Don't get me wrong. this game is really fun and interesting. But what makes it GOTY material, why is everyone in love with it so much? It's great, but i can't seem to pick out what makes it so great?

It has Batman. 

It's the first Batman game in a long time to actually be good.  Plus it's just a really awesome game.

RIGHT FROM CAPTAIN OBVIOUS.

 
@TomA said:

"  this game is really fun and interesting.  "

It was a superhero game that was actually quite good.
 
Also any third person game with fighting brawling involved should follow the example Arkham Asylum set. It's damn near perfect.
 
Plus it's The Goddamn Batman.

Interactive storytelling with a constant flow of neat ideas, put together in a very polished and very well paced way, good visuals, sound, excellent voice acting, tight gameplay, incredible combat mechanics, good length + challenge modes, fine achievement design, nice and refreshingly optional fanservice, lots of collectables and the magical ability to make players say "I'm Batman!".
 

 

 

 
Fighting mechanics were the best of it's kind and the stealth was cool.  Story was great and so was the voice acting.

My reason is that ever since super hero games have been made, none have ever been truly great. Sure there are some decent ones like Spider-Man 2, but there's always something missing in those games. Batman: Arkham Asylum is the first super hero game I've played where I've felt like I was the hero. Most Batman games I've played have been nothing more than cheap, poorly-designed brawlers. But Arkham Asylum not only makes the combat incredibly fluid and fun, but it also is littered with puzzles that scratch that "World's Greatest Detective" itch. Basically, it's the first superhero game that people had high hopes for, and then exceeded those hopes immensely.

It has Batman, a good fighting system, good storytelling, decent graphics, good controls, just overall brilliant gameplay. 
 
It got a lot of praise because it was very polished and the first Batman game in a very long time to actually be good.

I agree. I enjoyed it but there was very little collusion between the different elements of the game and that left me finding the game getting tedious towards the end. If they could somehow wrap all the different elements together, it would be something amazing and it looks like they're doing that with Arkham City.

Lemme put it this way; if it had two more Batmans, it would be game of the decade.

I've never understood why people make threads like this. Are you expecting people to change your opinion of the game by explaining why they like it? If you didn't enjoy it, that's fine, there are plenty of other games that you might love. Sorry to sound like an ass :)

It's batman and he rules

 
it's 92% on gamerankings 
 
it's like a stealth action game 
 
getting all the riddlier's puzzle is fun 
 
graphics are quite good 
 
the combat system is deep 
 
it's written by paul dini who wrote the animated series 
 
it's voiced by mark hamill for the joker 
  

perfect controls
decent story
large amount of collectibles which you actually WANT to get

I wouldn't say GOTY material, but it's certainly not mediocre either.

I didn't think it was quite up to GOTY standards, although I did think it was fantastic.  I don't know that many outlets that gave it GOTY, and that it was so close between it and Uncharted 2 at Giant Bomb is probably due to the fact that there are only four dudes deciding on it here.

It was better then all the other games I played that year, therefore GOTY.

Combat felt similar to Assassin's Creed to me, and had the same problem: it's impossible to lose.  The combat mechanics were brilliant, but way better than the game ever required them to be.  A couple of the boss fights were kinda bad too.
 
Overall, I'd put it in the same category as Bioshock:  Brilliant world design and atmosphere, with solid (but not amazing) gameplay.

"  
@TomA said:

"  this game is really fun and interesting.  "

There you go. "

Well i absolutely loved it, i could have gone without those stupid ScareScrow sequences though. They were so bad lol

It's so good, you have to buy 3 copies. 
 

It's amazingly fun and well polished.

I didn't "get it" until I got to this part ( huge spoiler).
  
It's just a really well-made, creative, and fun game. My mind wasn't blown in quite the way I expected after hearing about it so much, but on reflection it's definitely one of the better games I've played this generation.

I played this game over Spring Break this year. It's been my favorite game I've played all year and the best game I've played since Bioshock. Enjoyed it way more than Mass Effect 2.

The atmosphere is really good. While I didn't think the combat was all that great (especially all the surprisingly lame boss fights), the amount of Batman-esque things you do along with that makes it one of the better games of last year. GOTY? Nope. I didn't think so.

Having read a huge number of Batman comics i can honestly say that this is the first time a game conveys almost the same feelings with some of the best  comics that include batman. Apart from that the fluent combat, the great voice acting and the incredible atmosphere make it a great game for gamers and batman fanboys alike and that makes it GOTY material.

played the demo, didn't find it that impressive.

The atmosphere of the game is amazing and the combat is really enjoyable
You feel like the Batman, and the collectibles are fun to get because they unlock a lot of interesting things
Also I love Batman and the Batman universe

" It has Batman.  "

Both great-looking and great-feeling combat, effectively atmospheric environments, plenty of Batman fanservice, very good voice acting and some very good stealth action.

"  
@TomA said:

"  this game is really fun and interesting.  "

There you go. "

was about to say. What makes you think its not? What game would you have chosen.

Only problem I had with the game was the boss-battles and the ending of the story, wich includes the last boss.  
 
Everything else: Fucking excellent. 

I don't understand it either actually 
It's a pretty good metroid clone that has an awful storyline, repeated scarecrow sections (ergh) and dodgy stealth sections. Gargoyles inside Arkham..really?
I did however like the riddler challenges and that they tried to include the 'detective' part of Batman that people tend to completely ignore. 
Also the nods to the villains and the voice work were superb, but otherwise it was just a solid game. 
Nowhere near as good as AC2, but thats just one man's opinion.

BATMAN
 
BATMAN
 
BATMAN

Fun encounter designs
Fun collectibles
Simple to use but difficult to master and addictive combat (challenge room leaderboards) 
Perfect pacing

If it wasn't for that stupid elevator shaft … I don't know how many times I went up and down there to get 100%.

" Lemme put it this way; if it had two more Batmans, it would be game of the decade. "

I'm one of the few people who still hasn't played the game yet.    :(
 
Also...
 

"

It's batman and he rules

 
it's 92% on gamerankings 
 
it's like a stealth action game 
 
getting all the riddlier's puzzle is fun 
 
graphics are quite good 
 
the combat system is deep 
 
it's written by paul dini who wrote the animated series 
 
it's voiced by mark hamill for the joker 
  

"

Its thoroughly competent in every respect, which is sadly a rare thing.

It looks and sounds fantastic, successfully portrays Batman in all his disturbed, violent glory, and is chock full of fan-service. 
 
I do think it's overrated, though. It could have been Game of the Year material if the beat 'em up parts were better (or nonexistent), the stealth segments were more numerous and challenging and the story was good, but as it is, it kind of falls short. It's good -- but not that good.