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Batman has had a number of successes across various mediums. He’s had well-received animated series, critically acclaimed films and that’s not to mention the number of legendary comic books and graphic novels he’s starred in. However, The Dark Knight has always had a bit of trouble when it comes to video games.
So, when screenshots of Batman Arkham Asylum leaked, there was cautious enthusiasm for the next-gen Batman game that looked like it would deliver finally Gotham’s resident crime fighter out of the shadows.
Several positive hands-on previews and a hype-inducing playable demo later, Batman Arkham Asylum became one of the most anticipated games of the year. The question at hand, though, is this: Does Batman’s latest game save the day or fall into the clutches of evil?
I’ve Set A Trap And You’ve Sprung It Gloriously!
The game begins with Batman rushing to Arkham Asylum in the Batmobile. He’s just captured The Joker and he’s going to hand him over to the authorities before he gets loose again. Commissioner Gordon is already at Arkham, waiting for Batman to arrive with The Clown Prince of Crime.
Joker is secured and brought down to the holding cells, escorted by Batman and a fleet of guards. When it comes time for Joker to be transferred to a high security part of the asylum, Batman is asked to step aside due to his presence likely agitating “the more dangerous prisoners.”
He does as he’s told and can do nothing short of watch as Joker breaks free, revealing himself to already be in control of Arkham. Harley Quinn has kidnapped Warden Sharp and all of the inmates from Blackgate that used to work for Joker have been set free. When Batman finally gets down to the cells, he takes out some of Joker’s henchmen and begins a hot pursuit of his arch nemesis.
The intro scene of Arkham Asylum highlights the strength of the storytelling in the game, which is authentic Batman. None of it feels half-hearted or conjured up — Arkham Asylum’s plot and scenes easily could’ve been ripped from one of Batman’s comic books or graphic novels.
Arkham Asylum is dark and ominous like you’ve come to expect Batman properties to be, with trademark Batman tension throughout. Long hallways are filled with bodies of deceased guards and very much alive armed henchmen while The Joker taunts the player over Arkham’s intercom.
The strength of the story is bolstered by the great performances of the voiceover talent from Batman: The Animated Series — voice actors Kevin Conroy (Batman), Mark Hamill (The Joker) and Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn).
One of the strengths of Batman Arkham Asylum is its storytelling, which is authentic Batman.
Invisible Predator
Arkham Asylum’s gameplay is comprised of three elements: brawling, stealth and puzzle solving/exploration.
Batman: Arkham Asylum’s brawling doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it is fluid, functional and fun. The next henchman smackdown is only as far away as the player pointing the analog stick towards the henchman of choice and a button press.
The term “freeflow combat” is no misnomer — it’s literally that easy to engage in combat, with combos of up to 40 consecutive hits possible. What’s especially gratifying about Batman’s brawling is that the player feels strong, aggressive and in control the whole time — another aspect of the core Batman experience that’s well executed in Arkham Asylum.
Stealth sections involve Batman staying hidden while taking out (usually) up to 8 of Joker’s armed henchmen without being seen. Batman has a wide array of gadgets to help him take out Joker’s henchmen, including a few different types of batarangs and explosive gel.
He also has the advantage of grappling up to gargoyles to avoid detection, which can quickly become a crux of the stealth experience, but veterans of stealth games like Metal Gear shouldn’t find themselves needing to rely on them too much.
Again, Batman feels strong and in control here as he takes down Joker’s men, but they’ve got an equalizer in the form of guns. Batman’s far from bulletproof and won’t last long under hails of gunfire. It’s an interesting dynamic that keeps the player feeling mostly in control, but never feeling that the game has become too easy.
The world of Arkham Asylum is 3D Metroidvania-esque. Batman’s path is far from straight ahead and easy — The Dark Knight will crawl through vents, blow up walls, pull down weakened ones and hack security panels to navigate the complex layout of Gotham’s most famous (and infamous) mental institution.
Just like in tried-and-true Metroidvania tradition, some of Arkham Asylum’s world won’t be immediately accessible. Batman will have to get gadget upgrades only available by playing through the story in order to explore Arkham further.
There’s not too much exploration just in a straightforward playthrough, but if you want to look around explore the challenges that The Riddler has left behind, you’ll be doing some backtracking and spending some time in Detective Mode.
Batman takes down Joker’s henchmen with effortless ease.
Can You Defeat A Mind Such As Mine?
While Arkham Asylum’s main story is great and more than compelling material for any Batman fan, it begins to lag a bit in the last parts of the game. Killer Croc’s section especially stands out as feeling weaker than the rest. It’s much longer than it needs to be and any feelings of tension during the parts where you’re supposed to be stealthy are eliminated when Croc starts appearing every thirty seconds or so.
The fact that one of the strongest villains in the game, Scarecrow, ceases to appear at this point makes the last part of the game just not feel as strong as the other portions.
Length is also an issue, albeit a small one, with Arkham Asylum. If you’re not willing to go riddle hunting, Batman Arkham Asylum’s main story probably doesn’t last longer than 10-12 hours. The length is fine, because Arkham Asylum’s story never overstays its welcome, but you just wish there was more.
Plus, Challenge Mode adds more than a fair amount of replay value to the game, with interesting challenges added to what might be viewed as just “isolated” segments. I hope to see more of these maps in the future, because they’re fun and some Challenge Mode map environments that aren’t in the main story would provide interesting challenges.
In regards to riddle hunting, you’ll likely be using Detective Mode in order to find the solutions. Detective Mode is actually very useful — so useful, in fact, that you’re not likely to leave it off for very long.
It doesn’t hurt the game that you’ll be using it so often, but you do miss out on the game’s well-detailed environments and engine.
He’s Only One Guy…One Lunatic Crazier Than Any Of You And Armed To The Teeth!
The PS3 version of Arkham Asylum comes with a free set of exclusive Joker maps. These Challenge Maps add even more replay value and even more challenge to Challenge Mode.
Joker stands in stark contrast to the strong, confident Batman — he’s tall, lanky, moves nowhere near as swiftly as Batman and can’t grapple like Batman can. He has his own set of gadgets, but they have limited use and aren’t quite as useful as Batman’s as a result.
Playing as Joker is supposed to be a tricky and remarkably different experience. It is, though, and Joker is actually a welcome test of skills for anyone who feels like playing as Batman is too easy or that they’ve mastered whatever the game can throw at them.
Beating a map with Joker’s limited skill set feels like an accomplishment, not like you’re trying to beat the game with a “watered down” character.
If you have the 360 version, will you miss these maps? Probably not, unless you want them. If you have the PS3 version, will you enjoy these maps?
Definitely. If I had to pick a version based on the addition of the Joker maps? I’d still say go with whatever version you want, but if the maps are a big deal for you, then pick up the PS3 version.
The Joker maps don’t add to the PS3 version’s score or anything — they’re more like a really nice perk.
Welcome To The Madhouse!
Batman Arkham Asylum isn’t just the best Batman game ever made, it’s one of the best games based on a license ever. It isn’t perfect, but it accomplishes everything it needs to and more in terms of Batman authenticity and gameplay.
A successful blend of stealth, brawling and Metroidvania exploration, Batman Arkham Asylum has set the bar for the Batman video game experience. I recommend Batman Arkham Asylum to any Batman fan, hardcore or casual, and hope that Rocksteady is already hard at work on a sequel.
Final Score
On a scale of 0-10, where 0 is terrible, 5 is average and 10 is amazing (The Classic EGM Scale), I give Batman Arkham Asylum (PS3) a score of 9.0.
