an expert escape artist, no room is inescapable for the Dark Knight, and by using the flawless detective mode that can be used at any time you see fit, bolted vents and other accessible parts of the environment can be your route out of a previously perilous-looking situation, and the grapple gun you have at all time allows you to ascend short heights to aid your actions. The detective vision mode is a glimpse of the caped crusader you never knew existed, and augments the way you perceive Batman as you understand just how advanced his detective skills, tactical awareness and silent attacking methods are, and just how much of a disadvantage it is for anyone who opposes him and his mission.
As Batman, you can expect to get to handle plenty of high-tech weaponry and gadgets engineered from 'WayneTech' that each serve in combat and for navigating the environment in some advantageous form to progress, or to deal justice. Being the masked vigilante and slowly unveiling new gadgets is a great way to add new experimentation options within the hand-to-hand combat and the stealth, and these fantasy-like objects that Batman carries around will escort him successfully through barriers of enemies and obstacles. You'll become accustomed very quickly with Batarangs, which can knock over and momentarily daze an enemy, aswell as explosive gel and a Batclaw which will aid in stealth whenever an option is available such as, for example, a fragile wall that is structured to cave in with the right dosage of fluid (eliminating any foes within range) or an inaccessible vent that can be pulled from it's secure placement with a strong pull to allow for further possibilities to traverse the surroundings and complicate the thugs predicament even farther while you watch on from safety (and almost certain invisibility). The experience points you earn in combat by defeating enemies (marginally more for any no damage bonuses or extended combos) will not only replenish your health at the end of a fight, but give you flexibility when selecting an upgrade of your choice when you've gained enough (you'll be slickly notified when you are able to purchase an upgrade). Points are also gained by solving riddles, and other tasks, and there is enough to be earned in a single playthrough so you can see the benefits of each upgrade. From making your suit more resilient to damage, to granting you more batarangs to launch at once to immobilise multiple targets, and then even to sonic devices for distraction purposes, or powerful, instant knockout moves to be performed during a high combo streak, there is enough options to please just about anyone who is honoured to be in Batman's position and privileged to access his ingenious skills and revolutionary gadget range.
Not long into the story, you are introduced to Edward Nigma, aka The Riddler, whose obsessive-compulsive need for attention and determination to be the most outlandish of Gotham City's criminals presents himself over Batman's communication device with a message about, what else, riddles. He's left lots of riddles over the island for you to find and solve using environmental analysis and visor scanning, and thus announces how this time, he will finally outwit Batman as he has intended for so long in dedicating a mystery the Dark Knight will not be able to unravel and solve. These riddles are more I-spy puzzles and object collecting tasks than anything else and aren't exactly difficult, but they are extremely fun to participate in, and prove rewarding for a brief detour of your time as you search the destination of the riddle looking to scan and store the solved challenges while listening to the voice of The Riddler as he comments every so often, sometimes to gloat about how Batman isn't as good as him, or later on after solving a good percentage, becoming more and more accusative of how you must be cheating, and cursing how you found a deviously hidden riddle he didn't think you'd find.
Strange writings and symbols that can be found around Arkham must have been left for a reason, and by using the environment analysis tool to decipher these cryptic symbols, you'll piece together an interesting back-story to Arkham Asylum that will bring you one step closer to completing the game to 100%. Also being part of the Riddler challenges, they are considered impossible to decrypt because of The Riddler's inability to do so. Scattered around are various tape recordings of patient interviews (which count towards Riddler challenges) which provide psychological insight about the various Arkham inmates or, more specifically, the notorious villains of Gotham City, giving astounding background knowledge for those unfamiliar with the Batman universe and the comic books. Just as informative are the unlockable character bios which detail the story (in brief), fact file and attributes of each of the villains and characters known in the Batman universe (even though a lot make no appearances, but just nice references to them in some way). Some of these monstrous villains do provide some memorable gameplay moments however and, to mention a couple, the game will include terrifying hallucinating nightmares caused by Scarecrow's fear-inducing toxin where you are plunged and become briefly trapped in his creepy realm while being tormented by the gases horrifying effects, and a section in which you have to venture into Killer Croc's lair to complete an objective-related task while being as quiet as possible as you await the inevitable, jumpy appearances of the tyrannical beast from the murky water underneath the unstable platforms you are forced to traverse.
