Video Game Review: Batman -- Arkham Asylum

From No. 1 son:

Well, I have reviewed a good game and a bad game. There are no more Force Unleashed games and I want to review something other than a Star Wars game. So, I'm going to review a game I got into playing around Thanksgiving, a great game known as Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is for many systems, such as the PC. This game is so amazing because it is probably the most realistic game I have ever played. The graphics are without equal, the gameplay is beautiful, and the story is awesome.

The game plays like a dream. The most used game mechanic is the gadgets. You start with just batarangs, but later get explosives, the batclaw (an enhanced grappling hook), and other gadgets. In combat, you fight with punches and kicks. Batman will go where you move, instead of automatically locking onto enemies. You can also throw batarangs or later on you can use the batclaw to trip enemies. Another option is the counter, which becomes available when someone is about to attack you. You also have the option to hit the guy with your cape, but this is only useful against knife-wielding opponents.

However, if you play the game right, you will not constantly fight. Unlike most games, it is not in your best interest to charge in and punch away. In fact, doing this will get you killed. One thing that is different from most games is that guns are as powerful as they are in real life. A guy with a gun is a very dangerous foe, and taking one head-on is never advisable. So, like Batman usually does in stories, you take foes out using stealth in my favorite game-mechanic.

The typical scenario is that there are about six guys with guns in a room. Around the top of the room are gargoyles, which are the key to the mechanic. You grapple onto them and go around the room trying to take out one guy without being noticed. You can drop down on a guy directly below you and dangle him from the gargoyle (and then cut him down with a batarang), or you can glide into the guy (think of the cape from the Nolan films). All the while you will possibly be in Detective Mode, which highlights all people as skeletons (red ones have guns), and allows you to see them anywhere in the room. It also gives you their heart rate and emotional state (calm to nervous to terrified). The best part of these scenarios is that the goons will get increasingly nervous, sometimes so nervous that they will fire in a random direction (kind of like the docks scene in Batman Begins).

Another funny aspect is the Joker, who will occasionally scold his inept minions (in fact, one time he got so mad he actually told me to hurt his thugs badly). Oh, yeah, let's talk about the Joker, the main antagonist. He is voiced by Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), who voices the Joker in the great animated TV show (Batman's voice actor in that show, Kevin Conroy, also reprises his role). In case you don't know how big a deal this is, it was a selling point for the game. On the back of the case it advertises this fact. Hamill, as always, does an amazing job, and conveys a much darker Joker than he did in the TV show. The Joker is portrayed as the psychopathic, homicidal maniac that we love to hate. I am completely honest when I say that about 20% of this game's awesomeness comes from the Joker.

The other characters are also portrayed well. Batman is grim and always on top of everything, and intimidating when the need arrives -- the way I like him portrayed.

Well, let's talk about the story, which is very good. The story begins with Batman returning Joker to Arkham Asylum after he tried to kill the mayor. However, because for once, Arkham's security is too tight, Batman is not allowed past a checkpoint. This fact allows the Joker is able to escape before Batman can do anything. Joker than releases all of his goons (who "coincidentally" were transferred from prison to the Asylum just beforehand). The Joker also releases the other supervillains, who serve as the bosses, and are actually pretty creative bosses (except for Harley Quinn, who you capture in a cutscene after fighting a bunch of goons).

In all, this game is amazing, largely because of its polish. There are numerous little details that make the game amazing. For instance, Batman shows the signs that he's having a rough night. His cape gets torn, he takes a couple of cuts, even gets a little beard stubble. This game is one of the best, definitely in my top 10, maybe even top 5.

There is a sequel, Batman: Arkham City coming out relatively soon, which I am very excited about.

It better have a good story though.