So I just won Batman:  Arkham Asylum.  This game is great.  Make no mistake about it.  In fact, it might be my favorite game of 2009 (and yes, I did play Uncharted 2).  Like anyone who has played this game has said before, this game seems to have captured what it feels like to be Batman.  Batman is a badass--and this game makes you feel like one.  From the moment you boot up the game, the music, sound and visuals all ring true towards the dark and gothic world of Batman. 
 
One of the best things about this game is the variety that it provides.  You never feel like you're doing the same thing over and over.  The scenarios change, as well the actions you're doing.  The interesting thing is that this game provides variety not from doing a whole bunch of mini-games or throw away scenes (how tempted do you think they were to add a Batmobile level?), but rather provided variety my varying the mission types and set-ups you face.  So in one part of the game, you'll fight 3-4 dudes directly, and then the next part you're silently taking out armed guards, and the next part you're fighting 10 dudes (some with knives).  While this may sound like the same thing over and over, the way the scenarios are set-up provides enough variety to keep things interesting and fun. 
 
Speaking of fun, the combat in this game is addicting.  The combat really boils down to hitting the "attack" button and sometimes hitting the "counter" button (with some minor variations later on).  This simple system initially turned me off in the demo, but after a few battles, it won me over.  I like that the combat is more "combo" based, and thus the challenge is not about if you're going to win the fight (of course you will, you're Batman).  The challenge is winning the fight in the most cool manner, with the longest combo.  This combat system is easy for people to understand, but has some real depth with a fun meta-game portion attached to it. 
 
The level design in this game is also, very well done.  People have mentioned in other descriptions of the game about how it's a 3-D "Metriod-vania" style game with backtracking.  I'm not really convinced it is that.  It's more of a Zelda game, where you do from dungeon to dungeon, but the items you get will allow to open up secrete items.  I think that Metriod games traditionally have a lot more backtracking and remembering how you saw some sort of superbomb door way in the beginning of the game than Batman does.  Batman really flows well and I never seem lost or had a question of what to do next (I suppose the use of that automap was key  in that regard!!!).   
 
Graphics were great, but the sound was even better.  I never got tired of the sound your bat grapple thing made when it was pulling you up.  The music was spot on with what one would expect from Batman.  And of course, the voice acting was fantastic.  It probably helps that I was a fan of the animated series back in the day, but even if I wasn't familiar with the old cartoon, the voice acting was still spot-on. 
 
Overall, at great experience.  The game always felt like you were getting something accomplished (by getting the Riddler challenges or natural progression of the game) and never felt like it was rushing me, or was too slow.  Interestingly, not that excited about Arkham 2--but that's probably because I just finished the first game.  Wish the game would come out a bit later though, to wet the old appetite.  

So I just won Batman:  Arkham Asylum.  This game is great.  Make no mistake about it.  In fact, it might be my favorite game of 2009 (and yes, I did play Uncharted 2).  Like anyone who has played this game has said before, this game seems to have captured what it feels like to be Batman.  Batman is a badass--and this game makes you feel like one.  From the moment you boot up the game, the music, sound and visuals all ring true towards the dark and gothic world of Batman. 
 
One of the best things about this game is the variety that it provides.  You never feel like you're doing the same thing over and over.  The scenarios change, as well the actions you're doing.  The interesting thing is that this game provides variety not from doing a whole bunch of mini-games or throw away scenes (how tempted do you think they were to add a Batmobile level?), but rather provided variety my varying the mission types and set-ups you face.  So in one part of the game, you'll fight 3-4 dudes directly, and then the next part you're silently taking out armed guards, and the next part you're fighting 10 dudes (some with knives).  While this may sound like the same thing over and over, the way the scenarios are set-up provides enough variety to keep things interesting and fun. 
 
Speaking of fun, the combat in this game is addicting.  The combat really boils down to hitting the "attack" button and sometimes hitting the "counter" button (with some minor variations later on).  This simple system initially turned me off in the demo, but after a few battles, it won me over.  I like that the combat is more "combo" based, and thus the challenge is not about if you're going to win the fight (of course you will, you're Batman).  The challenge is winning the fight in the most cool manner, with the longest combo.  This combat system is easy for people to understand, but has some real depth with a fun meta-game portion attached to it. 
 
The level design in this game is also, very well done.  People have mentioned in other descriptions of the game about how it's a 3-D "Metriod-vania" style game with backtracking.  I'm not really convinced it is that.  It's more of a Zelda game, where you do from dungeon to dungeon, but the items you get will allow to open up secrete items.  I think that Metriod games traditionally have a lot more backtracking and remembering how you saw some sort of superbomb door way in the beginning of the game than Batman does.  Batman really flows well and I never seem lost or had a question of what to do next (I suppose the use of that automap was key  in that regard!!!).   
 
Graphics were great, but the sound was even better.  I never got tired of the sound your bat grapple thing made when it was pulling you up.  The music was spot on with what one would expect from Batman.  And of course, the voice acting was fantastic.  It probably helps that I was a fan of the animated series back in the day, but even if I wasn't familiar with the old cartoon, the voice acting was still spot-on. 
 
Overall, at great experience.  The game always felt like you were getting something accomplished (by getting the Riddler challenges or natural progression of the game) and never felt like it was rushing me, or was too slow.  Interestingly, not that excited about Arkham 2--but that's probably because I just finished the first game.  Wish the game would come out a bit later though, to wet the old appetite.  

Definitely one of my favourite games of the year, if not all time. Hopefully the few problems in this game will be taken care of in the sequel!