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GRAPHICS - 5/5
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Batman: Arkham Asylum is a breathtaking-looking game that is stunningly detailed with admirable art design that captures the correct look you'd expect from a Batman game set on a fictional island outside of Gotham City. The colours used to decorate this location are nigh on perfect, and offer a dark outlook on a respectably gloomy locale situated to hold in all kinds of fiends with power-hungry greed infesting their minds. But it's the mesmerising attention to detail that ultimately compels you to explore each corner and every building of the island further, and there is nothing visibly or technically wrong with Batman: Arkham Asylum, since it conveys all the necessary imagery and is completely amazing to look at in every way.
Detective mode shows you a completely different outlook to the locations you step foot in, bringing up certain background elements oblivious to the naked eye while providing information detailing what something is and what it does. In this mode, most of the game world is rendered in darker colours, but objects of interest and people are highlighted, including limited x-ray ability to detect the location of guards, armed and unarmed. Special objects with which Batman can interact, either directly or using various gadgets gained over the course of the game, are also highlighted. In some sections of the game, the detective mode is augmented to detect compounds, fingerprints, and other clues, which are used to direct you to the next location to explore, and the presentation of everything from the minor aspects (upgrade available notification), to the entire transition going from normal view to detective vision mode freely is just plain awesome.
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SOUND - 5/5
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Voice acting throughout this action adventure is great across the board, but Mark Hamill's cheerfully deranged portrayal of The Joker is perhaps the main talking point when you mention classic villains and voice acting in the Batman universe, and his voice is now my preconceived notion of how the Joker should sound. Joker is in some ways, and ironically, the flipside of Batman - Batman's grim, Joker's happy. But Joker's personal hatred towards Batman still shows with his murderous, psychotic behaviour, while Kevin Conroy lends his voice talent perfectly yet again to portray the determined Dark Knight, and when both superhero and supervillain engage in conversation on the opposite sides of the good/bad spectrum, their speech is memorable and entertaining.
The sound design is a varying mix that depicts the dark fantasy universe of Batman with wide acclaim, and it's impressive and immersive to back up the terrific sound effects and underlying horror element that is slyly hiding in the background, waiting to inflict moderate amounts of unease when monstrous events occur.
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CONTROLS - 5/5
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Batman's cape effortlessly sways as you sprint just like you effortlessly catapult yourself with the grappling hook out of danger or to infiltrate a blocked area. Played from the third-person, over-the-shoulder perspective, movement is quite simply sublime, and Batman's repertoire of brilliantly animated moves proves that defining, descriptive word just as easily as you can evaluate the controls being without a shadow of a doubt - flawless, a word which resonates powerfully around the entire game in every plausible, well executed way.
Combat, for example, is based around the simple fundamental of utilising just a couple of buttons on your controller, which when pressed continuously through timing, can unleash lots more moves than you initially would predict from such an easy principle to start with. Stringing together long combos is challenging but rewarding, and requires awareness, timing and skill in order to achieve greatly boosted experience points, and just simply pressing square for attack and triangle for counterattack shows just how uncomplicated action needs to be in order to be a remarkable, instant success and to have a sustained impact even after you've solved all 240 riddles.
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ATMOSPHERE - 5/5
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The Joker constantly is inputting hysterical lines, amusing jokes and a word of caution to whoever can hear him over the tannoy, spreading his word around the asylum, and giving you something to grin about as you traverse the islands surface or one of many hostile buildings. This creates an atmosphere that eases off the strong, sustained threat you are faced with, and you'll no doubt come to love the villainous Joker, even though his cruel actions and intentions to entrap Batman and implore you to do the opposite. Nevertheless, the atmosphere on Arkham Asylum is thick and immersive, with a tremendous helping hand from the art designers to capture the feel you want from a fictional fantasy prison setting where all the mayhem is unfolding, and of course, an honourable nod in the direction of the sound designers, who instigate volume to the right degree when they see fit during some of the more up-tempo sections like boss fights outside of quiet exploration that filters ambience out of the scenery to the right effect.
