Batman Arkham Asylum review
Batman Arkham asylum is a real tribute to the Batman legacy, the game focuses on a more serious grittier Batman in keeping with the new movies, however the games able to carve its own identity with a confident take no crap Batman who's about as much of a psychopath as the villains he's chasing.To Put it simply you wont find Batman dancing in this game.
Arkham asylum starts of with Batman escorting a captured Joker to Arkham asylum where it becomes clear that its all just part the of the jokers devious plan, after escaping his chains he takes over the place and along side his super villain pals he begins to run the asylum. Its at this point that you take control of Batman and begin your chase of the Joker.
Right from the off Batman's controls can feel a little odd he may not feel quite as responsive as you may want at first and his default movement is walking, however it all clicks pretty quickly. The gameplay is broken up into exploration, fighting and stealth. The explorations really more like navigation as Batman AA is a very linear game with really the only incentive to go of the beaten track is to collect riddler trophys and solve his riddles. Traversing the world is made all the simpler with detective mode showing you everything from fingerprints to track people to weak spots in the wall to blow up to where the enemies are. The combat is seemingly simple with fantastic depth, for the most part all you need to be doing is either hitting your opponent or countering them however the way the combos build and the fluidity of the animations really gives the combat a rhythm and look (think the rooftop fight from the Matrix reloaded). The way the game handles stealth is perhaps its greatest achievement but also one of its most major flaws. While stealth in most games makes you feel weak in Batman it makes you feel strong and it makes you feel like Batman. The reason you need to use the stealth is pretty simple although Batman could beat up goons all day he is only human therefore when they have guns he's just as vulnerable as the rest of us (well nearly). Its in these section that you'll skulk around high up in some handedly placed gargoyles, here you will follow your enemies routes and decide whether you think its best to swoop down and attack an enemy or lure them near you and string them up. While your on the gargoyle your invisible to the enemies and whilst this works well the game does lean to heavily on using them.
Whilst Batman and the Joker are fantastic the star of the show is the asylum itself, it has a real atmosphere to it that you don't find in most games excluding Bioshock. While there is a fair amount of backtracking in the game its actually ok as the island is constantly changing, for example at one point in the game Poison Ivy infects the island and as a result big mean looking plants start appearing and blocking your routes. Your journey from A to B is made all the easier with Batman's gadgets including a device to destroy conduits to open doors, a batclaw to climb ledges and alot more. Some of these gadgets double up as weapons as well as explosive gel can be used to blow up walls but it can also be used as mines.
The Story mode takes you all over the island including a Batcave underneath the asylum proving just incase anybody wasn't assured Batman always has a plan. As well as contending with the jokers mind games you will also take on staple villains from the Batman universe like Bane and Poisen Ivy as well as some lesser known like Killer croc. However some of the most memorable parts of the game are the scarecrow sections with some crazy hallucinations and without spoiling it a section that actually had me looking for a third analogue stick on the controller.
The game also has plenty of unlockables and a fair few challenge maps that will really test your fighting and stealth abilities and add longevity to the game as you strife to get gold medals on all the maps. Even without these bonuses you get a good sizeable playtime with story mode taking you a good 10-12 hours to work your way through.
The presentation of Arkham Asylum is fantastic with big beefy character models and silky animations and the environments look great, Batman himself will degenerate through the story mode as his suit gets cuts and chinks on it that will remain untill the end also by the end of the game Batman has a nice little 5oclock shadow going which is a nice effect. The biggest problem with the graphics though is for a large part of the game your going to want to spend it in detective mode which really takes a shine of the presentation on the game as puts a colour filter on screen with character models being replaced with skeletons. The audio is also up to the mark with fantastic voice work the highlight being the brilliant Joker. The sound effects are also great with punches having a heavy contact feeling about them and good explosion sounds.
