Developed by - Rocksteady Studios
Published by – Eidos
Platform – PS3, PC, xbox 360
Age Rating - 15+
Official site – www.batmanarkhamasylum.com
Score – 9.5/10
Let me start by emphasising how epic this game actually is, we have all been waiting for an half decent batman game for a long time, the only decent game we received was Lego batman in 2008 but let’s be honest that didn’t exactly capture the pure badass style of everyone’s favourite dark night.
The game begins with a long cut scene of batman taking the joker to the asylum in the passenger’s seat of the batmobile then a cut scene/play through of the asylum where you are following the joker as he is transported to the cells, you meet up with several other guards and inmates, then you soon arrive at an elevator shaft where you come face to face with the killer croc. The detail used on this guy is immense, but moving on you eventually meet up with commissioner Gordon and batman can go no further leaving the only thing between the batman and joker an electrical barrier and some fragile glass, and as expected this is where all hell breaks loose - the joker escapes and batman is soon on his ass, but the joker with a little bit of help from Harley manages to elude the batman and get behind another electrical barrier also releasing some inmates leaving the batman slightly frustrated.
Now swiftly moving on the game basically consists of this and more using batman’s equipment and cunning to beat bad guys and eventually the joker.
Firstly I am going to discuss the characters in the game:
1. Batman:
Wow, this guy is huge, the suit looks awesome and i have no idea who voices him but he captures the batman’s image perfectly.
2. The Joker:
Not much has to be said here, imaged after his comic book appearances and voiced by the man who voiced him in the animated series the joker is just 100% perfect in every way, although he could of made more of his smart mouth jokes to make him seem better.
3. Commissioner Gordon:
Again not much to be said although he looks like this guy doesn’t seem to slow down, he looks in his late 60’s and doesn’t seem to want to quit anytime soon.
4. Harley Quinn:
Ok I was never a big fan of Harley in the animated series and to be honest I am still not, the version in this game to be fair seems a lot better, she has had a major face lift, grew another 2 ft and seems a lot more badass then her original cartoon & comic appearances.
5. Bane:
Nothing has changed really, same mask, same weak appearance although now he has a large t bin pump on his back to keep him strong.
6. Poison ivy:
…..Wow, simply wow, she has had an epic face lift and seems more plant like then her movie and comic appearances 10/10 to the creators.
7. Killer Croc
I never really read the comic books so i don’t really have any idea who killer croc is, but any fan who has played the game and knows all about him would agree that he looks awesome, the detail taken to make him as scary as possible certainly was worth it.
8. Scarecrow
Now, i have no idea what he looked like in the comic books and no episode of the animated series that I watched he was in (that I can remember) but he looks amazing much better than the movie version, he is scarier and sends the batman into frequent spirals of hallucinations throughout the game.
9. Victor Zsasz
Ok no idea who he is or when he was first shown, but he’s creepy
10: The Riddler
An answer to a riddle that has been raging on the internet since the game was announced “is the riddler going to make an appearance in batman: Arkham Asylum †the answer – no.
The riddler takes a back seat to the whole game so you only get to hear his voice as he sends batman off to answer riddles and collect riddle trophies.
Gameplay:
The story basically consists of chasing down the joker whilst dealing with Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, Bane, Poison ivy and the jokers seeming endless supply of goons.
The game is played in third person and holds a large array of puzzles bad guys and a seemingly endless amount of inmates to smash and leave there mangled bodies on the ground, you are capable of using a program called “the invisible predator†program created by the games developers to swing from gargoyle to gargoyle and hang upside down without being noticed, then you are free to glide kick or vertically takedown enemies to your wish.
Players will recognize the fact that there is a lot of adult content in this game for example – words such as “bitch†and “ass†being thrown in here and there, poison ivy’s barley legal underwear and people being murdered left and right.
Other than this, the game is suited to challenge and baffle anyone who dares play it.
This game basically consists of three things: fist fighting, stealth and exploration.
Using the left analog stick to pass between enemies whilst smashing the square button to beat the living daylights out of them using the triangle button to counter any attacks (these are displayed by a spider sense style icon above the bad guys head) the circle button to cape stun them and the x button to run.
Using the R2 button you are capable of crouching and sneaking up on bad guys, and squeezing into small spaces to hide, R1 button allows you to grapple onto gargoyles and ledges.
And finally the detective modes to allow you to see weak glass, vents that can be ripped off walls and scan the enemy’s movements.
And to help you along the way you have 8 pieces of technology to help you along.
The Batarang
Double/Triple Batarang
Explosive gel
Remote control batarang
The Batclaw
cryptographic sequencer
Line Launcher
A Sonic Batarang
Combined with the batman’s kung-fu/ninja training no wonder crooks run screaming
Sounds:
Throughout the asylum there are multiple different sounds you will experience, if it’s not the sound of bad guys being thrown around the room like ragdolls it may be the sound of batman flicking open his cape or its the sound of batman’s inventory doing there job the list of sound effects go on and on and they all make the game come alive and seem that more realistic.
Graphics:
Wow, simply wow, the amount of attention taken to the characters and areas in this game are epic, all of the characters look the part and the areas look as awesome as people imagined it to be, although I fail to have a HD-Ready TV to play it on i was amazed at the detail.
Replayabiltity:
The only thing which in my mind has let this game down is the replayabiltity mainly because there is none, the only things to go back and play for are the trophies/achievements, the riddle and the challenges and that’s all as soon as they are all done with then that’s it, finished, no more.
Overall score:
Overall this game is the most awesome game i have ever had the pleasure to sit up till half past 5 the next morning playing EVER.
Although the replayabiltity and the lack of a HD-Ready TV to play it on really let me down, so its only fair to rate this game:
9.5 / 10
