Batman: Arkham Asylum - Reviews

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15.3.2010

"Riddle me this; riddle me that; who's afraid of the big, black bat?"-E. Nygma - Jim Carey; Batman Forever.They say the best things come to those who wait. For Batman: Arkham Asylum, patience is something you will need in plentiful supply. Whether it is waiting for a henchman to walk under you so you can swoop down take him out from your perch on a gargoyle; or the tedious running around the quite large Arkham Island. This sense of duality is pretty much constant throughout this gameAs you'd assume this title features some of the major villains from the Batman world, sporting such nasties as Killer Croc, Scarecrow and of course The Joker, as well as a few others.It also has some new additions purely for the game such as the Asylum's new director, Quincy Sharp, as well as some new character designs for old favourites such as Harley Quinn and The Scarecrow. So in terms of character cast, the game has a pretty solid base.In terms of game length, considering the storyline takes place all in one night, this quite a long game, giving a good 6 hours game play without even including the Challenge mode or Riddler side quest. The Challenge mode especially adds to the replay factor of this game because of its online leader system.I have played it on both Normal and Hard mode and the jump between them is considerable. There are small differences like having to manually detonate the explosive gel during an encounter with Killer Croc, however, the main difference is the health relationship - henchmen are tougher and you are of course, weaker. While playing on Hard mode I focused almost entirely on the Health upgrades to start as even during the first fight I nearly kicked the bucket.This brings me to the combat system. If used right it can be more fluidic than water, if used wrong then you're basically screwed. The design is based around simplicity, 3 buttons for 3 main functions, with more advanced button combinations doing more advanced moves. Your X button does the most of the work with kicks and punches; Y is your counter move, which blocks the enemy and hits them in return, and B which uses your cape to daze an enemy, while a combination of A plus a directional movement on the Left stick will cause you to leap through the air to avoid an attack.To get more complicated moves such as a Combo Takedown and Combo Throw, as well as upgrades for your equipment such as a Sonic and a remote controlled batterang, you'll need to level your suit up. You can do this by winning fights with henchmen, which you'll do along the game anyway, but doing parts of the Riddler side-quest will also get you pretty good exp. A good tip is try to get your combo counter up during henchmen fights as it'll boost your final exp count. Plus there are 360 Achievements for getting a combo count of 5, 10, 20 and 40.Another major feature of this game is Detective Mode. Just the name of this appealed to my nerdy sensibilities.*NERD MOMENT* Batman isn't strictly a super hero, but more a very intelligent person using his mind to help the police - as a detective. He appeared as a character in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. His methods were a precursor to what we now call Crime Scene Investigators - using evidence to trace criminals and aiding the police in arresting them.Anyway the Detective Mode has some awesome features which get used along the course of the storyline. These include finger print scanning and tracking, DNA tracking and following little puffs of Whiskey in the air, which however far-fetched is still kinda cool. Also the Detective Mode has a constant X-ray vision which allows you to see enemies through floors, ceilings and walls which is remarkably useful. Also it shows up grates and destroyable walls with a different colour from everything else. This however, leads to an over dependence on it, and I found myself using it constantly and not even bothering to turn it off when I played it on Hard mode.I have mentioned the Riddler side-quest a few times now, so here's how it works. There are "Riddles" spread throughout each area, and these require you to figure out what each riddle means and basically take a picture of it. There are also two pickup items spread around each area; the first are "Riddler Trophies" which grant you some exp on pickup and the second are interview tapes; which are exactly that - interview tapes with various inmates of Arkham. (I found the Riddler's and Scarecrow's quite funny).Also there are "Arkham Chronicles", which involves you taking a picture of little statue things, which then have their own little story to tell via audio logs. Achievements are earned for solving 5%, 10%, 25%, 40%, 55%,70%,85% and then 100% of all the riddles plus another one for getting the final Arkham Chronicle which, unlike the others is not shown on Riddler's maps.A problem I found is that you need to be quite a Batman comic buff to really understand some of what is going on. I thought I was pretty au fait with the Batman world, but I knew nothing about Oracle and that she is in fact Barbara Gordon - aka Batgirl.Although to help with this, as you progress through the storyline, you will hear little snippets of some of the history. Plus you unlock character bios by doing the Riddler side-quest, which if you take the time to read through will explain quite a bit. Problem here being that you may be the type that doesn't like a lot of reading in a game and won't bother reading it or you are just too addicted to playing the game to interrupt it, so you may miss out on these.Sadly however, the PS3 has the upper hand on this title, as you get the chance to play as the Joker in the Challenge mode, with his own assortment of trickery; including X-Ray Specs and...Dare I say it...A Gun. Although there is a Game Of The Year Edition for the 360; in which presumably we may get to play as Batman's pasty-faced arch nemesis.Final remarks are that overall I'd say this game is well rounded and is a much welcomed break to the stream of half-finished games we seem to see an incredible amount of these days. (Halo 3 and Gears, I'm looking at you here). Though it is kinda sad that we don't get to drive either the Batwing or Batmobile, but both are featured.Oh yes. Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker does the voice for Joker.

