When I heard this was coming out, I was a bit worried. Year after year I’ve seen comic book titles raise so much optimism and belief that it will be good and put away all the fears of the previous efforts thrust upon us, only for the disappointment to be setting in all too quickly. Superman Returns, Spiderman 3 and The Incredible Hulk have all succumbed to the horror that is the superhero action adventure genre.
Arkham Asylum has been in development for a while and was delayed from hitting the shelves earlier this year by publishers, Eidos and Warner Bros. Originally set for a June release it was put back to the end of August for last minute tinkering and tweaking. Now that we can buy it, is there a chance we can finally lift the veil of fear and start to believe these games are good again?
Considering the amount of work that’s gone into this, as well as the dedication to detail, there are grounds to be optimistic. Graphic Novel writer Paul Dini was drafted in to conceive the story, as well as Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy reprising their roles as the Joker and Caped Crusader respectively. The whole look and feel of the game lends itself more to the comic book styling than to any feature films or TV series containing the same characters.
The story finds Batman taking his arch nemesis back to his home in Arkham to put him away for a long time, but these things never go to plan and as the Dark Knight rightfully predicts, a trap is sprung and the inmates really do end up running the asylum. The reason behind such a daring return to his second home is to create a superhuman species using the Venom formula which runs through fellow baddie Bane, but in order to see what else happens, you’ll have to play through it yourself.
To say this is nothing short of visually spectacular would be an understatement. The dark and gritty feel to the game is scarily good, with almost every part of the island looking like a run down, decrepit place, including those special touches added by the evil ones sprucing up their humdrum house, such as the botanical gardens once Poison Ivy gets hold. All the characters are very well drawn and bring their own presence to proceedings, with the shading and artwork really pushing what you should expect from titles such as these. It’s an overused term, but this really is a labour of love effort and it shows.
Great detail has been maintained, with beautifully smooth motion capture giving such free-flowing movement and even things like the cape moving as naturally as you would expect all combining to form a wonderful spectacle for the eye. A particular example would be Batman’s evolving degree of injury as the game progresses. When you start you only see a slash mark on his chest plate, but as you get further on, other parts of the Bat Suit start to tear, as well as some facial cuts and bruises.
To create atmosphere though you need more than just lavish graphical ability. It’s just as well that the audio in Batman is equally up to the task. The main themes are all traditional horn based hero anthems, as well as the Joker theme with his cheeky, nasty persona seeping from every note. Even the non orchestral tunes are done well and as a whole really help to sell the feel of the game to you. All the gizmos and Joker weaponry make the right noises and all the punches sound really meaty and proper, as they should in a game that involves as much melee action as this, but it is the voice acting that well and truly steals the show.
Whoever was the instigator to get Conroy and Hamill in for this deserves a medal because it is these two in particular who suck you into the already enticing story. Luke Skywalker’s alter-ego puts in a ton of work here, as you not only hear him in the main cut scenes, but also throughout the tale through tannoy systems, as he alerts guards to the situation as another henchman lies dangling from a Gargoyle statue by his legs. The rest of the cast are very impressive too, more so The Scarecrow and Harley Quinn than the rest, but you cannot take away from the main attractions and their sheer quality contained within.
I would go so far as to say that in gameplay terms, Arkham Asylum provides a near perfect blend of action, puzzle solving and exploration. For this game, the developers have created what’s known as the Freeflow fighting system, which when implemented, is a very clever and versatile battle method. What it does is allow for a large degree of precise input, while still allowing every chance to counter attack and defend yourself with multiple enemies on screen at one time. The other great thing about this is the combo system it helps build. You can dispatch foes by bashing buttons, but Arkham rewards the people with flair and patience by allowing chains to be made by stringing hits together without taking one yourself, producing a very intuitive and enjoyable experience.
The checkpoints are nicely spread with you having to make the effort to get so far, but not too far away to become frustrated from continuous trekking through the same section time and time again. Puzzles aren’t too hard for the main game, but if you find them a touch on the easy side, you can always get the more taxing grey cell jobs through the Riddler trophies. These are either collectibles or photo opportunities. Normally when it comes to collectable things in a game I shy away from them entirely, as I feel they are a waste of time, but you never feel they are a chore, with question marks sitting there taunting you until you’re able to upgrade weapons to finally access them. In order to unlock all the Challenge Mode levels (which I’ll cover in a second) you need to discover a high percentage of these cryptic riddles.
Once the main game is finished you are left with Challenge Mode, which is a selection of arenas with a choice of brawl and stealth as your options. The former consist of you beating up wave on wave of bad guys to attain a high score and the latter has you trying to take out armed assailants as fast as possible. The online leaderboards add to the competitive streak mentality and the promise of downloadable content, most likely in this area, allow for some added play time after the main event is over. This section is perfect for those who want a quick 5 or 10 minute blast without getting sucked into the plot of the game itself.
Does this finally life the stigma of bad comic book titles? You bet it does!! This is as near perfect a game as you’re likely to get, with just enough stealth to keep the thinkers happy and plenty of fighting to satisfy the sluggers. When the sites and magazines sit and make up their top 10 games of 2009 I can’t see this being omitted from ANY of them.. It’s that good. A fantastic blend of animation, graphics, audio and gameplay have helped Rocksteady to get off to a cracking start in the gaming industry. If I HAD to be very picky I would have liked to have seen a Boss Mode or even a chance to see the cut scenes in a gallery, but that’s being overly critical. If this is the quality of game this new studio is going to give us, I can’t wait to see their next product and I truly hope there is a sequel in the works.
The Dark Knight has saved the world from monotony, but it’s up to you to see if he can save Gotham from the Joker. Happy hunting, Bats..!
VideogameUK verdict: 9.5/10
