The Batman Game Fans Have Been Waiting Years For.
Batman: Arkham Asylum for XBox 360
Batman and video games have had a bad relationship over the years. The simply titled "Batman" for the NES was the only exception in a long-list of lackluster Batman titles over a two decade span.
Then Eidos released Batman: Arkham Asylum. I have to admit, it took me a while to get around to playing this game just because of the stigma attached to previous Batman games in my mind. Simply put: I didn't believe the hype. So I was skeptical of this game from the get-go.
From the opening scene, I was immeadiatly caught off guard. The graphics and sound is top-notch. The whole part while Joker is being escorted through Arkham Asylum by Commissioner Gordon and Batman is awesome! I love that Kevin Conroy is Batman and Mark Hammil is The Joker (both the respective actors from the Animated Series, and yes it's that Mark Hammil). Who ever wrote the story, seriously understands Batman, and I mean the real Batman from the comics. The Dark Knight. Batman is an obsessed, stubborn, and skilled individual. And he's nearly as disturbed as the criminals he captures. This game captured that perfectly.
The gameplay held up just as well. At first, you're limited in your abilities as Batman. But as you progress you quickly begin acquiring your basic skills, making the game much more fun. Then as you get further, you get cooler and cooler gadgets to play with. The fighting mechanic isn't difficult to control, but is a bit difficult to really master. And that's perfect! There's also a very stealthy element to this game as you hide and attack from air-ducts, or descent down from above onto an unsuspecting thug below.
The point of this game is that The Joker has overtaken Arkham Asylum. He has full control of all systems in the massive facility, and controls the criminal element within it's cells. It's up to you, and you alone, as Batman to infiltrate the many areas and buildings through-out the island complex, take out the super-criminals that are loose, and ultimately stop the Joker and retake Arkham Asylum.
Many fan-favorites make appearances including Commissionor Gordon, Oracle (aka Barbara Gordon), Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc. Scarface, Bane, Poison Ivy, and others.
I do have one small complaint about the game, however, and this why it got a 9.0 instead of the 10 on my review. The event-oriented controls can be a bit annoying at times. There are certain movements and abilities Batman has that are all controlled by the same button, as to what it does depends on where you're standing or what's going on around you. Sometimes this can be annoying if you're intending to do one thing, and Batman does something else completely different. It's not bad enough of a problem to make the game unplayable by any means, but it can be annoying in certain spots.
Other than Halo 3 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion; this one of the most impressive titles for the 360 I have played to date. I definitely recommend picking this one up.
