Batman: Arkham Asylum Review

As you’re walking down the street you hear something rustling up above you. As you look up all you see is the crisp night sky but you still have this feeling of being watched. All of a sudden a fist connects with your face and a man dressed as a bat tells you “I’m the goddamn Batman and I want you to buy my new game.”

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Developer: Rocksteady Games
Platform: PS3 (reviewed)

The game opens with the Dark Knight bringing the Joker back to Arkham Asylum but the Joker seems a little too enthusiastic to be back home. Everything quickly falls apart as the Joker escapes into the asylum and takes it over with all of his goons shipped in from Blackgate prison and he releases all of the inmates. From there you’re only objective is to stop the Joker before his party starts and you have the entire island to explore freely. The story is a much darker tale than your regular Batman story and the environment helps this by it’s Gothic architecture which takes a drastic change later in the game that I won’t spoil. The characters also get a darker treatment with Killer Croc constantly talking about wanting to feast on the Batman, a joker the Riddler tells about dismembering a baby, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy’s new more seductive clothing attire, and to the Scarecrows memorable segments that delve into the Dark Knight’s mind.

The gameplay in the game is smooth and responsive. You’re either going to be placed in brawls with henchmen or be put into a room where you must silently take them all down. While in fights your options are an attack, counter, stun, and a jump which all work in 360 degrees. It’s all part of Rocksteady’s FreeFlow combat which allows Batman to attack in any direction which a point of the left stick. You can easily button mash your way through the game, but there’s a satisfying feeling when you master the techniques and manage to take out every enemy in a room with one fluid combo. There’s a combo meter that keeps a tally of each hit you land and adding bonuses to connecting your punches in a fluid motion. This is where the ‘mastering’ part of the FreeFlow combat comes in since if you simply mash buttons you’re not going to get very far, but if you take the time to get good at it you’ll see your combo meter reaching the 40 range and that truly is satisfying. Eventually later in the game new enemies will be thrown into the mix that will be wielding knives or stun rods and you’ll have to tackle these guys in different ways. Reach a certain amount in your multiplier and you’ll be allowed to use special moves that include picking up and tossing an enemy to performing an instant takedown in a brutal fashion.

Besides the brawls you will be put in there are also stealth moments in the game. This is where you get to truly feel like the Dark Knight and take down each enemy one by one as they slowly start to grow paranoid of your presence. Get them frightened enough and they will cower in your almighty presence, shoot at random shadows, and slowly start to go insane. There is a ton of freedom in how you want to tackle these rooms. There are gargoyles to grapple up to, vents to climb in, and floor gratings to hide in. You also have gadgets to play with that allow you to blow walls away with your explosive gels, pull a goon away with your grappling hook, and lure an enemy away from the group with the sonic batarang. My favorite would have to be the line launcher since sliding on a rope across the room and knocking an enemy or two off a catwalk is so satisfying. There are also silent takedowns you can perform by sneaking up on an enemy. Tying up an enemy to a gargoyle and watching his buddies crowd around him only to be startled when you cut him down with a batarang never gets old.

When you finish a combo you’ll be rewarded XP that, when filled up, will allow you to pick an upgrade to unlock that range from health upgrades, better armor, remote control batarangs, etc. XP is earned from completing a combo, taking out enemies in a stealthy manner, and finding the Riddler’s scattered trophies/audio logs/riddles.

While staying an asylum there must not be much to do since the Riddler decided to go and hide stuff all over the island for the hell of showing his superior intellect over Batman. Throughout the game are riddler trophies and hidden riddles to be found. There are 240 in all and some of these are actually quite clever. The main game can be completed in 10-12 hours depending on your skill level and tackling the riddles will net you another hour or two. Each room in the game has a riddle to be solved via scanning it while in detective mode(outside areas have more) and physical trophies that will unlock objects like character trophies or challenge modes. The Riddler’s little quips when you find each riddle are entertaining and go from sounding completely superior and mocking you for finding a riddle to complete shock and denial that you manage to find them as you find more. Adding to the riddles are audio logs you can find scattered around the island. There are 5 for each patient and help delve deeper into their twisted minds. It’s a nice touch that they allow you to listen to them while out of the menus, I like to think it gave the tapes more of a sinister touch listening to them while strolling around Arkham. Not all the villains in the bio page have audio logs to collect though, just the main villains.