1.9.2009

The wait for Batman Arkham Asylum has seemed forever but rest assured, it has been well worth it. Finally there is a video game which does the dark knight justice and hold his own in the action/adventure genre. Arkham island awaits......The plot of the game revolves Joker and a diabolical scheme he is cooking up on island, Batman is in for the worst night of his life. To those who are familiar with the comic books/animated series, Joker is simply a fantastic villain. Throughout the game his mixture of menace and unpredictability will keep the player on their toes. Many villains such as Bane, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy etc. also make an appearance and are woven into the story very smartly.The supervillains of the game will encounter you at some point and when they do, you need to be at your very best to put them down. As you progress through the game, you begin to learn more about your friends and enemies, this is done through recorded interviews, character bios. Be ready for a challenge, the Joker may have been taken back to Arkham with great ease but behind his smile there is a twisted journey that he will take you on. Even though Batman and the Joker are the fiercest of enemies, there is a bond between them that can never be broken and this game will show you how intense that rivalry is.Now, onto the gameplay, Batman is an expert combatant and a master of stealth. There are so many moves you have at your disposal, when taking on hordes of thugs so many combos can be strung together and the freeflow combat system is very deep. Batman's moves, suit and weapons can be upgraded to give you a standing chance as the game increases in difficulty. Then there's invisible predator gameplay, this essentially involves Batman using his surrounding to incapacitate enemies in different environments (enemies carry weapons so it's best to assess the situation and then strike when you have to). Think of it is stealth gameplay but if you're feeling lucky then you can always take a bold approach.Batman has an array of gadgets to make his job easier, especially manouevering about environments or when he wants to take a more aggressive approach to enemies.The famous grapnel guns and batarangs will be your most used items, explosive gel was a fave of mine and great for planning attacks (if a little noisy).I personally loved the combat system as it feels so smooth and all of Batman's move are so varied, once your countering and combos begin to flow then the fun really begins (note: on easy/normal modes enemies will have small flashes above their heads which tells you that they are about to attack and you can counter them. On the hard difficulty this is not the case, there is no warning when an enemy close to you is about to attack so be very alert to any incoming attack from them as they can use melee weapons or guns). Batman also has a detective mode (dm), when you turn this on he can see through walls or look for any strange things in his environment, this is extremely useful on invisible predator as there are so many blind spots but with dm on, enemies become highlighted (skeletal outline) and can be seen easily in order to plan your attacks upon them.Batman AA is a fantastic looking game, graphics are crisp and Arkham island is split intro three areas with five key buildings sprawled across the entire island.The island itself looks so gloomy and has this gothic feel to it, everything seems so lifeless outside and inside you never know what is around the corner. Character models are excellent, great detail on main characters and henchmen too. Great variety to the environments too, Batman will venture into a creepy penitentiary, a vibrant botanical garden, a large mansion and many other places too. Once you revisit certain places you will notice how the island begins (due to story progression) to change and you will need other ways of getting to certain destinations. Cutscenes are very well rendered and some run off the in-game engine so once they finish they flow into gameplay. Neat little touches such as Batman's suit becoming damaged as the night at Arkham wears on.Challenge modes become unlocked throughout the game, the Riddler has put many challenges across the island and it is upto you to find them, the more you find the more challenges and weapons upgrades become unlocked. The rooms are a lot of fun, put up your best scores or times on global leaderboards (via PSN) from combat or invisible predator modes. The Joker is available as DLC (PSN) on the PS3 version, if you don't want to play as Batman then take out the Joker for some mayhem instead.The negatives of the game are not many, minor niggles really. Screen-tearing is minimal but in some areas when turning the camera, the display can get very choppy. The camera had a tendency to get stuck and fixed which makes it impossible to see around you or prevent incoming attacks from enemies but for most of the game it isn't a problem. Some character's do not have the best lip syncing and in some cases it is bad but again, nothing to ruin the experience you're having. I really felt the story comes to a sudden conclusion and it all seemed like an anti climax. The final boss is disappointing, after all the build up to that moment it's just not what you expect.Right, after all of the above (lots of it!) I can safely say........BUY THIS GAME! After all said and done, the positives simply outweigh the negatives. Whether I was beating the stuffing out of enemies or swooping down upon them silently, I truly felt like Batman and that nothing could break me. This game is too good to miss out on, inFamous has been my best game of the year so far and Batman AA comes in at a very respectable second place on that list.Thanks for reading.

16.9.2009

What a refreshing experience from all the cheapo movie tie ins that mar the gaming market these days!STORYBAA is a standalone story by Paul Dini, who worked on the batman animated features. Arkham asylum, the involuntary home of supercriminals, has had an island wide revolt led by the joker. This leads you to traverse the island hunting him down while helping out allies such as Gordon along the way. The dialogue is witty throughout and its obvious a lot of work went into this. While the main story is linear, it still provides you with enough flexibility in each scene to act as tactfully as you wish.GAMEPLAYThe basic mechanic is a punch button, a counter button,and a few gadgets to add some spice to your takedown methods and to access new areas. The punch and counter system is surprisingly responsive and not the button bashing session I imagined it to be.While very solid, I very quickly found something lacking in the gameplay that slightly retracted from the essence of batman, and that was his unity with darkness. This game lacks the lighting depth of say the splinter cell series where your inhabitance of the dark is your primary weapon. It would have been very satisfying to step out of the dark to shock your enemy into submission.The context sensitive nature of the grapple also felt limited. By this I mean you could only latch on to the surrounding gargoyles or ledges as preordained by the developers. I imagined having a grapple would mean that you could latch yourself to any surface, and cope with a much more realistic level of detection by the enemy. This way you could truly use the environment to take down your enemies as opposed to using a selection of predestined routes. As it stood the gargoyle system just made things a little too easy as you are virtually invisible swinging across these.I Found the equipment was slightly limited, there were some batarangs that I felt were missed, such as an explosive one, electrical one, and one that signals the bats to come in to pick at the unfortunate victim. Possibly we needed the ability to combine items like the explosive gel and the batarang to add some extra depth to the upgrade system. In fact the upgrades felt slightly underwhelming, I did not get the feeling of being more powerful later on in the game than at the beginning.Theres a detective mode which you can turn on which highlights key things in your environment and gives you an Xray view of where all the enemies in the room are. While this is very helpful to have, in retrospect this makes the game too easy. The temptation is there to play the whole game in detective mode, which also means you'll miss out on the lush graphics this game has to offer.CHARACTERSThe general character designs in this game are excellent. Usually when modern media tries to reinvent classic characters it leads to dismay when the designers completely misunderstand the essence of a character. Thankfully here the villains are wonderfully realised. The joker is an outstanding lunatic voiced by Mark Hamil who voices the joker in animated features. He generally talks through the asylum through out the whole game in twisted comical fashion and its great at creating a cohesive atmosphere and sense of direction to your actions.There are many supervillains to encounter, the first time meeting scarecrow I was very impressed with the atmosphere built up, the sound effects, the way he emerges into view and his awesome facial redesign, the game engines ability to morph the environment for a hallucinatory experience, this whole scene was just spot on and is a repeated standard across the rest of the game.General henchmen also get a good degree of dialogue, there must be hours of dialogue which you can listen in on before you decide to take them down. The way they get scared and as you pick their colleagues off is a nice touch.I think though that the weakest imagined character is batman himself. While the voice of Kevin Conroy is really the best batman there is and easily outshines the vocal impressions of the live action film actors, the massive beefed up physique here is what feels out of place and it just comes across as completely unstealthy. He has the image that he just wants to hit everything in sight even though the gameplay does not suggest this approach.LONGEVEITYPlaying through the story on normal mode there's a game of fair length, maybe around 15 hours, I'm playing it through on hard mode now and finding only the hand to hand henchman combat more difficult. This makes the game a bit more balanced to play but that just means that normal mode was maybe too easy. So I cant suggest that there is much value in replaying this on harder settings. For completionists there are 240 Riddles to solve which mainly involve picking up special items and taking pictures at the right location, this can extend the game time and grants you more experience points, but the limited number of upgrades available makes these extra XP a moot point.There is challenge mode which provides little set piece snippets for you to replay under a certain style, like trying to take out everyone in the room without being detected. As such they're not really making the game larger but just giving you incentive to play through the same scene again in a more skilful way.OVERALLA beautifully rich and atmospheric journey defines this as the best existing comic adaptation game there is. While gameplay is solid as it stands, it could do with a few additions that hopefully would be present in an eagerly awaited sequel.