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ENEMY AI - 5/5
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The thuggish enemies are memorable to watch at times, most notably during the stealth sections in which their mental condition deteriorates each time an inmate buddy of theirs is mysteriously erased from the equation, and they show more signs of nervousness the more times you silently take out one of the group. They'll become terrified when left single-handedly to deal with you where the others failed, and will react with fear at all kinds of noises, shooting wildly, and constantly looking over their shoulder, hiding around corners and showing you just how doubtful they are at succeeding while at the same time making you more confident as you find a creative way to end his suffering you've caused through clever disguise on the rest. When in mass, they'll engage in speech with each other, some random dialogue that just relates to the psychotic nature of these deranged inmates, but other times speak in a way that reflects your stealthy actions and showing their increasing fear and decreasing authority on handling the situation, while on occasions The Joker himself even taunts his minions, and puts their confidence even lower while laughing manically as he awaits the inevitable demise of yet another unworthy individual who's merely a pawn in his grand scheme. They talk tough at first, letting you know how they will be famous for killing you, but this soon changes… you'll make sure of that. They glance around randomly to discourage you from sneaking up from behind, travel in pairs back-to-back, and constantly maintain contact with each other to ensure a measure of control over the dilemma sprung by the supervillain at the centre of it all. It's so good to watch their movements, and if you take one of them out, they'll converge on the place you were last, while alerting the rest when finding their fellow inmate that they are indeed a man down. As you aim to stay out of sight and relocate back to a gargoyle (that conveniently surrounds the room in most stealth sections), you'll relish in the foolishness of some enemies at the same time as admiring the response and animations that they all show capably well at making you feel like an invincible superhero.
They are good during hand-to-hand sequences aswell, and surround you on all sides showing, at least, some kind of tactical awareness. They'll not attack all at once, but they'll also keep things from becoming too easy for you by attacking at random. This won't be a problem for Batman as he knows exactly where each opponent is, and exactly when they'll strike. Thugs also search for weapons in the environment to give them a better fighting chance, and will take pipes from the walls and even look to throw objects in the vicinity to put you off balance and cause a momentary lapse in concentration as you recover. If you defeat an enemy who was utilising a tool of some kind, other foes will look to retrieve it again, and overall the enemies may just be a bunch of violent criminals with little sense, but they have a host of excellent animations and responses that keep you on your toes to observe carefully.
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LENGTH - 5/5
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The game world, though presented in a linear path, allows for exploration at any time and recently-acquired gadgets can often be used to access areas that were previously inaccessible, and so this keeps you immersed to finding out how to gain access to that currently forbidden area, and anticipating the result of solving every riddle in and around Arkham Asylum and proving yourself the world's greatest detective. There isn't levels as such during story mode, and the events are wonderfully linked together in a way that keeps you moving and exploring, and from start to finish you can expect to get 15-20 hours worth of amazing gameplay out of Arkham Asylum.
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REPLAY VALUE - 5/5
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After you've completed the game, you'll be given the chance to revisit any area of the island, including all accessible buildings, sewers, and cave systems featured throughout the game at some point. This will be required to solve all 240 riddles, some of which weren't able to be completed at certain stages because of the missing upgrade or piece of special equipment needed to reach or attain it. And you'll be sorry to finally see the experience come to an end and the credits roll on the screen, since even after unlocking character trophies and side challenges from solving puzzles, you'll want to go back through again because it was that good. You don't have to be a fan of Batman or have any knowledge relevant to the comic book or animated universe to enjoy this amazing third-person, fantasy action adventure stealth game. An awesome selection of gadgets at your disposal is just the start of experiencing the cutting edge technology and intelligence of the superhero vigilante, and Arkham Asylum incorporates and blends magnificently Batman's hand-to-hand combat prowess with a wide repertoire of moves and takedowns, his outstanding detective skills, and his tactical qualities for effective stealth and espionage to avoid detection. Isolating inmates and then taking out them out silently so you don't attract attention is a highlight of this action adventure, while being a formidable crime scene investigator and expert hacker and problem solver just adds authenticity to the comic book character you'll now get to finally control, and the notorious villains, supreme art design and terrific voice acting add up together and make Batman: Arkham Asylum a true, must-play masterpiece.
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OVERALL SUMMARY - 9.5/10
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Good Points: Fantastic stealth sequences filled with creative options, Diverse boss fights against notorious supervillains, Terrific voice acting all round, The Joker is a hysterically crazy and cruel villain memorably voiced by Mark Hamill, Very entertaining story with an equally snappy script that includes plenty of humour, Uniformly impressive audio and visual presentation, Superbly detailed and varied art design brings the fictional setting of Arkham Asylum to life, FreeFlowing hand-to-hand combat system is simple yet immensely satisfying, Get to experience Batman's masterful detective techniques and utilise his vast arsenal of specialized gadgets, Enemy responses are exceptionally good, Many worthwhile collectables plus 240 riddles to solve at your leisure, Controls and movement are impeccable.
Bad Points: Very brief and infrequent slow-texture loading.