Batman: Arkham Asylum Review

It’s been a long road for the fabled Dark Knight. With less than stellar movie releases (Tim Burton’s renditions are awesome) and mediocre games to go with them, Batman unfortunately was never really portrayed in his rightful glory as one of the iconic super heroes of DC comics. That all changed for the better when Christopher Nolan’s released Batman Begins in 2005. Once again Batman had a film that sparked the long dwindling minds of fans after countless disappointments. Then with the release of The Dark Knight, Nolan skyrocketed Batman into a new level of fame supported solely by the inclusion of Batman’s arch nemesis The Joker. Oscar worthy performance by the late Heath Ledger would have old fans and new running ramped for anything and everything Batman related. With all the disappointing games that had followed Batman, everyone had come to the conclusion that a phenomenal Batman game that could match the hype would never see the light of day. That changed when a relatively low key developer by the name of Rocksteady, set out to create a game worthy of Batman’s overwhelming success. Batman: Arkham Asylum released in August 2009 and was a welcoming shock to the gaming community. Although development was relatively quite, early screens and trailers gave gamers hope. Although disappointed in the past, I personally was a tad skeptical about it from the get go, although many had high hopes for the game to be a worthy installment in the Batman universe, and let me tell you….. it is.

Presentation:

First off I want to stress the fact that the developers felt that they needed to create a game that would hit home with the old school comic book theme of Batman, resisting the terrifying trend to adopt the new renditions the film had created. With that being said Batman: Arkham Asylum feels as if it was ripped right out of a comic book. Everything to Batman’s appearance, to the infamous Bat mobile, EVERYTHING is this game reeks of sheer originality to the origins that made Batman as popular as he is today. Fans of the comics, will be overjoyed to find out just how much research Rocksteady did to create an experience never before seen in a super hero video game. From the moment you see the initial loading screen Batman: Arkham Asylum will have you hooked. The black and white menus portray the gritty dark nature of the narrative and Gothic environment that surrounds the unforgiving story of Batman’s haunted past. Couple this with a story that feels like it was stolen directly from the creators themselves,and the appearance of the original cartoon series voice actors  Mark Hamill (The Joker) and Kevin Conroy (Batman), you get a game that will send you through a wild ride you never thought could come to life in a super hero video game. Without spoiling anything, a basic introduction to the story is that Batman has finally caught up with his nemesis The Joker and oddly enough has found it quite easy to detain the psychopath and escort him back to Gotham’s institution for the criminally insane, Arkham Asylum. Batman, wise to doubt the willingness of Jokers capture finds  himself trapped in another one of Jokers elaborate pranks in which he has broken loose and taken over the asylum, and of course its up to Batman to end the crazed clown’s sadistic games once in for all. Along the way, Rocksteady has littered the game with comic book lore and Easter Eggs for fans, such as finding the cells of infamous villains that Batman has long since locked away. You could literally spend hours hunting down The Riddler’s secrets, anything from hidden question mark trophies, to audio diaries of the villains admitted to the institution. All in all they build an incredible back story and make Arkham Asylum feel right at home in the Batman Universe. Of course comic book fans will find these inclusions more rewarding than others but like myself, not knowing the background behind these characters I felt that I had learned a lot about the deep and disturbing world that our hero finds himself in. All of these elements, superb voice acting, comic book worthy story, haunting soundtrack, huge background building and presentation of a AAA game, from the get go you can tell that Rocksteady did everything it could in creating a chilling and memorable package that fans of new and old could appreciate.

Graphics:

Using the Unreal engine, Rocksteady has easily created one of the best looking titles of 2009. Personally, I feel that graphics are one of most defining features in a game’s presentation. Now I am not saying that for a game to be good, it must also have graphics to compliment, more so I speak to the developers commitment to quality. Without bringing in to question past generation graphics, strictly looking at today’s industry I feel you can immediately tell the commitment to quality as a whole solely by the graphic quality in the game. Now of course their are huge exception to this rule, although generally most games that fail in the graphical department ultimately fail in story, game play and presentation. Of course this is a personal opinion and a trend that I have recently discovered in the past few years of this generation. Where was I going with that? Ah yes, Batman: Arkham Asylum immediately showcases its above standard visuals within the first five minutes of the game. Cinematics are beautifully rendered within the games engine and have a gritty, dark, yet detailed touch and truly adds to the stories narrative. Couple this top notch graphical component with oscar worthy voice acting and you find yourself so immersed in the game you’ll feel like your watching a film, something we don’t see too often. These cinematics transition into actual game play without a hitch and before you can pull yourself out of the jaw dropping visuals you find yourself surrounded by thugs waiting for a beat down. The game begins indoors, and these environments are disgustingly detailed to the finest degree. You will find yourself, explore every corner not only for the mind bending puzzles of finding the Riddler’s hidden secrets but also to take in all the visual goodies that RockSteady has implemented. From scattered papers on the floor, rusty dilapidated walls from years of decay,  to sadistic green paintings of haunting, yet comical Joker smiles just taunting you to press on. Not once did I find a random corner missing its own unique feel of detail. These aspects of art design and level creation are so tight nit that the environments look and feel like you expect them to look in a ancient, run down institution. Not to mention that the island comes to life with the hidden chronicles of the Amadeus Arkham, founder of the asylum and his chilling story of his lineage and his personal account of the unspeakable misery the island has produced. The art design and graphic qualities translate beautiful to the outdoors, the first time you step out to see the nightmarish island Batman’s been confined to you can’t but help to look down at its detailed and gritty architectural design. So beautifully done in fact that you won’t question that it was pulled out of a comic or some kind of artwork done by the creators that built the world from the ground up. You will be surprised to learn, as I was that in fact very little had been imagined for Arkham Asylum and that Rocksteady crafted it from the ground up, creating a island fitting of its horror.