14.5.2010

First of all I will talk about the story of the game, without any spoilers.The Dark Knight has managed to apprehend his greatest villain, the Joker, and brings him in to Arkham Asylum, home to some of Batman's most powerful and insane enemies. Batman fears the Joker has an ulterior motive, and his fears come to light when the Joker sieges Arkham Island for himself, releasing some of the most dangerous criminals, including Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, Bane and Blackgate prisoners. Batman must attempt to retake the island from his greatest enemy, but the Joker has more planned for the Caped Crusader.The story throughout the game is very solid,and draws much inspiration from the graphic novel of the same name, but there are a few cheesy moments, however I don't think that these are enough to consider the plot to be bad, and I feel it is a very good plot that gives much homage to the Batman series.There are also 2 nice side quests (although one is mandatory for the completion of the primary plot) involving the Riddler's riddles (240 in total) and trials and torture from the Scarecrow that leave Batman questioning his own sanity and actions.Now for the Gameplay.The combat system featured in this game has to be the best combat system I have ever seen. The freeflow combat is a smooth and simple system that puts the user in full control of the Batman, it is hard to explain the mechanics behind the combat system but essentially it works in a combo style system except there are no specific combos and you make your own combos for yourself.Sticking true to the Batman series, Arkham Asylum focuses around Batman's detective skills just as much as his combat skills; there is a detective mode implemented into the cowl of Batman that allows you to trace and track levels of pheromones, alcohol and fingerprints to hunt down the ruthless super-villains of Arkham island. Detective mode also enables an x-ray vision that shows how many hostiles are in the local area, and how many of these are armed, among various other features.Next up is primary characters.Batman; the version of Batman featured in Arkham Asylum is probably the best version of Batman I have seen, a perfect mix of the comic book Batman and Christian Bale's Batman featured in Christopher Nolan's Batman series. The Batsuit follows this trend, with the armour resembling both the wetsuit style suit of Batman and the full body kevlar/carbon-fibre suit seen in Batman Begins/Dark Knight.The Joker; while I feel that Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker was truly amazing, I feel that the version of the Joker he was playing was not as dark or as twisted as the Joker seen in the comic books, the Joker featured in this game however, is just as dark and as twisted as the Joker that beat Jason Todd to death with a crowbar. So in summary, while I feel that Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker is better than Mark Hamill's, the version of the Joker which Mark Hamill portrays is my preferred Joker.The Riddler; being someone who has only begun to read the Batman comics fairly recently, I have so far never come across a story involving the Riddler, so my only experience of this character so far is Jim Carrey's version from 1995s Batman Forever, and I feel that the Riddler seen in this game improves upon every aspect of this performance, despite the fact that the Riddler is never actually seen on screen.The Oracle; featuring as Batman's eyes and ears, Barbara Gordon frequently supplies information and acts as a guide through an intercom system found within Batman's cowl, like the Riddler, she is never seen on screen and provides only a voice, but she plays a dominant role in the development of many characters and the story itself.And finally, all other features.Interview tapes; throughout the game there are several interview tapes for various characters who have stayed at the Asylum, these provide a deeper understanding to the characters and draw upon the back-stories provided by the Batman comics to create an understanding of the characters for those who may not necessarily know much about the Batman super-villains.Predator challenges; there are a total of 8 predator challenges for the player to complete, along with 2 more available to download for free, these challenges require the Dark Knight to put his stealth skills to the test as he must apprehend a group of armed criminals. Some of these challenges are very hard, particularly when you attempt to complete the challenges while also taking out the criminals in specified ways that require implementation of Batman's gadgets.Combat challenges; there are another 8 challenges, with another 4 available to download for free that focus around Batman's combat skills, Batman is pitted against 4 waves of criminals, some with knives, some with stun rods and some with guns, to complete all of these challenges will require a lot of focus and will require combat to be more than instinct, more than thought.And many more; there are hundreds of things that I haven't mentioned simply because I can't remember it all, but I highly recommend buying this game, it is the best campaign experience I have had since the days of the N64, a must have for any fan of Batman, and for many others, one of the greatest games I have played in a long time and I can hardly wait for the sequel.

3.9.2009

As a recent magazine review stated, you can tell that the creators of this game are fans of the comic book. Very little in Arkham Asylum is wasted, in fact, I'm hard pushed to name another game that flows so seamlessly and so beautifully.Even the long-ish into is mezmerizing. The game starts off with the Bat monitoring Joker's committal to Arkham. Batman senses something isn't right and it's not long before the Joker escapes and is running the Asylum.Most, if not all, of Batman's foes are locked in here in one form or another, or at least memories of them are. From cells daubbed with the Riddler's grafitti to glass encased memoribillia belongong to the Penguin and Catwoman,Arkham bristles with history and stories.Special mention first and foremorst to the voice casting. It's so refreshing to see a superhero game with a good voice cast as well as a snappy script. Batman is believable and charismatic, and when compared to Infamous' Cole, not your typical cheesy lined superhero. I'm not sure who voiced the Riddler, but he does sound very much like Jim Carey's incarnation of him. Mark Hammill's voicing of the Joker does steal the show however. He sounds nothing like Heath Ledger's borderline maniac that terrified us into stunned silence during The Dark Knight, and more akin to Nicholson's playful yet homicidal character.Batman's combat is streamlined and impressive. You're restricted sometimes to button bashing, however on-screen the combos, Batman's movements, and the sheer variety of his attacks looks excellent. The special moves also add a bit of stretegy as opposed to hitting one button over and over.Batman's gadgets are also excellent but only some are available at the start of the game. This is no problem, as it gives the player a huge amount of things to do away from the main story. Interview tapes with patients (again, excellent scripts and voice acting), Riddler challenges, trophies to find and riddles to solve. Some can only be accessed with the correct equipment so don't get too frustrated early on. There's quite a bit of backtracking in this game, but it never gets boring.Askham itself is huge. I read a review that compared the game to BioShock and wondered what they were talking about. It becomes clear as you explore the island. Arkham doesn't have just one asylum area, but also a mansion, cave system, sewers, botanic gardens, penitentiary and medical facility to name a few. The voice over of the Joker taunting Batman throughout the game was indeed reminiscent of the wonderful yet creepy BioShock.There is something beautiful, yet completely unnerving, about Arkham Island and this is a credit to the developers. Every inch of atmosphere is conveyed through the screen meaning at times I genuinely was nervous, especially in the intensive treatment block. Some of the areas make Arkham look more like a torture camp rather than the secure hospital/prison is claims to act as.The down sides are few and in abolutely no way spoil the game. Boss battles can be monotonous and have such strategy that make them a bit, well, boring. That said, battling with Scarecrow still creeps me out (I think it's the mask) and the general nightmarish feels of Batman's terror is spot on. Some of Batman's fear induced dreams are quite striking though.Another down side is to get Batman to run, you need to hold down one of the control buttons. This is fine for the majority of the time, but when you're running up the stairs to a guard tower and the steps change direction, Batman will just jump straight over the edge. If you're being shot at, this can be quite frustrating. This follows on to a later point in the game when Batman needs to move quickly between platfoms at different heights in the penitentiary. When running and approaching the barrier, instead of automatically climbing over onto the next platform, he'll just do a diving forward roll with annoying consequences (trying not to spoil here.)Lastly on the negative points is the usually superb detective vision. It's brilliant for sussing out which of your targets is armed, shown in red. The unarmed are shown in blue. What it doesn't show however it that tougher targets who need to be stunned using a different button before they will take damage. I'm aware that it's just a case of coming out of detective mode to spot the tougher enemies, but maybe if the developers had shown them in purple or something? Detective mode does show them as carrying a knife or similar but when in a crowd of thugs, you tend to look at the enemy and not the little box that pops up beside them.In conclusion, I absolutely love this game. The melee combat is everything Fable 2 should have been. The silent takedown and use of hiding spots is everything Assassins Creed should have been. It's everything a good superhero game should be and more. The best thing about Batman Arkham Asylum is that the developers seem to have picked what they liked from the original source, the comics. Sure, they could have maybe roped in Christian Bale and Gary Oldman and used their budget on that to voice a cheaply made game based on the film....but they didn't. And I think Rocksteady have cracked it.

