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TechJunkeez PS3 Editor | August 2009
It is very seldom that a game actually makes you feel like a known
character. Usually comic book based games suffer very bad development and movie
based games are even worse. But this game isn’t tied to any movie release date
or fixed with any previously written plot that didn’t have the creation of a
game in mind, and the result is an astounding piece of work.
Arkham Asylum starts with Batman capturing the Joker and sending
him to this penitentiary called Arkham. It is made of 6 buildings on an island
full of captured goons. As you finish escorting the Joker to his cell, you find
out that his plan was to take over the penitentiary and release all of the
twisted criminals locked in. He does that with the help of Harley Quinn and a
large group of his henchmen.
Although Batman looks great, I'm not sure why they
gave him the arms of a gorilla... just look at his left bicep
Batman is very oversized in this game, and has a very inflexible
walk and feels heavy to move around with, which could throw you off at the
beginning. But you’ll probably forget I said that when you start fighting
Joker’s men in this game. The dark knight’s animations make the fighting
sequences come to life. The great fighting movements blended with excellent
graphics make this game a very sweet piece of eye candy. The environment is very
nasty and chaotic as you would expect. You’ll find dead guys lying around,
psychopaths going around the asylum and all kinds of small details that make the
asylum’s look come to life.
Fighting
sequences look absolutely fantastic and batman has excellent animation
The combat system is pretty basic, but isn’t boiled down to
mashing buttons. Although you’ll not always engage in hand to hand combat in
this game, sometimes you’ll face gun bearing criminals and bullets are Batman’s
main weakness in this game. That’s where predator mode kicks in. You hang from
different structures on the roof and start taking down your enemies by swooping
in and picking them up, or by hanging them from a rope so their friends know
you’re lurking in the shadows. Unlike other games, in Arkham Asylum, enemies get
scared when they find out their numbers are decreasing. You’ll start hearing
them say different lines and some of them appear to take the help of a wall to
prevent you from coming in from behind them. This adds to the feel that you
really are Batman and you are scaring the daylight out of bad guys.
Batman’s abilities are upgradable in this game, as you do combos
during fights you rack up your experience points, which in turn, give you the
choice to upgrade one of many of Batman’s abilities.
The game offers decent play time, and you’re guaranteed to go
through this title again. In addition to a character that keeps you busy in this
game called the Riddler who adds more play time by telling you 240 riddles that
you go around solving if you are interested. This unlocks some content such as
interviews with the villains and other stuff.
Overall this is a great release which really puts you in the shoes
of Batman. If you are a fan of the Dark Knight or have never heard of him,
either way you’ll be very glad to play this game.
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