GRADE: B+
While there have been a number of Batman games over the past decade, none of them have done particularly well or stood out as doing justice to the Caped Crusader. "Batman: Arkham Asylum" changes that. It's not just a passable beat 'em up or stealth sim, but rather a highly polished combination of both elements combined with a focus on exploration. Topped off with a well-written story and a spectacular cast, "Batman: Arkham Asylum" is a seriously fun fight against the Joker and his evil plans.
The story begins with Batman taking the Joker (impressively voiced by Mark Hamill) to Arkham Asylum after the infamous villain surrenders without a fight. Once inside the facility, Joker frees himself and lets loose his thugs shipped in from Blackgate prison to take over the island, capturing Commissioner Jim Gordon and freeing several of Batman's imprisoned enemies as well. While the game is primarily about Batman's fight to take back the island and stop the Joker, details like recorded interviews with various supervillains scattered about the island, stories from Amadeus Arkham himself and some nightmarish trips into Batman's psyche, courtesy of Scarecrow, delve deeper into the universe of Gotham City and cast the idea that Batman can simply contain all of his enemies on Arkham.
While the different areas of the island are largely linear levels, the game gives the player the freedom to run around the open island, exploring and fighting enemies. The complexity of Arkham Island, with hundreds of hidden trophies, maps, interview tapes and riddles given by The Riddler himself, is a place completionists could lose themselves in for hours. With level design reminiscent of the "Metroid Prime" series, "Arkham" goes above and beyond any superhero adventure before it in terms of exploration.
Batman spends much of his time beating up Joker's thugs, and the combat system makes it easy to take on large groups of enemies and come out on top. Blue lightning bolts over enemies when they're about to attack make them easy to counter -- as long as you're paying attention. The challenge usually comes from trying to build up seamless combos without getting hit or breaking stride. The combos are hard to maintain, but very rewarding both visually and in terms of gameplay, since Batman hits harder after a string of successful attacks and counters. The combat isn't too difficult, favoring seamless animations and making Batman fun to play over a more obtuse, "hardcore" system.
But when the enemies pick up guns, Batman knows to keep to the shadows. As a stealth game, "Arkham" manages to create a sense of being far more powerful than your foes, while still keeping those enemies necessarily dangerous. Batman can't take much gunfire (even after the health upgrades) and doesn't regenerate health until the end of encounters, making a straight fight against armed foes are not an option. For most of the game, Batman can sneak through the multi-layered arenas or grapple up to the ceiling and swing between elevated gargoyle statues that line the rooms, swooping on top of thugs for a quick K.O. from afar. For low-life thugs, the enemies are ridiculously smart, moving in pairs and looking back and forth constantly once they've found your first victim, resulting in exciting battles that never play out the same way.
The experience isn't perfect, though: the pacing can feel a bit too slow, and the game is definitely on the easy side until the challenge modes are unlocked. But these are the only flaws that hold the game back from perfection. Otherwise, "Batman: Arkham Asylum" is a stunning experience. The stealth sequences are dynamic and endlessly replayable, and the combat a blast to play and beautiful to watch. Anyone who needs another Batman fix after the genius of last year's film "The Dark Knight" will find this game to be easily as entertaining.
You can reach this staff writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
