Batman: Arkham Asylum Review

There are a few universal truths in the videogame industry. Halo games will always be released full price regardless of content. Your girlfriend will never care about your latest Xbox 360 achievement (if she says she does, she’s lying) and finally, games based on comic books can never be Triple A titles. I am pleased to report that at least one of these truths has been laid to rest. More appropriately it’s been blown to bits. Batman: Arkham Asylum is that good.

From top to bottom Batman: Arkham Asylum has more polish than the top of Patrick Stewert’s head. Bad jokes aside, this is a carefully crafted masterpiece and I don’t throw that word around lightly. You will be immersed in an experience that takes you to every corner of the Asylum as you play through continuous memorable moments. The game begins with Batman bringing Joker back to Arkham after an admitedly easy scuffle. Joker, never being one to be outdone, turns the table on the Dark Knight and takes command of Arkham. Chaos naturally ensues and Batman is left to his own devices to bring down the nefarious super criminal. Many characters from Batman’s stellar catalogue of villains make an appearance including Victor Szasz, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, and Scarecrow among others. Each villains segment plays out in a unique manner with the Scarecrow’s sequences being particularly fantastic.

The player has the unique position of witnessing the longest night of Batman’s life. You begin the evening with only your trusty batarang and grappling hook to tackle your foes. As the story progresses, you’ll have the opportunity to retrieve several more wonderful toys from Batman’s arsenal as well as unlock combat specific abilities. Each gadget is fully upgradeable and a lot of fun to use. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve hung upside down from a stone gargoyle only to swoop up an inmate and hang him by his toes. The up close and personal combat is surprisingly fluid. Seamlessly moving from takedown to takedown is a sight to behold. With only a few simple button presses you can pull off a 40 hit combo and leave a room full of bad guys in a world of hurt. The button configuration is simple, but the timing and execution of combos takes a great deal of patience to master. Everything looks fantastic as well. The game has a very clean and stylized artistry while maintaining crisp clear visuals. Rocksteady completely captured the feel of the Batman universe. This is as close as anyone is going to get to dawning the cape and cowl. The developers were careful to exclude hockey pants from Batman’s wardrobe.

Batman: Arkham Asylum will take about ten hours just to complete the main story objectives. This is not including the over 240 Riddler challenges that will have you crawling through the complex solving various cryptic messages and uncovering hidden Riddler trophies. Several combat trial rooms are included as well with more unlockable as you progress through the game. Small graphical hiccups are present, but are nearly negligible considering they are infrequent and don't intefere with the experience. The majority of texture loading issues are most certainly due to the Unreal Engine the game is built on. Buy a copy of Batman: Arkham Asylum and give it a place of distinction on your game shelf as one of the very best this generation.

Rating: 10.0 out of 10.0