You can count the number of good superhero videogames on one hand, even if that hand happened to be horribly mutilated after a run-in with a murderous crocodile. So suffice to say, when Batman Arkham Asylum was first announced over a year ago, gamers barely batted an eyelid.
So now that it’s finally been released, how has the Dark Knight faired?
I might as well get this out of the way nice and early; Batman Arkham Asylum is a momentous achievement. Although not without its flaws, it’s undoubtedly the best superhero video game adaptation to date. The high production values and sheer polish are prevalent throughout and the game feels as though it were a labour of love from genuine fans, with dabbing of fan service and sprinkles of Batman lore scattered throughout the game bound to bring a smile to the face of other fans of the caped crusader.
What makes the game work so well is the fusion of different gameplay elements which helps to never allow the gameplay to become stagnant or too repetitive. Arkham Asylum fuses the atmosphere of Bioshock and the stealth of Splinter Cell with the exploration and investigatory nature reminiscent of Metroid and Castlevania.
Just like Bioshock, the environment has a character of its own; Arkham Asylum has been created meticulously as a self-contained playground for the Joker to wreak havoc and destruction. Although the locale sounds as though it would be limiting in scope, there’s a good degree of variety, hell, there’s a Bat Cave hidden on the island. Graphically, the island is rendered beautifully, from confined rooms to vast open spaces. Subtle lighting effects like Batman’s iconic silhouette remind you that you’re the god damn Batman and further heighten the atmosphere. The story is delivered both through the customary cutscenes but also through other mediums. Audio tapes and newspaper clippings adorn the Asylum each giving further insight into the criminals incarcerated within the walls, with character biographies to also be found, further delving into their twisted minds. For those without a deep knowledge of the Batman series some of these characters will be slightly obscure, but they prove interesting.
The atmosphere and story are further elevated by the excellent voice acting, provided by Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, who will be instantly recognisable to anyone who grew up watching Batman the Animated Series. Whilst Conroy’s delivery is flat and by the book, emulating his prior work, Hamill’s take on the Joker is far more mature and demented in nature compared to the 90s cartoon. Joker’s omnipresence, due in part to the video telecomm system, is a constant reminder of his threat, and an opportunity for more great dialogue; some of it genuinely disturbing whilst simultaneously hilarious. The story written by Paul Dini, again of Batman TAS fame, is competent, but isn’t going to set the world alight. Cliffnotes: Joker escapes Arkham, is recaptured by Batman, returned to Arkham, but it’s all a ruse to lure the Batman into his elaborate trap. There’s a tad more, but that’s the gist of it. What is a rudimentary plot is largely saved by the interactions between characters.
Now, developers Rocksteady have made an interesting return to Batman’s title of ‘World’s Greatest Detective’, his introduction was after all in the Detective Comics series. His sleuthing abilities are often glazed over somewhat by most portrayals of the Dark Knight, but not here. Batman has a ‘detective mode’ built into his cowl, allowing him to detect hostiles and points of interest. Whilst in this mode, everything takes on a blue-tone X-Ray like filter, allowing you to see through walls. The only problem with this is the temptation to stay in this mode throughout, but if you do this you’ll miss out on all of the graphical touches, as well as risking the colour blue being burned into your retinas. You’ll also be able to see the current emotional status of hostiles, ranging from nervous to outright soiling themselves. It’s always amusing to just terrorise these hapless foes, at which point they may begin firing aimlessly into the room as their Batphobia takes a turn for the worse. Exploring the island is an integral part of the gameplay, you’ll often find yourself backtracking through old environments much like Metroidvania titles. What was once an inaccessible section will become available once you’ve gained the necessary tools. The environment is also constantly changing, so even though you may have traversed through them earlier, a storyline element could mean it looks drastically different upon your return.
As well as ‘getting your Holmes on’, the combat system proves refreshing, due in part to the freedom amounted to you. There’s often limitless ways to clear a room of enemies, with some rooms seemingly just created as a playground for you to try out various new tactics. The game does an excellent job of teaching you new techniques and then giving you a set piece to utilise them. You’ll encounter both unarmed and armed goons, and each will require a different approach.