8.9.2009

"I set a trap, and you sprung it gloriously"...And with these words, spoken by a maniacal (and superbly voiced) Joker, begins one of the first ever superhero videogames that actually FEELS like a superhero game.I won't go too much into the storyline; much of that is everywhere on the internet, and also in these Amazon reader reviews. Rather, I will talk about the many things the game does right, and also the one or two small things it doesn't quite nail.First and foremost, it must be said that the Batman portrayed in Batman: Arkham Asylum is perhaps one of the best renderings of the iconic hero outside of the comics and graphic novels. Strong-willed, resourceful, forward-thinking, brooding,supercool...everything that makes a good Batman is there, brought to the fore and exploited by the game designers with amazing results. Add to that Kevin Conroy's tone-perfect voice acting, and you have a Batman that stands out in his own right as one of the franchise's finest embodiments of the character.The same can be said about the lead villain, The Joker. There is something so charismatic, so appealing about this Joker that his cut scenes are an absolute joy to watch...you can't help but be mesmerized at his movements and his crazy laughter. And although the plot is pretty flat and standard madman-hatches-a-crazy-plan fare, this Joker takes the scenario to a new level simply because you believe that this character is, in fact, completely insane in a chillingly calculating way.Other villains that make their appearances are treated with similar respect. Even the more recent addition to the Batverse, Harley Quinn, is portrayed well here, despite being in a completely reworked costume (do not believe the comic book geeks on the forums - the changes made to her outfit are for the better).For true Batman fans, the game features plenty of nods to many of the series characters in the form of artefacts to be found around Arkham Asylum. Finding these unlocks character biographies and fact sheets. Some of the more important villains featured in the game are fleshed out even further with interview tapes detailing some back stories and scenarios not really pertinent to the game - but which add to the entire experience.The combat is relatively simple and easy to execute, and yet surprisingly deep. Once you have mastered the controls, you can't help but try string together combos to get a freeflow bonus. The animations for Batman's fighting style, incorporating various types of martial arts moves, is expertly implemented. Not only that, but some really cool gadgets (and of course the old faithful Batarang) are added into the mix. The result is a fluid and ridiculously addictive gameplay mechanic that carries over into the non-storyline challenges. Be warned though - these combat and stealth challenges are nefariously tweaked to result in a "just-one-more-try" effect at 2 in the morning...The two distinct types of combat also help to keep things fresh. The combat against unarmed foes relies on your reactions and ability to string together combos. The combat against armed gunmen, however, requires a completely different, stealth-based approach. Very few things come close to making you feel like the Batman quite like picking off your enemies silently, one by one.Although Batman: AA very definitely lives up to the hype surrounding it, there are some small issues here and there. The most disappointing of these are the boss fights. Most of them are relatively samey, relying heavily on Batman's Batarang and his ability to dodge attacks. Don't get me wrong: the bosses are fun to fight. However, a little more inspiration and variety would have gone a long way, especially with the anticlimactic final battle.Also, every now and then the controls are just not precise enough - on a handful of occasions I tried to drop in silently behind an armed enemy so that I could perform a silent takedown, only to find myself landing directly in front of aforementioned enemy with an assault rifle pointed at my cowl. Holy unexpected death, Batman.So then, a quick summary of my feelings:+ Batman! Joker! Brilliantly and lovingly depicted.+ Almost like a walk through a museum of the Batman universe.+ Gameplay is solid.+ Incredible (and I mean that) graphics, audio, and soundtrack.- Disappointing and samey boss fights- Controls not always precise enough (but not REALLY problematic)- Sometimes the camera gets itself into really awkward and unhelpful positions.All in all, forget the fact that this is a licensed game. Don't consider whether or not you are a Batman fan. Just get the game. It is a superb piece of entertainment that will immerse you, surprise you, and keep you interested. And it will make you feel like a superhero to boot. Result!