Batman Arkham asylum is one of the best action adventure games on the market i've barely scratched the surface of what this game has to offer like the scenes with all the villains if you die or the vast back story conveyed through audio logs. Put simply if your a Batman fan you need to play this game and even if you couldn't give a damn about Batman you still owe it to yourself to play this game.
Arkham asylum starts of with Batman escorting a captured Joker to Arkham asylum where it becomes clear that its all just part the of the jokers devious plan, after escaping his chains he takes over the place and along side his super villain pals he begins to run the asylum. Its at this point that you take control of Batman and begin your chase of the Joker.
Right from the off Batman's controls can feel a little odd he may not feel quite as responsive as you may want at first and his default movement is walking, however it all clicks pretty quickly. The gameplay is broken up into exploration, fighting and stealth. The explorations really more like navigation as Batman AA is a very linear game with really the only incentive to go of the beaten track is to collect riddler trophys and solve his riddles. Traversing the world is made all the simpler with detective mode showing you everything from fingerprints to track people to weak spots in the wall to blow up to where the enemies are. The combat is seemingly simple with fantastic depth, for the most part all you need to be doing is either hitting your opponent or countering them however the way the combos build and the fluidity of the animations really gives the combat a rhythm and look (think the rooftop fight from the Matrix reloaded). The way the game handles stealth is perhaps its greatest achievement but also one of its most major flaws. While stealth in most games makes you feel weak in Batman it makes you feel strong and it makes you feel like Batman. The reason you need to use the stealth is pretty simple although Batman could beat up goons all day he is only human therefore when they have guns he's just as vulnerable as the rest of us (well nearly). Its in these section that you'll skulk around high up in some handedly placed gargoyles, here you will follow your enemies routes and decide whether you think its best to swoop down and attack an enemy or lure them near you and string them up. While your on the gargoyle your invisible to the enemies and whilst this works well the game does lean to heavily on using them.
Whilst Batman and the Joker are fantastic the star of the show is the asylum itself, it has a real atmosphere to it that you don't find in most games excluding Bioshock. While there is a fair amount of backtracking in the game its actually ok as the island is constantly changing, for example at one point in the game Poison Ivy infects the island and as a result big mean looking plants start appearing and blocking your routes. Your journey from A to B is made all the easier with Batman's gadgets including a device to destroy conduits to open doors, a batclaw to climb ledges and alot more. Some of these gadgets double up as weapons as well as explosive gel can be used to blow up walls but it can also be used as mines.
The Story mode takes you all over the island including a Batcave underneath the asylum proving just incase anybody wasn't assured Batman always has a plan. As well as contending with the jokers mind games you will also take on staple villains from the Batman universe like Bane and Poisen Ivy as well as some lesser known like Killer croc. However some of the most memorable parts of the game are the scarecrow sections with some crazy hallucinations and without spoiling it a section that actually had me looking for a third analogue stick on the controller.
The game also has plenty of unlockables and a fair few challenge maps that will really test your fighting and stealth abilities and add longevity to the game as you strife to get gold medals on all the maps. Even without these bonuses you get a good sizeable playtime with story mode taking you a good 10-12 hours to work your way through.
The presentation of Arkham Asylum is fantastic with big beefy character models and silky animations and the environments look great, Batman himself will degenerate through the story mode as his suit gets cuts and chinks on it that will remain untill the end also by the end of the game Batman has a nice little 5oclock shadow going which is a nice effect. The biggest problem with the graphics though is for a large part of the game your going to want to spend it in detective mode which really takes a shine of the presentation on the game as puts a colour filter on screen with character models being replaced with skeletons. The audio is also up to the mark with fantastic voice work the highlight being the brilliant Joker. The sound effects are also great with punches having a heavy contact feeling about them and good explosion sounds.
Batman Arkham asylum is one of the best action adventure games on the market i've barely scratched the surface of what this game has to offer like the scenes with all the villains if you die or the vast back story conveyed through audio logs. Put simply if your a Batman fan you need to play this game and even if you couldn't give a damn about Batman you still owe it to yourself to play this game.
