Analysing Arkham
"The best game I've played all year" - Really? I played Arkham Asylum with, yes, i admit it, a bias. Previously I have disliked most superhero games with a passion. Superman Returns left me with a feeling of emptiness that, in all honestly, i've only felt once before. So yeah, my first play of Arkham Asylum was slightly prejudiced, I was expecting it to be another appalling way for Marvel to suck a few dollars out of an overblown franchise. And do you know what? - I was wrong. My previous quarrels with superhero games have generally fallen into three categories:
1 - Gameplay is either too easy or ridiculously hard (setting dependant), like a virtua tennis 2009 with fists and lasers.
2 - Combatwise there has never been a huge amount of variety, there was generally a load of bloodless fights against perhaps, robots, essentially the game is too kiddy.
3 - Storylines were either too close to comic book portrayals (basically a movie tie-in, but without the good movie) or too far away, with the plot not making any sense whatsoever with only a tenuous link to the originals.
But this game was just fantastic. The storyline was new and exciting, but still had undertones of the traditional comic feel. Batman falls into a trap at the hands of the Joker, with extra villains thrown in for good measure. And the combat, don't get me started on it. Being able to savagely punch bald cronies in the face whilst still having the gaming integrity of difficulty to be able to die at the hands of a single bullet! Yes, a superhero defeated by one piece of metal, I tell you no lies. Is combat effective in this game, in comparison to say, spiderman or superman? In response, I have one word : Batarang, or, I correct myself, with the fantastic upgrade system, Remote control batarang! And this is, in all honesty, a beautiful game. Nothing amazing in comparison to say, FarCry or Killzone (PS3), but graphically I never found myself frustrated, no texture popping or anything. This has the amazing combination of great combat gameplay, but not too much of it to be repetitive, and it also has the ability to give puzzles, running in all guns blazing so to speak (despite the fact that the only gun Batman gets in this is the explosive gel gun), some scenarios require a more pensieve, prepared mind to complete. But this game isn't completely without it's flaws. I found myself occasionally frustrated with, for example, Joker gas. Some kind of gaseous equivalent to kryptonite, but the moments with that were few and far between. And the ending, well, I won't spoil it for you. Overall, a fantastic 9.5/10 - a great game to be playing until further developments are made. - Looking forward to Borderlands.
