Batman is pure fun from start to finish.
Batman Arkham Asylum is one of the few licensed super hero games that does justice to the hero it is representing. What makes it great? For starters, the game has a great story that fits perfectly with the batman world. Secondly, it has the great atmospheric music and voice talent from the Batman cartoon series (this means recognizable voices for the characters in the game and good delivery of script lines). Lastly, combat mechanic and implementation of all things batman (gadgets at your disposal) just feel rewarding all the way through.
The premise of the game is that joker allowed himself to be captured to take over Arkham Asylum from the inside. As you play along you learn rather quickly that Joker is not just taking over Arkham but that he has bigger plans in mind. You will have a plethora of trophies, documents, tapes, etc to provide character background and insight into the developing story.
The combat system and detective mode are what really shine in this game. It is nice to play a game that actually makes you feel that you are playing batman. The combat system is very simple to grasp and will have you doing 10-hit combos in no time. Yes, you will rely on the attack and counter buttons a lot while in combat. But you also get to marvel at the work and effort that surely went into choreographing every single punch, kick, counter, and throw. Even though the combat feels slightly automatic, it is such a treat that you’ll find yourself wanting to encounter more bad guys to stylishly pummel.
The detective mode assists you throughout the game and complements the combat system. With detective mode turned on you will see specific routes (provided by a scanned artifact in many occasions), alternative routes to explore, secret collectible, and enemy location (also, whether the enemies are carrying any fire arms). You’ll probably think that this will make the game too easy. Well, you are not that far, but you are not totally right either. With regards to combat, this means that you will always spot your enemies long before they ever spot you. But in the batman world, this is a rather important thing to capture and the detective mode truly assists you in planning out how to pick your enemies one by one or a pair at a time. Although detective mode allows you to see many of the collectibles, it doesn‘t let you see all. Some require you to pay attention to Riddler‘s clues.
Overall, you should pick up the game. The story mode is entertaining enough to make you want to revisit it numerous times. Also, there are challenge rooms with leader boards that add some more replay value. The only reason why you shouldn't get this game is if you have a personal dislike of batman.
Oh, I forgot to mention the graphics. Powered by unreal 3, the game certainly resembles many other games using that engine. However, the engine seems to do a service to Arkham Asylum’s gritty look. My only complaint about the engine in this game is how it does facial animation. Batman looks great but that is due to him wearing a mask Other characters, specifically the guards, just look odd (I don’t know if it’s the engine or the style but some of those guards have an odd stare)