2.3.2011

Have you ever loved a game so much you've actually tried to push your head into the television screen to try to be a part of it? What - oh, uh...no, m-me neither! But if I was going to do that to a game I'd do it to Batman Arkham Asylum!This is one of the only games out there that actually makes you 'feel' like Batman! I used to get the same feeling when playing the old commodore 64 official licensed game based on the Tim Burton movie, until I realised that Batman wasn't entirely made up of large grey blocks! You get to stalk around a creepy asylum in big boots, a cape and exposed purple pants (for some reason) beating up ridiculously 'beefed up' goons while you try to hunt down the Joker and,well...beat him up a bit! The whole game feels like it's straight out of the Batman comics (the newer, darker comics, not the 40's ones where he hung around with a teenage boy in skimpy yellow tights and smiled a lot).The game starts out with big boots bringing the Joker into Arkham Asylum for incarceration purposes and you even get a nice pre-title sequence in which you control Batsy as he tags along while the Joker is being transported to his cell by the asylum guards.Things go a bit wrong quite quickly, however, when it transpires that the Joker has set this whole 'being captured' thing up and escapes into the depths of Arkham! There then follows a brief fighting tutorial that lets you get to grips with the simple, but surprisingly entertaining combat system as you `duff up' a number of the Joker's goons! After you've finished off the massive thugs with slow-motion, painful looking attacks you guide Batman inside the main entrance of the asylum.The game is extremely atmospheric overall and the core stealth game play is well executed (much like many of Batman's enemies). You can hide in the shadows and use your grapple to swing around the moody environments, as well as lowering Batman down to any nearby unaware enemies and stealthily dispatching them. If this doesn't work you can always chuck a batarang at them or flying kick them in the side of the head when they aren't looking.Although batarangs aren't the only gadgets Batman has access to. He has zip-lines, remote control batarangs and gel based explosive devises! Batman can also switch to `detective vision' at the push of a button, which gives a sort of x-ray vision effect (more Superman than Batman, but never mind). This makes it easier to spot enemies through walls as well as seeing if the enemies are `packing heat' so to speak, or whether they're unarmed and therefore easier to defeat. You can then start to plan your attacks and take down the lethal gun-toting villains before the less dangerous ones armed with pipes and bits of stick. Whilst in detective mode, you can also spot hiding places, grapple points (for a quick escape) and weaknesses in structures easier. These cracks in the walls, floors etc can usually lead to different areas and also be used as traps or `takedowns' to knock out any passing thugs! `Knock out' because true to the comics Batman doesn't actually kill anyone, though most of the things he does to the enemies in this game would knock them out....for good.......um, it would kill them!There's a nice (if that's the right word) selection of Batman's enemies present in the game, all of which must be tackled (if that's the right word) as a one on one boss fight, although you usually have to take on a handful of weaker enemies along with them. The Scarecrow sections are particularly well executed (like Batman's enemies, oh, wait, I've done that one). The scarecrow manages to subject Batman to his special scary gas (or whatever it's called), causing him to enter a world of hallucinations and nightmares which you must guide him through before he completely loses his mind! This ends with an epic battle against some skeletal Batmen and a huge scary scarecrow! The player also gets to face off against Bane, Poison Ivy, Harlequin, the crocodile (or whatever he's called) and of course the Joker!In conclusion this is an extremely well constructed game, with a solid (if fairly simple) story, excellent graphics and game play which expertly combines stealth and satisfying, straightforward combat. There isn't too much backtracking or other overly used tricks to extend the game's length and you don't feel like any of the locations or enemies are simply `thrown in' to make the game appear longer, everything feels like it's leading up to the conclusion of the story. This game won around a million game of the year awards in 2009 and it definitely deserves them. This is probably the best comic book game ever made and certainly the best Batman game, at least until the upcoming sequel....

3.9.2009

A big fan of Batman I knew I was going to love this game from the trailers and screen shots, I played the demo on both Xbox360 and PS3 and after much debate I choose the PS3 version as it had the Joker extra challenge pack which I will mention a bit later.You start the game wheeling the Joker into Arkham Asylum, Batman has just caught him but feels that the Joker let himself be caught but for what reason? Too late, Joker has trapped everyone in Arkham Asylum with help from his psychotic beau, Harley Quinn and has let all the prisoners loose and it's up to you to sort things out.I am feeling a lot of love for Mark Hamill for his voice acting; it really is spot on and seems anyone these days who plays as the joker does so brilliantly.First off I was worried that Ledger would never be able to top Nicholson but outclassed him and then Mark Hamill again performs the voice acting role with class.The beginning of the game is very different from the demo with a 10 minute intro of you following the joker deep into the Asylum before he springs his trap, you will pass through some of the characters you later meet within the game too so keep an eye outOnce the joker escapes the game eases you into the combat side of things against a few of the inmates and then challenges you against one of the bigger opponents.The combat is very easy to pick up and you will later gain other combat moves and take downs later in the game as you gain XP which allows you to purchase moves, weapons and upgrades from Waynetech.With Joker in charge of the island he can navigate and control where Batman goes and as you hear him over the speaker system he comes out with some funny one liner, help or hindrance to your quest. Its little things like this which makes this game stand out from anything similar; the camera will sit over Batmans shoulder while you walk around and then move around while in combat and some takedowns will be shown in slow motion.Building up a combo allows Batman to pull off the most spectacular attacks and earns more XP and it's also the quickest way to finish off a large group of inmates. The counter moves, take downs and different type of enemies is what stops this game becoming a button mashing fighting game, you will encounter guys with knifes which you will need to use your cape to deflect them away and others with electric rods which you will need to dodge and sometimes you will encounter these enemies all together so you will have to pay attention to who you are attacking.Along with fighting face to face you can also choose to take a more stealthy approach, this is needed when facing a room full of goons with guns as once you are spotted they will take you out very quickly. The game has unlimited continues and every check point isn't far away but it's nice to get through the games with as little deaths as possible.To help with your stealth attacks you can creep behind a goon and perform a stealth takedown also your batarangs glide attacks and the takedown which I find most fun which is hanging from the ceiling and grabbing a goon and tying him up. Later in the game the goons and rooms become harder to do these stealth attacks but that's a good thing.The Riddler has kindly planted trophies, maps, riddles to find and voice recordings for you to find around the island and proves an extra challenge if you wish to enhance your gaming experience. The Riddles are fun and some can be a challenge to work out but once you pick up the map for certain areas everything becomes too easy.As you progress the game the constant combat and travels will take their toll on our Dark Knight as his suit and cape become tattered and torn and you can see his face and body becoming more bruised which is a lovely touch to the game.The game hasn't many flaws but if I had to say anything bad it would be that the bosses are too easy and once you work out their pattern you should be able to take down them all with ease. Also the goons AI isn't at all challenging but these flaws are nothing to fear as this is one of the best games I have played this year and contender for GOTY.Once you have finished the game you can then go through all the challenge modes, and if you have bought the PS3 version you will also be able to download the Joker challenge packs. No doubt you will see more of these in future downloads via the PSN [or XBM if you are playing the xbox version]One thing I will briefly say is the Scarcow parts in the game are fantastic and provide something different to the game. I wont give it away but they are very creepy, make sure you have your surround sound turned up.