An unarmed gang of goons can for the most part just be taken on in hand to hand combat if you so wish. This is a great opportunity to make use of Arkham Asylum’s excellent freeflow combo system. You’re able to seamlessly incapacitate a dozen enemies thanks to the intuitive controls. I’ll be referring to the 360 controls, but they’re the same on the PS3 version. The X button is your attack button, throwing a punch or kick of sweet justice. As soon as you engage an enemy the combo meter starts building, all you need to do is press the control stick towards whatever enemy you want to attack and press the X button and Batman will seamlessly transition and pummel his next opponent, even if they’re across the room. This basic combat system makes it a joy to take on groups of enemies, with slow-motion effects really nailing home the delivery of Bat-justice. Your Y button acts as your counter button; when a hostile is about to attack, an icon appears above their head (though not in Hard mode) at which point they’re open to a pain inducing counter attack, allowing you to continue your combo, and in the world of Batman – combos means more experience points, which in turn can be used for upgrades and new moves. Your A button during combat is your evade button, allowing you to dive out of the way of attacks, as well as vault enemies, which is necessary for certain enemy types. The B button is your ‘Cape Stun’ manoeuvre, again required for certain enemies. This is probably the first game where your cape proves an actually useful tool.
The variation of enemies makes hand to hand combat fresh and enjoyable and you’re rewarded for varying your attack methods with more experience points. The only problem with the combat is it’s very much like an old kung-fu movie. Your hero may be taking on a ‘dozen enemies’, but really, you’re only fighting one at a time, whilst the others sort of hang back and try to look menacing. Logistically it makes sense, so I can’t really say it’s a criticism, it’s just an observation. The hand to hand combat very much reminds me of the modern day Prince of Persia series, well, minus the dullness, which is clearly a good thing. Ubi Soft should really consider looking at the Arkham Asylum combat model for their next Prince of Persia game.
Taking on hostiles armed with firearms are an altogether different ball game. Here the gameplay requires a far more methodical, stealth-based approach ala Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid. You’ll need to often clear a multi-tiered room of patrolling guards and there’s often more than one way of achieving this goal. This is due mostly by Batman’s arsenal of gadgetry. From Batarangs, to Batclaws, to Explosive Gels, these can all be utilised in often novel ways to incapacitate your enemies. On top of this, these rooms often have conveniently placed gargoyles positioned in the rafters, to which Batman can grapple up. These vantage points are both a useful means to survey your surroundings, but are also a means to escape once you’ve been spotted. The Joker’s henchmen aren’t the smartest; once detected, grappling up and between gargoyles will result in them exclaiming ‘Uh, where did he go?!’, because for whatever reason they’re not able to track anything above eyelevel. You can also deal out swift fury from the skies by waiting for a goon to walk below a gargoyle, at which point you can string them up. Better yet, wait for another goon to walk below their strung up comrade, then cut them down with a Batarang. Not fun enough? How about sneaking up behind an enemy, doing a Silent Takedown, spraying explosive gel near their unconscious body, then waiting for their buddies to come investigate, then blow them to smithereens. These rooms are literally your playground.
The combat in Arkham Asylum is so fun that they’re available as standalone ‘Challenge Rooms’, both in straight on combo-accumulating fisticuff fun and timed stealth-em-ups with medals for achieving set goals, such as ‘Explode Weakened Wall into Silly Goon’. Combined with leaderboards, these Challenge Rooms extend the gameplay after the story is done. Another means of extending the gameplay is the Riddler Challenges. Everyone’s favourite puzzler E. Nigma has left across Arkham Island various Riddler Trophies, riddles to solve and other things to collect. Altogether there are 240 things to find, and although I’m not a fan of collectathons, I did go back and find them all. Some of the riddles were quite clever, but they’re not too perplexing, especially after you find maps listing their whereabouts.
The Batman series is famous for some of the most popular comic book villains, and many of them make appearances in Arkham Asylum, it is a prison for the most dangerous individuals after all. You’ll encounter the likes of Killer Croc, Scarecrow and Poison Ivy to name a few, and for the most part the boss encounters are fun, if not somewhat easy. The Scarecrow encounter is engaging if not for the gameplay, but for his introduction. The build up to his encounter results in ‘insanity effects’, nothing new to anyone who played Eternal Darkness on the GameCube. Killer Croc on the other hand is quite dull, I won’t reveal too much, but his constant threat has aptly been described as akin to the helicopter in Half-Life 2.
There really isn’t a lot to complain about with Batman Arkham Asylum. The game is extremely polished, the gameplay is engaging and the characters are fun. My only complaints would be that the bosses were too easy. An aside is the Downloadable Content debacle. The Joker Challenge Rooms (where you can play as the Joker) are exclusive to the PS3 version which is disappointing for 360 and PC owners. The ‘Insane Nights’ DLC has, as of writing, been released across all platforms, but the forthcoming ‘Prey in the Darkness’ DLC is exclusive to the PS3 in North America, and unavailable on PC in any territory. The whole exclusive DLC debacle quite frankly leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Frankly I’d have rather they just made the game exclusive to one platform if they’re going to limit the DLC.
Regardless of all this, Batman Arkham Asylum has literally come out of nowhere (possibly descending from a gargoyle) to put forth itself as a potential Game of the Year.
5 Batarangs out of 5.
