eat.sleep.geek.

The much-anticipated demo for Batman: Arkham Asylum is now available for download on the Xbox 360, PC and PS3, in preparation for the release of the game on August 25. Players have been waiting awhile for a Batman game worthy of praise; the 8-bit era had the Nintendo title Batman, developed by Sunsoft; there was the title The Adventures of Batman and Robin on the Genesis; and most recently Lego Batman was released on many of the current major platforms. In between those titles, Batman has made appearances in Justice League Heroes and the recent Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe, along with various other miscues in the Batman videogame franchise. The new title, Batman: Arkham Asylum, looks poised to become the Bat-game all future Bat-games will be measured against. With some of the assistance from Bat-Guru Paul Dini, a writer on Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond, along with current writing credits on Bat-comics Streets of Gotham and Gotham City sirens, and the voice talents of Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy, reprising their roles as the Joker and Batman respectively, the commitment to Batman authenticity is actively present. The game also features an intuitive hand-to-hand combat system, as well stealth kills. The demo weighs in at just over one gig, so expect at least an hour for the download to finish; while you`re waiting, check out the adventures of former Robin, Tim Drake, err Tim Wayne as the superhero Red Robin, at your local independent retailer aka comic book shop, as Tim literally searches the world for the whereabouts of Bruce Wayne. You`ll need some downtime before you set foot into Arkham.