GamerNode: Reviews - Batman: Arkham Asylum

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• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• PlayStation 3
• Rocksteady Studios
• Eidos Interactive
• August 25th, 2009

Probably one of the best parts of these scenarios is how effective the game's detective mode becomes. One can see enemies behind walls and monitor their pulse to see just how calm or terrified of the Dark Knight they are. This allows players to determine where and how to methodically eliminate every thug. Players can string a thug up from a gargoyle, glide down and kick them to the ground, fall on top of them, throw a Batarang, take them out silently from behind, and much more. Your gadgets will also be upgradeable to help better eliminate enemies.

Aside from sometimes being able to grapple up past a enemies without them noticing, the A.I. of the thugs is very good and they will see Batman if he's not careful. They also react to enemies falling prey to Batman within the level, and depending on how scared they are will either split up, pair up, or be so paranoid they feel it is every man for himself. This really adds to assuming the persona of Batman, who is famous for putting fear in his enemies.

The boss fights are wonderfully done. While some may not even feel like traditional boss battles, they all fit the personality of the enemy in question. It's that authenticity along with the variation that makes them great. In all Batman only encounters approximately seven of his greatest villains, but it is definitely enough to satisfy.

Other Batman characters are given several nods throughout Arkham. Anyone exploring the grounds can find allusions to The Riddler, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, and several more. Many of these nods can be found by listening to Edward Nigma, The Riddler himself, as he taunts you over the radio to find and solve his 240 riddles and hidden items. Doing so will unlock character bios, challenge missions, audio tapes, and even a history of Arkham Asylum.

The game's voice acting is absolutely superb. Mark Hammill's Joker and Kevin Conroy's Batman, who both starred in said roles for Batman: The Animated Series, stand out above all. However, all of the actors and actresses do their parts exceptionally well and they are all well written.

The game's environments are beautiful and feel very much like what fans would imagine or hope Arkham would look like. The only downside to this is that players will be spending most of their time in detective vision to solve riddles, find hidden items, and take out thugs. Cinematics are equally beautiful, although sometimes the audio doesn't quite perfectly sync up with characters' lips.

The unlockable challenge missions are split equally across combat and predator modes. They also are split by difficulty: normal and extreme. Players accumulate points to earn medals for achieving high combos, combo variety, not taking damage, and other factors in the combat challenges. In predator challenges, players must eliminate thugs in certain ways. These range from dropping through glass from above an enemy, to blowing a wall that must take out three goons. Combine the medals with an online leaderboard and players have plenty of post-story mode fun ahead of them.

This game lets players know just what it is like to be Batman. No matter how much of the story mode or challenge missions you play, it will suck you in and keep you there. The game is an absolute love letter to the source material and has addictive combat, stealth, and puzzle solving to keep it entertaining and fun the whole way through. Combine that with top-notch voice acting, an amazing story, and plenty of tiny little nods to the Batman universe, and you have the Batman experience.

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