Arkham Asylum Review

I was excited to finally get this game in my hands, even temporarily. I can’t explain exactly how long I’ve been waiting for Batman to be cool again. I dropped the ball on the release date on this one, and when my friends suddenly started throwing out names like Harley Quinn and Scarecrow, I knew something was up. Finally, the epitome of my childhood was back: Batman was cool again.

Arkham Asylum picks up right where every Batman cartoon left off: The Dark Knight has once again captured the Joker, with the easily discernable foreshadowing indicating that it certainly wasn’t the end for our jester-clad villain friend. Predictably, the Joker escapes due to the negligent care of his guards. Batman starts what seems to be a simple chase, only to find out that the escape plan was much more elaborate. Arkham Asylum quickly becomes the playground battlefield under the control of Gotham’s most dangerous criminal, and his group of friends: every major bad guy from the comics.

The gameplay in the storyline quickly goes from invigorating and exciting to dull and repetitive incredibly fast. Sure, in the beginning it feels really cool to swing around on the Batclaw, demolishing an enemy with a glide kick before quickly disappearing into the rafters before his little goon friends know what’s going on. Underlying, however, is the fact that the entire game rests on the mastery of fancy little gadgets and basic brute fighting skills.

The good part of the gameplay, however, is that it relies on the “Detective Mode” of Batman. While a lot of the game involves swinging around bashing enemies’ skulls, there is an innumerable amount of rooms with absolutely no physical resistance, if you can figure out how to navigate them. The game has a decent combination of blatant fighting sequences and sections that require more stealth than strength, if the player chooses to take the easy way out. The good news for players that aren’t good at one of the two: none of the modes last all that long, giving the player the opportunity to play through the game as (s)he sees fit.

On a basic level, the game felt…good. Ignoring the incredibly predictable storyline, swinging around as the Caped Crusader allowed me (and presumably other people) to reconnect with the childhood desire of well, being Batman. The fighting was smooth, and the lack of overtly mistimings allowed the fight sections to go much more smoothly than in most fist fighting games. Batman’s costume was most similar to that of the Batman in The Dark Knight, giving the more modern edge that helps break away from the old traditional Batman.

Holy Achievements, Batman! (Okay, so Robin’s not in the game, but I couldn’t resist). Playing through, I couldn’t help but compare the achievements to those of well, every other game. Basic (and sometimes unreasonably large) achievements for the boss battles, with a few tossed in for more storyline support. The rest of the achievements lie in finding hidden Riddler’s challenges and other hidden objects that give the open world design more dimensions. (I’m sure an online FAQ walkthrough wouldn’t hurt, either) An average play through might take a while, but 50% of the achievements after one campaign isn’t horrible at all. Achievement Difficulty: 6/10

I had high hopes for the Dark Knight movie, and was disappointed. Unfortunately, the game didn’t provide much more. I had a hard time capturing the feel of the Caped Crusader, and there were just enough flaws to make me want to throw my controller and hope that the right buttons got pressed. Batman fans, it’s probably not what you’re expecting. The game might be alright for those just looking for a game, but for those looking for a hero, it falls short. Game Rating: 7/10