Batman: Arkham Asylum puts you behind the cowl of the iconic Dark Knight, fighting his way through Arkham Asylum to stop the Joker from enacting a sinister plot that would have grave consequences for Gotham City.
I, unlike apparently 95% of this site, really like Christian Bale's batman, but I think that Kevin Conroy is better suited to this particular game, even if his acting is a bit stale.
@demonbear: Woa thanks for posting these, Demonbear. They are really awesome videos. It must be tough be a voice actor on some of these games when you really have to imagine your surrounding and the scenarios involved.
I haven't finished the game yet but so far I feel Conroy's voice acting has been solid - maybe not as good as his best moments on Batman: The Animated Series or Justice League - but good.
Although I like Bale's performance in Nolan's Batman reboot films, and his portrayal is far superior to Clooney, Kilmer, and Keaton, for me Conroy's Batman in Dini and Timm's DC Animated Universe is the definitive Batman.
I think part of it might be an age thing - I wonder what the ages are of the members of the giantbomb community who posted to this thread. Batman The Animated Series was a popular series during my childhood.
Part of it is Conroy's impressive range. HIs Batman could not only be a badass a la Bale's Batman but also display a great deal of vocal warmth or humor - an asset given DC Animated Universes target of both juvenile and adult audiences.
I think the art direction of Batman Arham Asylum and specifically the model for Batman syncs well with Conroy's voice. It was very jarring in Batman: Gotham Knight during the Field Test segment to hear Conroy's voice attached to a very lean, anime, almost androgynous character model. Rocksteady's character model for Batman is muscular, solid - really in the spirit of his potrayal in the comics - and really syncs well with Conroy acting.
P.S. I would say that I love Arleen Sorkin's Harley Quinn but that character model was way too extreme for Sorkin to reuse the same pitch and tone as the DC Animated Universe. I know Rocksteady was going for a grittier look but I would have preferred they either A) present the character similar to the comics/animated universe or B) found a voice actor that complimented the vision they were trying to achieve - oops sorry tangent there!
NIcely said. Kevin Conroy's voice is what I hear in my head when I read Batman comics. I hope this game will introduce many people to the Batman comics and graphic novel. By far Batman has the most beautifully written stories and the art style that goes along with it is unmatched. It's obvious that the OP has never read any of them or have seen the animated show, he actually wanted Bale's voice in it. "
You misunderstood me mate, I said I imagine his voice since I love the new Batman movies.
Side note - I'm in the middle of reading "Batman : The Long Halloween" and I grew up with the 90s animated show....
Now that I'm actually playing the game Conroy is decent, but he could've been better.
I just watched TDK last night. It felt like a joke. I stand behind my claims that Adam West pulls off Batman better than horsefaced cookie-monster Bale.
To be honest it kind of makes sense that he does that with his voice in the movies, you would think somebody would be like...hey you sound exactly like that super famous rich guy "Bruce Wayne".
" To be honest it kind of makes sense that he does that with his voice in the movies, you would think somebody would be like...hey you sound exactly like that super famous rich guy "Bruce Wayne". But Christian Bale does a fantastic Bruce Wayne. "
Christian Bale does do a good Bruce Wayne, but a bad batman
Not at all, I never even thought of Bale playing the role. Although I have nothing against Bale's portrayal of Batman, Kevin Conroy's voice just fits Batman perfectly in my opinion.
" It also doesn't help that whenever you have a conversation with other NPC's ingame, Batman looks like a lifeless robot that has no special conversation animations.
Greeting human. 10110011100010 "
Um...that's only because Batman isn't a pussy. Emotion is for pussies...and Bruce Wayne is a fucking pussy. Batman = not a pussy.
Conroy was fine in this.
Also, Bale? REALLY? I would prefer Keaton over Bale. At least I wouldn't have to wonder why Batman isn't carrying around an oxygen tank on his utility belt from all those years of menthol Kools.
Christian Bale as batman annoys the crap out of me. The Dark Knight was barely about Batman, which was good since we didn't have to watch Bale try too hard all the time.
NIcely said. Kevin Conroy's voice is what I hear in my head when I read Batman comics. I hope this game will introduce many people to the Batman comics and graphic novel. By far Batman has the most beautifully written stories and the art style that goes along with it is unmatched. It's obvious that the OP has never read any of them or have seen the animated show, he actually wanted Bale's voice in it. "
You misunderstood me mate, I said I imagine his voice since I love the new Batman movies. Side note - I'm in the middle of reading "Batman : The Long Halloween" and I grew up with the 90s animated show.... Now that I'm actually playing the game Conroy is decent, but he could've been better. "
I take it back the dude...I love the new Batman too but they could have made the voice slightly less raspier. I do understand why they did that voice though. btw if you are reading The Long Halloween then you'll be glad to know that the Holiday Killer is....LOL almost got you ;)
" As do I. Mark Hammel's joker is incredible, but Kevin Conroy's performance is.... well, poor. Then again maybe he was just learning the ropes and he will find his feet later on in the game. "
Kevin Conroy is the voice of batman in the 90's cartoon show, and by far the best voice of batman ever. Maybe you dont remember the show, or weren't around when it was on...
when I think of it when i get around to playing it, ill likely imagine bale but with Micheal Keatons voice...Or the voice actor from Batman the brave and the bold.
The fact that Batman/Bruce Wayne is a little stiff or sterile in his behaviour is due to the fact that he doesn't want to express his emotions, especially not towards the Joker. The Joker is constantly provoking him to show his feelings; either it'd be anger, disappointment, or better even, fear. And that's where the Scarecrow comes to play, to break Bats'/Bruce's spirit and ultimately try to drive him insane. I'm just saying that i loved Conroy's voice-over work on this - maybe not his best - but maybe(as some people here already stated) the script and/or director didn't allow him to go full force.
" As do I. Mark Hammel's joker is incredible, but Kevin Conroy's performance is.... well, poor. Then again maybe he was just learning the ropes and he will find his feet later on in the game. "
Kevin Conroy is the voice of batman in the 90's cartoon show, and by far the best voice of batman ever. Maybe you dont remember the show, or weren't around when it was on... "
Ugh. Someone else said this, and I replied nicely. Firstly, what you said was an opinion, and what I said was an opinion. They were contrasting opinions. There is no "Best" Batman, because there are some people who think it's Kilmer, Keaton or Bale. Your opinion is not the be-all and end-all. I love the animated series, and if you scroll down you'll see that I apologised for phrasing myself poorly, and that I meant that maybe the voice recording for video games was different than in the animated series. (I was proven correct with a video from ComicVine that someone posted, where he re-iterates what I said.)
" As do I. Mark Hammel's joker is incredible, but Kevin Conroy's performance is.... well, poor. Then again maybe he was just learning the ropes and he will find his feet later on in the game. "
Kevin Conroy is the voice of batman in the 90's cartoon show, and by far the best voice of batman ever. Maybe you dont remember the show, or weren't around when it was on... "
Ugh. Someone else said this, and I replied nicely. Firstly, what you said was an opinion, and what I said was an opinion. They were contrasting opinions. There is no "Best" Batman, because there are some people who think it's Kilmer, Keaton or Bale. Your opinion is not the be-all and end-all.I love the animated series, and if you scroll down you'll see that I apologised for phrasing myself poorly, and that I meant that maybe the voice recording for video games was different than in the animated series. (I was proven correct with a video from ComicVine that someone posted, where he re-iterates what I said.) "
@Hamz: Yeah, I thought Kevin Conroy did an amazing Batman. What the hell are you people talking about, how can anyone say that Kevin Conroy did a bad job...
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