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 Batman:
Arkham Asylum (Playstation 3)
You can say what you will about the erratic quality of most super-hero
games, but Batman: Arkham Asylum is definitely not cast from the same mold
as many licensed tie-ins. Its atmosphere is much darker than you'd expect
it to be and its elaborate plot, violent gameplay takes players into a
place most games don't usually explore. The elements of fighting, stealth,
and collecting make for a largely satisfying title that offers a
surprisingly rich world to explore while you battle the Joker and other
famous villains. Arkham Asylum gets much more right than it does wrong,
and this polished production is definitely going to please hardcore fans
of the caped crusader. |
Even by Batman standards, Arkham Asylum
offers up a surprisingly dark and atmospheric experience that's
foreboding, violent and occasionally humorous. As the game begins, Batman
follows the Joker as he's transported to Gotham's most notorious hospital.
Unfortunately, things quickly take a dark turn as Joker escapes and his
minions take over the asylum, leaving Batman isolated on the island
hospital grounds, alone in his battle against his arch-nemesis. As you
watch Joker take over, he has some hideous tricks up his sleeve and you
don't have much to react before the story begins in earnest. It definitely
puts you into the role right away, and the Batman's skills are tested
early on as he faces off against a series of devious puzzles and skills.
As Batman, you have some fairly powerful abilities at your disposal that
will allow you to survive the many traps that The Joker has laid for you.
Batman's abilities seem decent enough in isolation, but taken together,
they give you a great deal of strength and flexibility. The first of these
comes to play during the combat sequences, where you can unleash a series
of devastating combos. These punches and kicks can quickly subdue any
nearby enemies, but you also have to maintain these or else Batman takes
some significant damage. It's an incredibly elegant and effect system, and
lets you feel like you're fighting in Batman's place, with all the fierce
energy it creates, this gives you a great sense of Batman's powerful
fighting abilities. Most of the earlier foes you face can be dispatched in
this manner, but later on you'll face off against heavily armed thugs who
have guns and other weapons. Facing them head-on is quite dangerous, since
your bat suit isn't that heavily armed. Instead, you'll have to find a
hiding place and attack them from a hidden venue, using the element of
surprise to knock them over and subdue them. However, doing so usually
alerts the other guards to your presence, so you'll have to quickly get
out of their line of sight. You can usually do this by using Batman's
Grapnel Gun to reach higher, and safer locations. Hiding in these sections
for awhile is usually enough to get the foes off your trail. You can then
throw one of your batarangs at them to knock them off their feet and swoop
in for the kill. Arkham Asylum's polished combat system is impressive
because it creates an intense sense of tension that many stealth titles
aspire to achieve, but few deliver
Adding to the sense of stealth is
Batman's cool intuitive abilities, these are enhanced by what is termed
Detective mode. In this mode, the viewpoint changes from a standard view
to a infrared look that allows you to see characters who might be hiding
behind walls or are standing in shadows. Obviously, this is quite helpful
in locating dangerous thugs waiting for you and is also useful in combat,
since you can see how much damage you're inflicting. Characters who are
still active are colored in blue while those you've disabled are in red,
which eliminates some of the guesswork. Detective mode also has other
uses, the most important of which is the ability to scan and locate clues
that are scattered about. These can take the form of either objects that
are important to the storyline or scents that show where the next
objective is. This system is quite intuitive and allows you to switch
between both viewpoints at will. This mode also lets you find hidden
objectives, such as fan release valves, that you can target from afar.
It's particularly helpful in traveling through dangerous areas that might,
for example, be filled with poison. It does make things somewhat easier
than they would have otherwise been, but it helps to point you in the
right direction so you won't be spending a lot of time lost in Arkham's
cavernous hallways. Batman will also find a huge number of extra items in
the game which include tapes that give extensive background on all the
villains and other characters as well as clues left by the devious Riddler,
who plays an important role in the story. Collecting these is for more
than show, since they give you points that you can use to upgrade your
weapons and armor, giving you an impetus to search them out.
Arkham Asylum's layout and structure is
fairly linear but does give you an impressive sense of freedom and scale.