Once you complete the game you could either have another go at it or try your luck at it’s challenge maps. There are 16 maps that are taken from main parts in the story like the library or intensive treatment. There are two different modes that each have their own leaderboards. There’s the FreeFlow mode which is a straight up brawl where it’s you against a group of thugs for a few rounds, and then there are the Predator stealth rooms. Each map also has a challenge for the die-hard enthusiasts. In the brawl rooms there are 3 awards given when you reach a certain amount of points that include bonuses for adding variations to your combos, performing a ground takedown, not getting hit, finishing everyone off with one fluid combo, etc. The Predator rooms give you three challenges that you need to do all in one round to get them all. These could range from blowing up 3 separate walls and knocking out a henchman at each one, performing a silent takedown on each enemy, to just running up and punching a guy. When I first heard of these maps I just thought they were a gimmick to add replay since they’re taken straight from the story, but after playing for a while I became addicted to getting higher on the leaderboards and showing my friends how better I am than them.

I’ve been waiting forever to talk about the audio in this game. I know every hardcore Batman fan became as giddy as a school girl when they heard they were bringing back the voice actors from the original animated show and it really makes the game sound so much better. I really must take a step forward and say how Mark Hamill really does add to the game’s atmosphere with just his voice. You can hear him constantly over the PA system as he ridicules you and his goons and I was surprised at how many different lines there were. Eventually they started to repeat themselves but it never got old. Each other villain and Batman himself sound just how you wanted them to sound as well. The only ones with the decent voice acting were the random guards but it’s not like you care about them since the characters you grew up with are the ones you’re going to savoring every moment with.

The Unreal Engine 3 really does shine in this game. Each environment looks fantastic and the characters themselves are well detailed and look great. I cannot stress the amount of attention Rocksteady did to the details in the game. I especially enjoyed Batman’s battle damage that appeared on his costume as the game progressed and if you pay attention he slowly begins to grow a stubble through the game.

Now you must be thinking by now “This game can’t get any better”, and that’s when I’d say “Oh but it does!”. Exclusively to the Playstation 3 are Joker challenge maps where you get to play as the fiendish villain himself. These aren’t just the same challenge maps with a Joker skin, the Joker plays completely differently from the Dark Knight and has his own little gadgets as well. You’re going to tackle the same maps in a completely different way when you play as the Joker since you don’t have all the fancy equipment you were spoiled with as Batman. These maps are much harder considering that Joker’s health is the same as the orginal health bar you started the story mode with so no matter how much health upgrades you purchase Joker’s health isn’t going to raise. Joker also only has 3 gadgets to play with. The first is his pair of x-ray specs that allow you to see through the walls just like Batman’s detective vision but you can’t move while wearing them. Remember those chattering teeth you found all over Arkham during your playthrough? Well now you get to use remote controlled exploding chattering teeth as Joker. Finally you’re given a gun that can kill anybody with a single shot but the catch is that you only get one bullet. These maps will challenge you since you’re limited to standing still to use your x-ray specs and you can no longer grapple away when you’re seen. This time you’re going to have to run away and hide the old fashioned way and completely rethink how you tackle the stealth challenges. In the brawl challenges Joker’s moves are completely changed from Batman’s. While Batman kicked and punched all the goons with ninja-like reflexes the Joker uses high kicks and bitch slaps to take the the guards including Gordon. While Batman jumped over enemies the Joker will do a brilliant leapfrog over them, and not to mention the Joker has added dialog during these segments which make the experience all the more satisfying. There’s nothing better than laying your pimp hand upon Gordon’s face. Oh yea, did I mention that it’s free?

The Final Word
This is the greatest comic book game ever made period. Rocksteady has managed to do what Batman fans have been waiting years for and make a Batman game that actually made you feel like the Dark Knight himself. The voice acting is simply superb, the gameplay itself is a blast, there are tons of riddles/audiotapes to find to keep you playing longer, and not to mention the challenge maps that will test your skills. If anything had any impact on my score of the game it would be that the AI could be a little better since you could be right next to them but they won’t notice you unless you are directly within eyesight, but that’s just a small flaw among a fantastic package. If you haven’t gotten this game yet you’re missing out on one of the most anticipated games of the year.

– MonsterVine Rating: 5 out of 5 – Excellent