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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Action Developer: Rocksteady Studios Publisher: Eidos Interactive |
Batman has been an icon that has entered a variety of genres, from film, comics, television and videogames. This time around the
Dark Knight makes his way into “Batman: Arkham Asylum,” a third-person action game that has players taking on the role of Batman.
The game opens with Batman racing back to Arkham, Gotham's home for the criminally insane, with the Joker. The Clown Prince of
Crime broke out a few weeks earlier, but Batman was able to track him down and capture the villain. However, things are never what
they seem with the Joker, so after getting the maniacal clown back into the prison, a building stocked with hundreds of the Joker's
goons, Joker breaks free with the help of Harley Quinn, takes control of the penitentiary, and releases all the inmates. It is now up to
Batman to stop all of the inmates and ultimately capture the Joker, a tall order for any superhero.
Though this may sound like the typical Batman story, it is important to understand that this is a fairly adult title. Some of the people from
Batman: The Animated Series are back for their roles, including Mark Hamill as the Joker, Kevin Conroy as Batman and Arleen Sorkin is
Harley Quinn, but this isn’t the cartoon by any means. Harley is wearing a skimpy outfit showing a lot of skin, Poison Ivy has some
painted on clothing, and colorful language and murder can be found around every corner. Arkham is a dark and dingy place that had
every psychopath housed there run through the halls tearing the building apart.
Game play in the world of Arkham breaks down into three main portions: fist fighting, attacking from the shadows and exploration. As
players move from one room to the next chasing Harley or Commissioner Gordon’s kidnapper, players are going to run into a number
of bad guys. They will be found walking around or the Joker will spring a trap with a group of goons who are ready to kill.
Fist fighting in Arkham is pretty much the definition of an easy to learn but hard to master combat system. The game allows Batman to
move faster than his enemies and engage in 360 degree fighting. Players simply point the left stick towards the enemy and through
four buttons that are strike, reverse, jump and stun, players are able to stop the scum of Gotham. This isn’t a button mashing action,
but instead one that has a science to use effectively.
Throughout the game players will earn XP by taking out enemies from the shadows. While there are going to be times when players
will be ambushed by the Joker’s henchmen, there are also moments for players to become Invisible Predators. This is where players
can hide in the shadows or on gargoyles on the well, turn on detective mode to see all the enemies in the room, and begin to pick them
off one at a time. This requires more thought than simply running in with fists swinging.
The game allows players a lot of freedom on how to fight bad guys. Players can wait for an enemy to be alone, then glide and kick them
and take them out. However, Batman also has his handy utility belt full of gadgets that allow player to grapple enemies, use explosive
gels, and throw Batarangs and more. Players will enjoy all of the tools at their disposal to not only eliminate enemies, but to find hidden
areas in the game.
There are a large number of quests for players to work through and the driving force behind the quests are the 240 Riddler Challenges
in the game. Every once in a while the famous Edward Nigma talks to Batman through his earpiece about the room that Batman is
currently in and players will have to locate the answer to the riddle he offers, in the form of something related to the long history of
Batman, by using analysis tools. Along with the riddles, there are also trophies to find in the asylum, visual puzzles to solve in detective
mode and much more.
As if all of the story mode content of the game wasn’t enough to keep players busy, “Batman: Arkham Asylum” also gives players 16
challenge rooms to work through. Again, these are broken up into 360 degree fighting and Invisible Predator challenges, but more
pressure is added in the form of three medals for every event and online leader boards. For the fighting challenges, players will need to
pull of certain scores in order to walk away with one, two or three of the medals. Getting the highest honor of three awards means that
the players is able to chain together an incredible number of combos and eliminate everyone that stands in the way of the Dark Knight.
Eventually players will have a time limit placed on them to complete the fights. The Invisible Predator rounds offers players medals for
pulling off certain feats, such as knocking an enemy over a railing, blowing up a wall and taking out enemies or taking out all the
enemies without being seen. This is a mode that will keep even the hardest of hardcore gamers busy.
“Batman: Arkham Asylum” is a great comic book game that offers players an adult version of the story of the Dark Knight. It is filled with
a great storyline, has a lot of fun game play elements, amazing voice talents and feels like it belongs in the Batman franchise. Though
there are a few minor flaws in some cut scenes and AI, it doesn’t distract from the final game. Anyone that is a fan of the Batman
franchise will want to get their hands on this game as soon as possible.