Sound:

Sound holds a special place in my heart, it is component of a game capable of a level of immersion, similar to a movie score. Unfortunately I feel that it is often taken advantage of and some developers really dumb down the auditory aspect of a game. For me a strong sound effect library and music to complement the gameplay, setting and mood are absolutely essential to bringing the package together. Batman: Arkham Asylum  performs well here, highlighting tense fighting moments with the infamous Dark Knight Theme and cutting back during traversal areas focusing more on atmospheric sound effects to compliment the melancholy nature of the game.  Overall I would consider the musical performance adequate for the game’s moods throughout  varying parts. As far as sound effects go, Batman’s combat moves sounds realistic and effective, while gadget work are technical fitting of Wayne’s slew of unique weapons at his disposal. In comparison to most other games, Batman: Arkham Asylum sounds and music work are on key with an expectation of AAA quality. +1 for any of you with 5.1 surround sound, crank it up!

Gameplay:

Let’s be honest with each other. Most often gameplay is the aspect of most importance and superhero games are notorious of releasing along side a major feature film, and these games fall flat on their faces when it comes to coherent gameplay. For the benefit of  gamers everywhere and long disappointed fans, Batman: Arkham Asylum excels here, taking a new and in my personal opinion an innovation to a 3rd person combat system. It is apparent that gameplay was singlehandedly the most important aspect to RockSteady to nail from the get go, and they did it. The combat system in Batman: Arkham Asylum is fluid, satisfying, easy and yet difficult to master. Using a control scheme I have never seen before, you are able to make quick work of an entire room of baddies within a few seconds, and rightfully so your Batman! Basic buttons have Batman doing basic punch and kick moves but the game has an incredible amount of depth when it comes to mastering this combat system. As you probably assumed different combination work to perform stronger combos, but the skill comes in creating a combo chain of perfect hits, adding to a total multiplier. This multiplier is what enable you to perform specific attacks such as an unblockable grab, or throws. Now your probably say…..that doesn’t seem bad, its not! Although mastering the technique of keeping this “flow” of combat will take time to master. On top of trying not to get hit, you have the opportunity to dodge attack by hitting a button while a icon appears on a attacking goon, so dodging, jumping, cape stuns are essential to maintaining a constant combo, one hit from an enemy and your back to square one.  This “flow” combat is silky smooth to control, effectively bouncing back and forth between enemies, not to mention it looks bad ass, and coupled with a host of cape gliding attacks, hanging take downs, and technical  gadgets Batman is ready to wow you when it comes to sheer amount of havoc you will reek. With a farily lenghty run time, Batman: Arkham Asylum features a slew of unique boss fights from the iconic villains we have all learned to adore. I won’t go into incrediable detail, but the game takes a change of pace when Scarecrow fights arise, changing not only how you play but environmental changes occur throughout the game. Again these fights feel legit and never cheesy to the world in which Batman inhabits. Bane juice fueled boss battles, solid fighting, exploration, puzzles and platforming make Batman’s journey a varying trial testing all of Batman’s capabilities and yours as well. If I had to point out the single strongest aspect as a package, I feel that the combat and its changing of pace is what made the core mechanic of Arkham Asylum a successful superhero game. Take this point, and add to it strong graphical prowlness, incredible fitting music and story worthy of it’s own comic and you have a gaming dish served on a silver platter ready for you to take a dive at.

Lasting Appeal:

It it worth your $60? As far as I am concerned Batman: Arkham Asylum offers great replay value with harder difficulties and tons of Riddler secrets to find and collect. These are a joy to find because most can flesh out the world behind Arkham Island, and introduce characters and information you may have not known. Some puzzles are tricky and require some extra food for thought. With a lengthy quest and plenty of hidden goodies they game will require a good run of your time. Additionally, RockSteady has added a Challenge Room mode to which addition rooms are unlocked through the course of the game, or for finding an x amount of riddles. These modes include the predator mode in which Batman must find ways to take down the enemies in the level with special attributes. For instance, take down a thug with an exploding wall. Most of these require careful planing and timing and will have coming back to get a perfect rating on each room. Furthermore they also have combat specific room for you to hone your combat skills, and learn to make the most of the combo multipliers. Each room, increases in difficulty with varying enemies and eventually you against an insane amount of goons and mutated monsters all with the desire to crush  you into a pulp. All in all you will find yourself playing the challenge rooms, trying to master each move perfectly, or loading the main story back up to find each hidden riddle and audio dairy. Do yourself a favor and pick up, touted as the best superhero game ever made.

Verdict

Presentation: 10

Story and Presentation is pulled right of a comic book and work well to compliment other aspects of the game. Fundamentally bringing the package together expectionally well.

Graphics: 9.8

Unreal engine at it’s finest. Detailed, gritty, with beautiful cinematics that will have your mouth open for a majority of Batman’s adventure. Aside for a few graphical issues, such as clipping, nothing will hamper your experience enough to be noted.

Sound: 9.0

Sound effects are clean and effective, musical score works well in complementing the mood. Although not to a level that you will be singing it later when your doing homework, or washing your car.

Gameplay: 9.8

Supurb, innovative even. Strongest point is combat, and this is often not the case. The “flow” of combat is so effective you will find yourself amazed at what you are accomplishing on the screen and it looks totally badass.

Lasting Appeal: 9.5

There is alot here, story, challenge rooms, hidden riddles, and harder difficulties will keep you busy longer than most games of this genre. Unfortunatley you won’t be playing it for years like some games. Cough Modern Warfare Cough. Sorry getting over a head cold…

Buy it!

9.6

(note: I am currently working on a image for review scores, this text based system is temporary.)