eat.sleep.geek.

A little bit about me is in order here before I begin: I’m a huge Batman fan. I suppose, then, that it goes without saying that I can’t help but be a little biased in a review of a Batman game. But I can also recognize a terrible fucking Batman game. And brother, this ain’t one of them.

Any comparisons that you’ll see floating around to Bioshock are totally warranted as Batman: Arkham Asylum is a wonderful marriage of gameplay and atmosphere. The asylum itself (much like Rapture before it) slowly unwinds into a character of its own. Quite literally finding its voice is one of the Riddler challenges. And speaking of the Riddler, I was surprised by how many rogues they got in this thing without them feeling like they’re shoehorned in without being fleshed out. Admittedly, most are mentioned in bios and audio tapes (another Riddler challenge) but it feels like more than just fan service here. Of course, the most fleshed out characters are the Joker and the big man himself, Batman. In fact, I haven’t seen a game come this close to the feel of a comic book character before.

I had seen some press events where Sefton Hill (game director for Batman: Arkham Asylum) had said that if you think like Batman, you will be more successful in your wheelings and dealings in Arkham. This I couldn’t really wrap my head around until I got my hands dirty in the so-called invisible predator gameplay. I am now a huge fan of this style of stealth gameplay. It’s the perfect blend of planning, strategy, and twisting a goons arm until it breaks. Needless to say that it’s very rewarding.

The second aspect to the gameplay is the combat. Once you get the hang of the freeflow combo system you’ll be dispatching Blackgate prisoners left and right. The fighting system is intuitive and fun to play while being gorgeous to watch. The challenge rooms (sorry Xbox 360 owners, no Joker for you) are a great way to get a feel for the combat while living out your fantasies of being a badass mother fucker instead of some chump in jogging pants. Or was that just me?

The third and final facet of the trifecta of gameplay modes is the exploration of the asylum grounds. This was a hell of a lot of fun. Figuring out these tiny puzzles much to the dismay of the Riddler never really got old.

The bottom line? This is a great looking game that has fantastic audio, particularly the voice over work (Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprising their roles? Yes please!). To me, this felt like what Batman: The Animated Series would have been if it had come out after The Dark Knight. That could be either a testament to how consistent a writer Paul Dini is or how timeless that show seems. In any event, I would go so far as to say that this is the best Batman game that has ever been made. That, however, is no great accomplishment so I’ll wrap up by saying that Batman: Arkham Asylum is now one of my favourite games and deserves a place on your shelf.