21.4.2018

Batman has arrested Joker and has taken him to Arkham Asylum; Gotham's island prison. Batman remains suspicious since Joker let himself be captured way too easily. He remains with the prison staff and Commissioner Gordon, escorting The Joker through Arkham. As soon as he is separated from Batman, Joker manages to escape, attack the guards and start a riot with the help from an insider; Harley Quinn.Batman must help regain control of Arkham, taking on the likes of Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, Bane, Killer Croc and Poison Ivy. Some characters are voiced by the same actors from Batman Animated Series: Kevin Conroy plays Batman, and Mark Hamill voices the Joker.The game takes a while to throw you into the action,since you are slowly walking with Joker and listening to dialogue. The atmosphere is really good though, which is great throughout the game. When you do take proper control, the gameplay is very good. What impressed me most in this game is how it mixes up gameplay elements to keep things fresh. It's mainly combat and platforming, but there's moments where you need to use stealth, or explore to locate entrances or follow trails.The combat is simple but quite satisfying. Batman moves quick and can jump between foes with ease. It's weird to see Batman move with such agility because he is usually quite sluggish in other Batman games. Once you deal enough damage with punches, you can perform a finishing blow. You are still vulnerable to attack whilst performing a finishing move, so the combat is about crowd-control, and choosing your moments wisely. As the game progresses, you are introduced to different enemy types. Certain enemies have to be stunned with a cape whip, or leaped over, before attacking. If Batman chains successful attacks without being hit, he is rewarded with more points, and deals stronger attacks. Defeated enemies turn into bats which is weird.In terms of platforming, you can climb objects by standing next to them and pressing the A button. If you hold A to run and reach the end of a platform, then Batman automatically jumps, then holding A allows Batman to glide using his cape. You can shimmy along ledges and drop down on them. There's also the grappling hook to pull yourself to higher ground which is also great for attacking enemies from above.There are sections where you must take down several enemies using stealth. Batman is great at taking down unarmed enemies, but he doesn't last long when it comes to guns. Here he must watch the guards patrol and wisely choose his moment to attack. Once you render a guard unconscious, then its a good idea to flee, using your grappling hook to get back to higher ground.There are times where Batman needs to follow a trial. Early on, you are tracking Commissioner Gordon who has left bits of tobacco, other missions have you follow a trail of fingerprints. You can enter “Detective Mode” which allows you to these, as well as see enemies through walls, find structural defects, and find hidden/smaller objects. The tracking moments are pretty boring but it helps mix up the pace of the game, and is often used to guide you into new areas.There are loads of Riddler trophies and Audio samples hidden around the Asylum. “Detective Mode” can often be useful for finding these, but its a good idea to keep your eye out for ventilation shafts which they are often hidden in. There's a lot of ventilation shafts, especially in the early part of the game. Luckily, Batman can move really fast through these, rather than being forced to crawl at a slow pace.As you completes objectives, obtain collectibles and defeat enemies, you gain points which allow you to unlock abilities. There's some combat abilities, health upgrades, and abilities for your gadgets.As you progress through the game, Batman acquires Batarang, Explosive Gel, Batclaw, Cryptographic sequencer (hacking device) and Line Launcher. These gadgets allow Batman to reach new areas, and some give extra combat options.The game uses Auto saves so you never need to go trawling through menus to save your game; it's seamless. If you die, you don't have to go back far due to the checkpoints in each area.The game looks slightly dated now (but still looks good), and plays really well. Usually superhero games are poor, but Rocksteady have done Batman fans a great service here. The gameplay is varied, and the cinematic approach makes Arkham Asylum feel a great place to explore.

15.2.2020

Batman: Arkham Asylum starts you off with Batman racing to the asylum with Joker in tow after having recaptured him for the umpteenth time and to get him back in his cell where he belongs, but holy trap, Batman! It turns out that Mr. J along with Harley Quinn wanted this all along and before you know it you're trapped and all the baddies have been let out of their cells, with you now needing to go running around the island and cleaning up the mess.In general Arkham Asylum looks okay relative to the time, though what it does do really well is the atmosphere. The dark night combined with eerie buildings does genuinely make the place feel uncomfortable, and even when you aren't in any danger it still feels unsafe,which is fantastic. This is punctuated by Joker often watching your every move through cameras and monologuing often, with both him and all the other characters in general sounding very good, albeit with poor lip syncing. The main story beats are just okay and do feel like a generic Batman story, but the characters are great, and Joker can even be genuinely funny, though you do see one too many of Batman's nemeses, and often times they're just crowded out and not able to get enough screen time since they've tried in squeeze in too many of them in one game. Similarly the game sounds great, whether you're thumping a grunt in the face or rappelling up a wall.Speaking of thumping, much has been made about Arkham Asylum's combat system but in general the quality does vary. The basic rhythm of flowing between enemies as you hit them is generally satisfying, as are the amount of moves and gadgets you can use, and the gadgets themselves are given to you are paced well, but the countering system is often unresponsive and the game is finicky on when said flowing between enemies happens since it's sometimes doing exactly what you want it to do and other times you're just left standing there punching the air. This controls issue does extend to some other areas as well, like needing to hold X to run instead of clicking the thumb stick, which just feels a bit odd, and for some reason they don't let you pause cutscenes if you quickly need to pop to the loo or something. There are also a decent chunk of puzzles to do, set up all over the island by the Riddler, but they're a bit hit and miss since often times the game needs you to have a certain gadget in order to solve one only for the game not having given it to you yet nor telling you that this is the case, which gets annoying, though when you do get all of them they can be pretty cool. The boss fights meanwhile feel very good and provide an enjoyable mix of being difficult while still being fair with only the occasional hiccup.You even get to do some stealth, like with being able to sneak behind an enemy and put them to sleep or knocking them down with a batarang in order to avoid direct conflict. Sometimes this is necessary as a room full of goons with guns will take you down very easily, though the enemy AI is quite poor as it's often just a little too easy to avoid being spotted and smarter enemies wouldn't have gone amiss, though the main systems themselves aren't anything worth complaining about.In contrast the collectibles are very well done, as even those which seem useless - like the Riddler trophies - still give you XP that can be used to upgrade Batman and let you do things like gaining new moves or making your gadgets do more. This is on top of things like audio tapes that show you what's been going on with other characters and helping build the lore, with the Arkham Chronicle stone tablet ones especially being utterly excellent.The other bit of side content are the challenge rooms, split between stealth and combat focused ones. The sneaky ones are pretty good since they're focused on making you be creative in asking you to take the enemies out in a lot of different ways, but the combat ones are pretty boring since they're just built around repetitive attempts at increasing your score.Finally I have to compliment the multiple save system. It's very convenient and lets you start a new game without needing to wipe over your old one, or is useful if you're sharing the console with someone and instead of stepping on each others toes you can just use one of the four slots.As a whole this is a solid game, and if you're interested in Batman or just like the look of the game in general then absolutely play it.

