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The last time I laid eyes on Batman: Arkham Asylum was six months ago at this year's Game Developer's Conference. The game looked and felt pretty good then but those of us who've been burned before are careful about letting a demo raise our hopes too high. Even so, the March demo made it clear that Rocksteady sought not only to make a great action game, but to create a quintessentially Batman experience by focusing on DC's original comic. In the end the game missed its June release date by a couple of months but the minute you load up the game, you'll agree the wait was worth it.
The game is set at the infamous Arkham Asylum where the Joker, allowing himself to be brought in, springs a masterful trap for the lovable "Bats". The Dark Knight's task then is to regain control of the asylum and save Warden Quincy Jones and Commissioner Jim Gordon, both of whom are taken hostage by the Joker. Arkham's gameplay revolves around three modes: Melee Combat, Silent Predator and Investigative, all of which are entertaining in their own way.
When it comes to combat, the Rocksteady team should congratulate each other because the melee combat in Arkham is some of the best in recent memory. The simple control scheme makes it easy and intuitive as one move seamlessly flows into another. Attacks, Counters, Stuns and Combos are contextual and are performed by moving the left thumbstick while pressing the square, triangle and circle buttons in various combinations. It's a great system for the combo-challenged because no matter what you press, combat feels powerful and looks cool. It's especially satisfying to disarm and defeat a crowd of knife-wielding 'roid monsters. By the way, is it interesting to anyone but me that the Joker surrounds himself with endless mobs of shirtless, muscular men? I'm just saying.
Anyway, Batman didn't get to be Batman by having rocks in his head and he can tell when it's a bad idea to launch a full-frontal assault. (Insert full-frontal joke here.) When there are just too many gun-toting meatheads to take out at once, Batman goes into Silent Predator mode, using his grappling hook to assess the situation from atop a conveniently-placed gargoyle. From there he can single enemies out one by one, quickly reducing a whole gang to a more manageable gaggle. (The absolute best is hanging upside down and snatching a guy off the floor only to leaving him dangling upside down by his ankle.) In addition to bringing death from above to these be-muscled mooks, Batman can access handy air vents to gain better ground-level vantage points. This enables him to sneak up behind unsuspecting thugs and perform silent take-downs on them. Stealth fans will love this part of the game and it's a safe bet most non-stealth fans will also be won over by the easy, fluid controls.
Not surprisingly, most superhero games focus solely on combat since it's visceral, dynamic and easily-gratifying. Arkham Asylum takes a risk by interrupting the potentially exhausting pace with investigative sequences and the risk pays off. More than half the game's focus is on finding clues and following the trails of Joker and his accomplices and that's done by going into Detective Mode. With a quick L2 tap, Batman can see enemies through walls, tell whether or not they're armed, and see other important things like weak spots in the asylum's architecture, places to shut down security gates and air vents to bypass blocked entries. He can also zoom in on objects and scan them for DNA or chemical essences, thus creating molecular trails that allow him to easily track his prey.
In addition to oustanding combat, stealth and investigative elements, Arkham hits the ball out of the park in regard to exploration, upgrades and boss fight design. The game's action doesn't take place solely inside Arkham Asylum; it overflows into the outbuildings, grounds and caves of the island as well. Building interiors are seriously maze-like (thank god for maps) and contain all manner of nooks and crannies for collectibles to be hidden in. Throughout the game you'll be collecting Riddler trophies which unlock challenges, disturbing audio tapes of patient interviews and weird, cryptic messages left by the asylum's founder, Amadeus Arkham. You'll also be collecting XP as you fight, which allows you to choose upgrades for your armor, abilities and equipment. And you'll be needing those for some of the most interesting, creative boss battles seen in recent years. (I'm not saying anything more than that. You gotta see 'em for yourself.) The Joker may intend on becoming king of the super villains but he's not above partnering up with others of his kind if he thinks it serves his interests. So get ready for some unpleasant reunions as Batman's forced to get reacquainted with the likes of Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Victor Zsasz, Bane, Scarecrow and the Riddler.
While Arkham Asylum does a great job using gameplay to pull you into the story, gameplay's only half the equation. The game's graphics and sound do an amazing job of capturing the original DC feel; mature but not gory, cartoonish but not campy. The art direction is a strange hybrid of hyper-realism and stylization that makes for some incredible cutscenes and environments chock-full of mind-blowing views. The character models and animation are also exceptional despite some questionable lip sync and textures that make the characters look like they've been made out of plastic. One of the coolest graphic details is the way the situation wears on Batman. Throughout the night's conflicts you'll see him getting progressively grubbier and more ragged.
Sound too is great in Arkham Asylum, from the moody soundtrack to the stellar voice acting. Except for a couple of instances where the voice lines and lip sync stopped entirely, leaving me to rely on subtitles to understand what was going on, the VO was highly entertaining. You gotta love Kevin Conroy's Batman and Arleen Sorkin's Harley Quinn (who even in 2009 absurdly retains her 30's gun moll persona) but the star of the show is Mark Hamill as the Joker. If your only reference for him is as whiny Luke Skywalker from the original Star Wars trilogy, then you'll probably be shocked at how good he is in this role. The fact is, his success is not that unexpected considering over the last fifteen years he's done countless voice-over roles, including a couple of previous turns as the Joker.
Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of the best examples in recent memory (competing with the likes of Red Faction: Guerrilla and Fallout 3) I've seen of a smart, entertaining, well-made action game. It looks incredible and plays even better, giving players a real feel for what it's like to be Batman. Whether it's grappling up an elevator shaft, zip-lining across a chasm or taking out the Joker's annoying joke teeth with a lazy flick of the Batarang, there are so many things to love. Even if you've never dreamed of stepping into those famous blue tights, Arkham Asylum is one of those games you just shouldn't miss out on.
Fun Factor: Fun from beginning to end. You've never felt so much like Batman.
Game Length: Single player campaign – 12 to 20 hours depending on how compulsive you are about collecting trophies.
Difficulty: Very manageable on default difficulty.
On the Negative Side: Very little to talk about. Occasionally a distracting minor sound bug or two.
Bang for Your Buck: With a top-notch single player campaign, unlockable challenges and exclusive-to-the-PS3 special maps with playable Joker character, this title is worth every penny of its $59.99 price tag.
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