Dark Knight makes his way into “Batman: Arkham Asylum,” a third-person action game that has players taking on the role of Batman.
The game opens with Batman racing back to Arkham, Gotham's home for the criminally insane, with the Joker. The Clown Prince of
Crime broke out a few weeks earlier, but Batman was able to track him down and capture the villain. However, things are never what
they seem with the Joker, so after getting the maniacal clown back into the prison, a building stocked with hundreds of the Joker's
goons, Joker breaks free with the help of Harley Quinn, takes control of the penitentiary, and releases all the inmates. It is now up to
Batman to stop all of the inmates and ultimately capture the Joker, a tall order for any superhero.
Though this may sound like the typical Batman story, it is important to understand that this is a fairly adult title. Some of the people from
Batman: The Animated Series are back for their roles, including Mark Hamill as the Joker, Kevin Conroy as Batman and Arleen Sorkin is
Harley Quinn, but this isn’t the cartoon by any means. Harley is wearing a skimpy outfit showing a lot of skin, Poison Ivy has some
painted on clothing, and colorful language and murder can be found around every corner. Arkham is a dark and dingy place that had
every psychopath housed there run through the halls tearing the building apart.
Game play in the world of Arkham breaks down into three main portions: fist fighting, attacking from the shadows and exploration. As
players move from one room to the next chasing Harley or Commissioner Gordon’s kidnapper, players are going to run into a number
of bad guys. They will be found walking around or the Joker will spring a trap with a group of goons who are ready to kill.
Fist fighting in Arkham is pretty much the definition of an easy to learn but hard to master combat system. The game allows Batman to
move faster than his enemies and engage in 360 degree fighting. Players simply point the left stick towards the enemy and through
four buttons that are strike, reverse, jump and stun, players are able to stop the scum of Gotham. This isn’t a button mashing action,
but instead one that has a science to use effectively.
Throughout the game players will earn XP by taking out enemies from the shadows. While there are going to be times when players
will be ambushed by the Joker’s henchmen, there are also moments for players to become Invisible Predators. This is where players
can hide in the shadows or on gargoyles on the well, turn on detective mode to see all the enemies in the room, and begin to pick them
off one at a time. This requires more thought than simply running in with fists swinging.
The game allows players a lot of freedom on how to fight bad guys. Players can wait for an enemy to be alone, then glide and kick them
and take them out. However, Batman also has his handy utility belt full of gadgets that allow player to grapple enemies, use explosive
gels, and throw Batarangs and more. Players will enjoy all of the tools at their disposal to not only eliminate enemies, but to find hidden
areas in the game.
There are a large number of quests for players to work through and the driving force behind the quests are the 240 Riddler Challenges
in the game. Every once in a while the famous Edward Nigma talks to Batman through his earpiece about the room that Batman is
currently in and players will have to locate the answer to the riddle he offers, in the form of something related to the long history of
Batman, by using analysis tools. Along with the riddles, there are also trophies to find in the asylum, visual puzzles to solve in detective
mode and much more.
As if all of the story mode content of the game wasn’t enough to keep players busy, “Batman: Arkham Asylum” also gives players 16
challenge rooms to work through. Again, these are broken up into 360 degree fighting and Invisible Predator challenges, but more
pressure is added in the form of three medals for every event and online leader boards. For the fighting challenges, players will need to
pull of certain scores in order to walk away with one, two or three of the medals. Getting the highest honor of three awards means that
the players is able to chain together an incredible number of combos and eliminate everyone that stands in the way of the Dark Knight.
Eventually players will have a time limit placed on them to complete the fights. The Invisible Predator rounds offers players medals for
pulling off certain feats, such as knocking an enemy over a railing, blowing up a wall and taking out enemies or taking out all the
enemies without being seen. This is a mode that will keep even the hardest of hardcore gamers busy.
“Batman: Arkham Asylum” is a great comic book game that offers players an adult version of the story of the Dark Knight. It is filled with
a great storyline, has a lot of fun game play elements, amazing voice talents and feels like it belongs in the Batman franchise. Though
there are a few minor flaws in some cut scenes and AI, it doesn’t distract from the final game. Anyone that is a fan of the Batman
franchise will want to get their hands on this game as soon as possible.
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