I wasn’t going to do it, I wasn’t going to finish this game. I wanted these two days of my vacation to be relaxed, with me just watching television, getting caught up on my TiVo and watching a movie or two that arrived from Netflix. Instead I played Batman: Arkham Asylum, the surprise hit of 2009. I have heard nothing but raves regarding this game, and I am always skeptical because games based on a comic book heroes haven’t been the best in the past. I even played the demo of this game and thought, “This is up for Game of the Year?” Sure it looks pretty, but really, Batman? There has never been a good Batman game… ever. In fact gamers believe the Batman license to be cursed.
I made a mistake early on, I didn’t pay attention to the background story. I wasn’t sure why Joker was trying to destroy Gotham City, but it’s insane trying to understand the motivations of a madman; I continued, unconcerned. However, I’m still confused; why did Joker decided to try and destroy Gotham City within the walls of Arkham Asylum? There had to be an easier way. Regardless, it boils down to Joker needs to be stopped and there is only one man who can do it… Batman.
In order to stop the Joker, you have to explore the different buildings and grounds that make up Arkham Asylum, confront bosses and battle weapon wielding enemies. The best thing about this game is the combat, it is simple, amazing and stylish. The moves Batman can perform by just mashing the “X” button are extraordinary. Add counters, throws and other combination’s and you have a combat system that is fun, intuitive and makes you look like a better player than you might actually be.
Much of the gameplay is stealth and there are times when not only is this the best tactic, but it’s a necessary one. I’ve tried both ways to find out the best way to clear an area. Going in, fists blazin’ didn’t get me far, especially if I was up against 7 armed enemies ready to fire the moment they spotted me. I found I made tactical decisions based on how many enemies are in a room, whether they are unarmed or armed, and whether they are clustered together, spread out patrolling or both. This served me well throughout the game and once I figured out how the enemies reacted to certain situations it made the game that much easier.
The game is easy even on “Normal.” I was actually surprised that I didn’t die so much because of my experience, but because I played around with my tactics. Since the game’s checkpoints are very close together, you can die and you will begin at the entrance of the room you mat have just entered two minutes prior. The only time I got frustrated with a checkpoint was in Croc’s Lair. This is a pick-up and play when you have a few minutes type of game. You’re never far from a checkpoint and then you can just turn it off after 10 minutes, or once you clear a room and then continue later. It also allows you to play around and explore scenarios without a lot of investment. It’s easy and fun.
There is a lot to explore and do. With the clever collectibles, riddles and unlockable trophies and bios, you are never without something to explore within the story mode. There are other modes in the game where you compete against a leaderboard of other Xbox Live subscribers, and I played a little but didn’t understand the purpose. I suppose the idea is to get better at stringing combos, but once you complete the game, why would you care? By the looks of the leaderboards, there are people out there who see value in this, and if that keeps them coming back to the game, than good for them.
I did go back and continue the story after beating the game to get one last achievement, and it seems it’s designed so that you can gather the last of the riddles you failed to get earlier. There are no enemies, you just go around Arkham Asylum and explore the environments. This was a wonderful thing to do and adds a creepy aspect to the world of Arkham. Imagine exploring an empty asylum collecting and playing audio interviews from the different psychopaths that inhabit the lore of Batman. It feels like a game after the game and definitely provides and encourages additional play.
This is a really good looking game. All the characters look solid and they have this weird plastic-y, action figure look to them. The graphics are remarkable because everything from the character models to the environments fit together seamlessly as if it’s an actual world. There was never an instance where a character or part of the environment looked out of place. In addition there was so much detail both in how the graphics look but also the little touches that give a nod to the Batman legend.
Everything about Batman: Arkham Asylum works together so brilliantly, I see why this game was lauded and considered for “Game of the Year”. It’s a shame I had to race through it so I could send the game back to GameFly. Maybe one of these days I’ll rerent it so I can go back to solve the rest of Riddler‘s Riddles, collect the Riddler Trophies, Patient Interview Tapes, Chronicles of Arkham, Mystery and Joker’s Teeth. There is still so much to do, but at least I finished the story mode.