18.12.2009

Batman: Arkham Asylum is a great game. Speaking as a Batman fan, particularly of the comic books and animated series (two Batman continuites this game is heavily influenced by), this game gets a full 5 stars. Scripted by brilliant Batman: The Animated Series writer Paul Dini, the excellent portrayals of the best villain collection in superhero history are one of the first things you notice about this game. Batman: The Animated Series veteran Mark Hamill (or Luke Skywalker, for all you Star Wars fans) is doing some of the best voicover work of his already celebrated career as the Joker, with the wonderfully comic-booky graphics adding to his gleeful yet menacing performance.Also returning from the animated series are Kevin Conroy as Batman and Arleen Sorkin as the always fantastic Harley Quinn, both giving it their all and nicely bringing their characters to life. The aformentioned graphics and creepy, haunted-house-setting create a detective mystery crime noir feel, but the action scenes also benefit from the gritty atmosphere.So the game manages to capture your interest right away, with the opening cutscene a great introduction to the place the entire game is set; ancient, eerie nuthouse Arkham Asylum. Batman is delivering the Joker back to his cell, but something isn't right. The Warden has been taken prisoner and it's up to the Caped Crusader to save the Asylum and thwart Joker's plan. The player is thrown right into action, with the first fight allowing you to practice the simple, three-button combat system of Attack, Counter and Stun. Experimenting with different combos and freeflow fighting tactics is fun for a while, but eventually it does get repetitive. Thankfully the game manages to seamlessly blend together the two main elements of what Batman does - for he is a detective first and a vigilante second.That's where the Detective Mode comes in. The simple tap of a button allows you two instantly single out enemies, possible escape routes or hidden items. The Detective Mode is a blessing - I found myself playing nearly the whole game with it switched on. It is just so useful - if you're low on health and couldn't possibly take on five armed henchmen with just your brawn, it forces you to use your brain to find alternate routes around the badguys. You'll find yourself overcome with satisfaction as you explore different ways to silently take enemies out without their accomplices realising, as their visible heartrate increases, their mood building up from 'Calm', with the all-too-real AI making smug comments and sneering for Batman to do his worst, to 'Nervous', then, eventually, 'Terrified' when the henchmen fire their weapons randomly and cry out for Batman to leave them alone. Slightly demented? Yes. But does it put you in the shoes of the Dark Knight Detective in a way that could only be matched by actually dressing up like a bat, leaping off gargoyles and beating up clowns? Definitely.An even more joyous feature added purely for the hardcore fans are the hidden Riddler trophies scattered throughout the vast levels of the building and its grounds. Many of the villain's puzzles revolve around famous moments from Batman's history, which will delight fans, but people with little knowledge of the Caped Crusader's world can still have fun - they'll just have to look a little harder. The unlockable items range from strange messages hidden in the Asylum by its founder, whose story will only be revealed when every message is collected, to Patient Interview Tapes, which give you a deeper look at some of the Asylum's more twisted inmates.Non-Batman fans will still be pleased with this as a video game, as the gameplay and story are very compelling and original in their own right, but you really have to be a fan to experience Batman: Arkham Asylum to its full. Bane yelling 'I'll BREAK you!' in mid-fight, for example, is something only the fans will get. You'll laugh at the poster for Penguin's 'Ice Lounge', you'll spend hours searching for hidden Riddler clues like the Scarface Dummy in the Warden's office, or the bench in the Botanical Gardens dedicated to Thomas and Martha Wayne, or Calendar Man's date-riddled cell. I urge you to buy the game, it's a spectacular blend of various Batman worlds, original gameplay and particularly fine attention to detail. Roll on Arkham Asylum 2!

29.9.2009

...this game keeps coming out of the dark with the unexpected. Super-hero games are, in my experience, either brilliant or utter toss. This definitely falls into the former category. To begin with, it is a lovingly crafted and well-conceived world that we get to enjoy visually. It is graphically smooth - no glitches - and conforms well to the dark, gothic feel that the best Batman stuff has always had. The 20's, art deco style, mixed in with the gothic architecture lend a true sense of age and history to the island and its buildings, and make for a visual feast. The characters, while not being incredibly realistic (it IS based on a comic after all), are extremely well rendered - particularly Killer Croc and Bane.The Bat himself looks suitably hard-boiled and menacing. Not to mention Harley Quinn or Poison Ivy - every 15 year old playing this game will be happy indeed. I save the highest praise for the Joker, however. Looking like a menacing cross between Jack Nicholson's incarnation and the cartoon version, he looks fantastically apt. The characters are also voiced by the actors from the cartoon, in many cases, lending to familiarity and quality. When the characters ARE voiced by other people, fortunately the quality is retained. The ambient audio is no less accomplished, with classical arrangements and the howls of the insane forming the aural backdrop to your adventure.With all of this slick style and aesthetic accomplishment, does the gameplay suffer at all? Well, no. Not one iota. This game is - as stated on its front cover by a magazine reviewer - a masterpiece. Having played the demo, I though it would be good, but perhaps a tad repetitive. Not so - the array of gadgets and the upgrades altering their function mean that you can approach a given situation in many ways. In addition, without giving too much away, the old hide on the statue and drop on bad guys heads doesn't really work too well after a while thanks to some Jokerly intervention. The bad guys get smarter and better defended as you progress. And while there aren't really any `mini-games', as such, to break up the normal gameplay, there are times when you will be called upon to do something more cinematic or out of line with normal play - for example the nightmare sequences with the Scarecrow. This is a game with vast playability, too. The island is very large, and has many hidden or difficult to access areas (many of which require advanced versions of gadgets to access). There are a few types of collectables which variously unlock patient interviews, character models, character bios or useful items. Getting all of these will take a long time - and though I'm not an achievement hunter or someone who loses sleep over my Xbox gamerscore, I think I will go hunt them down.Further to the gameplay power, there is the storyline. It brings you in to contact with many of Batman's greatest foes, without seeming altogether convoluted or over-designed. It is also sufficiently long to keep you going for several nights, depending on how much time you spend gaming - square-eye types might finish the story in 4-5 sessions. Personally, it took me 2 very long weekend sessions and several post-work, shorter sessions. And it never got dull. Certain games you have to force yourself to finish - others, like Arkham Asylum, you wish were longer.I would like to mention one particularly nice, simple feature included in this game. The Batsuit gets damaged as the game progresses. I know - small, simple and almost insignificant compared with other aspects of gameplay. But it is just precisely the representative feature to show the care and forethought that has gone into this game. The torn cape, ripped bat symbol and gashes in the arm; the dark spots of blood on Batmans chin. If you spent a night on an island facing your greatest foes, you wouldn't expect to be Cillit Bang clean either. It's all part of the immersive quality here. They really understand that to make a good Super-Hero game, you don't just want to have the characters and powers, you want to feel like you ARE that hero. Years of putting a towel around your neck for a cape has ultimately evolved into this.I don't tend to give 5 star reviews, but it is thoroughly merited in this case. An absolute gem.

