Nerd Mentality

XBOX 360 REVIEW – Batman: Arkham Asylum

Posted August 29th 2009 by Frankie Aguilar.

One of the best things about an established comic book hero's mythos is that it can be interpreted in many ways. Another great thing about these monolithic beings is that they are always bigger than their interpretations. A movie director, or comic book writer, can totally destroy your image of a super hero, but the character's mythos will allow you to remember an instance where the hero was portrayed awesomely. Recently movies have put comic book heroes on the map and the rush to capitalize on the comic book cash cow has led to the proliferation of super hero based media.

The medium in which comic book characters have historically been destroyed is video games. Twenty seconds into Superman for the Nintendo 64 will not only have you contemplating suicide, but make you lose all hope in a faithful comic book video game adaptation. But much like Christopher Nolan did with his Batman Begins film, Rocksteady Studios has taken up the task of creating a noteworthy Batman game. Batman: Arkham Asylum shines the Bat Signal through the darkness that is comic book adaptations. Arkham Asylum is the best and most faithful video game adaptation of a comic book character to date. But beyond that, it is a stellar game in its own right. Even if you've never heard of Batman, you can pick up and enjoy this game. Along with some beyond awesome game play comes an engrossing story that is equal parts detective drama, and noir action film.



The game takes place in the infamous Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. It opens with Batman transporting his most prolific nemesis, the Joker, to Arkham for incarceration. From the outset, one thing is clear: this game is beautiful in a grim, dark way. Batman: Arkham Asylum uses the Unreal 3 engine, which has been featured in such other titles as Gears of War, and another comic based game, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The only problem I've ever had with the Unreal engine is that games which utilize it are hard to differentiate from one another. You'll see Andrew Ryan from Bioshock in the face of the Joker, and find a few similarities in the chins of Marcus Fenix of Gears of War and Batman. But what the Unreal engine has always impressed me with is its environments. Arkham Asylum is an austere place made all the more so by Joker's inevitable escape.

When Batman gets to the Asylum, the Joker breaks free of his containment, and proclaims that his capture was all part of an elaborate trap to get Batman to an Arkham controlled by its inmates. Immediately Batman is attacked by a group of the Joker's thugs which gives you your first crack at the controls. Fighting as Batman is intuitive, and really fun. The free form combat system is divided into three basic attacks: Melee, Stun and Takedown, each assigned to a different button. Switching between these three attack styles is smooth and makes for great fight scenes. The ease in which this game is played is phenomenal, and the free form combat evolves with you via a loose experience system. Batman's melee attacks can be accompanied by a throw of a batarang or a pull from the batclaw for extensive combos that, when executed correctly, are wonderful to watch.

Along with the fighting controls, the navigation controls are some of the best I've ever seen in a game. Batman can use his grapnel gun and zip lines to get around Arkham with ease, but the most enjoyable mode of transportation is gliding with his cape. It's simple to maneuver but nothing is cooler than gliding off of a tower onto an unsuspecting victim. You can also sneak around in air vents or perch on gargoyles to strike out at your foes from the darkness. Playing this game really makes you feel like you are Batman, and that you can defeat any obstacle even without super powers.

If Batman did have a super power though, it would be his awe-inspiring deductive skills, enhanced by his technological genius. This is represented in game via the detective mode. With a click of a button the screen becomes tinted blue and certain areas in the room are illuminated orange. Detective mode is a means by which you see an area as Batman would see it. You may notice a wall, that otherwise looked fine, to be structurally weak in detective mode, prompting you to break through it and reveal a new path. Detective mode isn't an easy or cheap way to get through the game however; using technology with intellect is something the Batman character always done. Refreshingly, at no point is detective mode a nuisance or clunky. This mode along with all the cool bat gadgets you collect throughout the game make for a comic book hero experience that stands head and shoulders above the rest.

The musical score for this game is epic; a sweeping musical background to the fantastic ambient and fight sounds, which allows for an engrossing experience that makes you feel like Batman. The voice acting is also top notch, with fan-favorite actors from Batman: The Animated Series voicing Batman (Kevin Conroy), the Joker (Mark Hamill), and Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin). If you were a fan of The Animated Series, you will enjoy this game all the more, because as soon as you hear the first exchange between Batman and the Joker, nostalgia will set in and you'll feel right at home.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is not a direct adaptation of any one comic, movie, or show. Rather it takes bits from the entire 70 year history of the Bat and inserts pieces of it where necessary. Each of Batman's foes in the game brings a distinct gameplay style into it. My favorites sequences are the fear gas-induced episodes brought about by the Scarecrow. All the big players from Batman's rogue gallery are in this game in some fashion, and finding out how they all fit in is one of the best parts of the game. In addition, there is also a collection element to the game, and while not as deep or involved as a Zelda title, it adds replayability into the game. The main elements of the collection are the Riddler's trophies scattered about the Island, that when collected open up different challenges and prizes. Couple this with the gadget-enhancing experience system I mentioned earlier, and mix in three different difficulty settings, and Batman: Arkham Asylum is a game you'll want to play more than once.

What's amazing about this game is that, with all the diverse gameplay types shoved into this game, not once does it trip over itself. The game is an action brawler game, with perfectly executed stealth sequences. It's a fast paced beat-em-up, with slow and methodical detective work. Many other games have attempted to bridge genres and few have done as well as Batman: Arkham Asylum has. Every aspect of this game interwoven seamlessly and makes for a title that is hard to put down. The characters are organic and visceral, and the story in engaging. Rocksteady Studio's latest outing is the best game of 2009 in my opinion. I also believe that its gameplay will draw the attention of more than just brawler fans; it's easy enough for causal gamers to enjoy but deep enough for hardcore players to love. Batman: Arkham Asylum isn't just a great comic book video game, it's a great game in general and I hope that every comic book adaption holds itself to this standard from now on.

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Tags: arkham asylum, Batman

Posted in: Reviews, Gaming

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