1.9.2009

A few seconds in and already you can feel the love that has gone into this game. It practically oozes from every frame of animation. The team behind this game love Batman, and it shows. It's also great to see that Eidos (now owned by Square Enix) have a fantastic hit on their hands. It's about time.The game kicks off with a Half-Life-ish opening sequence. No spoilers, but you get a glimpse of what's coming. And it isn't pretty. When you finally get into the meat of the gameplay, you are confronted with a series of thugs to take out, simply by bashing the square button. Easy enough, and you could be forgiven this makes up the meat of the hand to hand combat, and you would be right to an extent.But in the latter stages of the game, it gets far more complex, where counter attacking, one hit takedowns, throws, dodging and guard breaking become more important as the badies get better, more savage and a bit smarter. It's an extremely fluid combat system that demonstrates what a Streets of Rage-esque game could be like on the next gen systems. Depending on how much damage you take and how much variety there is in your attacks will affect the amount of XP you earn and how much of your suite armour will be recovered, what upgrades you can buy, etc. The satisfaction of taking out a gang of thugs flawlessly with well timed counters, guard breaking and dodges is something I haven't encountered since wreaking havoc in Prototype. Batman is the best in the business.The stealth combat is hugely satisfying, and again you can feel the love and attention coming through, as baddies get more and more terrified the more of their number you take out. It's empowering in a way, just how it would feel to be Batman. If only.And then there are The Riddler's challenges. And as I start to get obsessive about finding them, I just can't help admire what wonderfull attention to detail has been paid to these. Most comprise of finding Riddler trophies, breaking teeth, aligning question marks with the dots (brilliant when you find your first one, brought a smile to my face) but some really brought a smile to my face, like finding memorabilia that belonged to The Penguin, Catwoman, Mr Freeze, etc. It's feels like the Batman universe has been completely captured and committed to Arkham Asylum.The game is, quite frankly, a perfect console game in the way that the joypad (XBox or PS3) is the perfect tool for this game. The tools available to you when you get a bit further into the game make full use of the pad, especially the sonic resonator, but I wont ruin it for you. Not since Prototype (which, admittedly, wasn't long ago) have I been so satisfied with the gameplay experience, I just want more of it.Batman's voice actor is a little corny, and sometimes his lips don't sync up, but I forgive this. It's The Joker that's the star of the show. Voiced by Mark "Skywalker" Hamill, this could be his niche. He is brilliant, bang on the money as The Joker, so well suited to the role. It's spooky how well they got The Joker right in both game and film.So, great ingredients, but too much of one or the other and you have ruined the cake. What truly impressed me was the variety and pacing on offer with this game. There is action when you want action, there is problem solving when you want problem solving, and there is stealth when you want stealth. It gives you exactly what you want, when you want it. I think some people have complained that it could be too short, but by spending time finding the riddler challenges and fully exploring the areas, you can triple, even quadruple it.Add to this one of the most graphically accomplished games you will ever see on this current gen, and you have a complete gaming experience. There are so many easter eggs, it is impossible to mention them all. So I wont. If this is the Unreal Engine 3's last dance, then it full marks from me. If this is the best you can do with this engine, it will take an unbelievable effort from Epic to make a better Gears 3 using this engine.Play the demo if you don't believe me. It's free. Then you will want to at least rent it. And that's when it will bite. And then you will buy it. So just save youreslf some time and buy it. It's a truly great gaming moment.

24.12.2009

With Christian Bale forcing hordes of men to the gym to try and pump up and whooooing even larger hordes of women after his now two appearances as the Dark Knight, how does he fair as a pixelated video game character?The story of arkham asylum is set, unsurprisingly in Arkham Asylum; not the wide expanse that is Gotham City. This may seem like quite a closed and uninteresting environment to some, but it was an excellent move. Rocksteady have never really delved into the world of open sandbox games (like GTA etc...) As a result they chose to stick with what they know best and did a fine job. The story focuses on Joker primarily,but has a few other characters involved as well which all adds to the enthrallment of the batman experience.The gameplay is thoroughly enjoyable; from the moment that you set foot inside the asylum you are faced with about eight thugs, all wanting batman horridly beaten up and left for dead. Here you get your first taste of the hand to hand combat system. Unlike a lot of button heavy combat systems that frankly become extremely tedious and monotinous, this system is fluid and very intuitive. You have the one button for striking and another for countering (if a thug is coming up behind you a tap of this will initiate a very cool and slick counter move whereby the thug will wish he'd never been born). The striking is very varied, although admittedly only having one strike button and not being able to choose which strike to perform may annoy some people. The strikes look extremely fluid and very well trained, I wouldn't mind betting that they set up some martial arts masters in mo-cap for this. The h to h is partnered with a variety of batmans weapons, the good old batarang being a quick and easy favourite. These are available from the beginning of the game and are fun to watch and use. A quick tap of the left bumper button will immediately fire one out at the closest enemy making for an excellent close quarter weapon or can be aimed at a distant guard before you sneak in.The graphics are astounding. The environments are thoroughly enjoyable to walk, run or even glide through; with excellent detail and brilliant color schemes that vary from dark and intimidating to bright and vibrant. The character models are very good, although I will admit that all the thugs look exactly the same save a few different face paint schemes. The main villains are extremely well rendered with fantastic character modeling and brilliant movement. Batman himself is a genuine masterpiece, he looks exactly like he does on the front of the box. However I would say that they may have overdone his muscle definition a little bit; he looks like he could easily top Arnold and Ronnie Coleman and walk away with Mr Olympia as soon as he's done cleaning up Joker's mess. Having said that all of the thugs are very musclebound as well with little variety in their body schemes.The sound is very good. The background music is a mix of cartoon like sincerity and full on blockbuster movie suspense and thrill. The voice acting is some of the best that I've heard; easily on a level with the Halo and Gears of War franchises. I believe that batman is voiced by whoever it was that voiced the original cartoon. Joker is done perfectly; whacky, sarcastic, crazy and a little scary. He is not voiced by Heath Ledger for obvious reasons.Longevity is also fantastic with this game. The overall story will provide between 15 - 20 hours of enjoyment; no Fallout 3 or Oblivion, but certainly not a disappointment. This is then mixed in very interesting side quests which force you to use Batman's, and your own, investigative abilities; again not monotinous or tedious in any way.Overall this game is a brilliant revival of the batman games franchise. It is fun, quirky, well crafted and a delight to look at. It provides hours of gameplay with a fun and exciting mix of brutal hand to hand combat and a more thoughtful approach to certain areas. Rocksteady have nailed this one on the head!

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