Once you break out of the first main building, the entire island that
makes up Arkham unfolds before you and instead of battling inside one
structure; you'll find that you have to go through many buildings, which
makes your task much more intimidating. Each one of these has its own
nuances which gives the game plenty of depth. The most significant
drawback to the gameplay comes to the fore after you've played a few
levels and you find yourself battling another group of enemies who are a
lot like the earlier ones you faced. Many of the puzzles are also a bit
redundant, and players will find a strong sense of déjà vu at many
points later on. You'll also spend a lot of time crawling through air
vents,
and once you've kicked off a grate using the same button mashing technique
to break through, you're bound to grow somewhat tired of doing it. This is
somewhat disappointing since the gameplay is otherwise quite impressive in
its creativity and innovation. On the other hand, Arkham Asylum does offer
an excellent balance between action, combat and investigative scenes so it
never feels as repetitive as it could have, but these repeating elements
can become annoying. The game's deliberate and nuanced pacing allows the
narrative to unfold at a slow, but deliberate pace as the outlines of the
Joker's evil plot slowly become visible. You meet many other characters as
well, and finding the little pieces to the bigger story is part of what
makes Arkham Asylum so enjoyable. Using these as crumbs also gives you
direction, which is critical in an open-ended game while helping the story
unfold organically.
 You
never feel like you're watching a bunch of disconnected cut-scenes that
loosely tie together to justify action sequences. This actually feels like
the opposite approach, where the action serves the story, not the other
way around. It's a nice change of pace and probably comes as a result of
being based on an original story and not having to synchronize the action
to a specific movie or comic book. It's definitely a refreshing approach
to commercial licensed characters and makes Arkham Asylum feel much closer
in spirit, to the source. It's production values are quite impressive
throughout, with Batman himself making for a towering presence throughout
the game. His movement and actions feel almost supernatural at points, but
never cross the line into unbelievability. The other characters are also
impressive with Joker's excellent characterization striking a sweet spot
between madness and humor. His presence shadows Batman wherever he goes as
he uses the constant video screens to mock, goad and provoke the hero
along the quest. Additional fan favorites including Harley Quinn, Poison
Ivy and Riddler also make appearances. The voice acting is superlative,
though this is to be expected, since many of the actors from the excellent
90's Animated series reprise the roles. This is quite a long story that
gives Arkham Asylum an epic feel despite most of the action confined to
Arkham Island. From a visual standpoint, Arkham itself is almost another
character itself, with its decaying, intimidating gothic towers, dark
corridors and decaying hallways creating a sense of dread and darkness
that permeates the action throughout. Players have quite a sense of
freedom, and while it's not a completely open sandbox-style world, you
definitely feel like you can go anywhere on the grounds if you choose to.
Frequent checkpoints and quick regeneration allow you to progress through
the levels fairly quickly, and keeps the gameplay flowing throughout.
The single player experience is superb,
but Arkham Asylum also includes several challenge maps that unlock even
more content when completed, which is another nice extra feature. The PS3
edition also includes a special downloadable map that allows you to play
as the Joker himself, which is an interesting diversion after seeing the
story primarily through Batman's perspective. These of course, are merely
bonuses to the main game, which is by our judgment, an excellent
representation of the Batman mythology and characters. Instead of merely
slapping together familiar play mechanics and plots onto a generic
platform, the developers have gone to great lengths to create a title that
lives up to the legend. There are a few minor problems with somewhat
repetitive gameplay mechanics, but the small blemishes don't detract from
Batman: Arkham Asylum's highly evolved design and approach. It definitely
immerses you into the role of Batman in ways other games haven't even
attempted and succeeds at not only creating a believable game world, but a
protagonist and characters who will hold your interest through the
duration. The smooth gameplay, open-ended game world and involving
storyline make this a game that holds your interest almost immediately and
doesn't let go. The game is very dark in tone and presentation and there
are many areas that definitely not suited for kids, however this
uncompromising approach is definitely going to please adult fans who grew
up with Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns graphic novels and other more recent
excursions into Batman's darker corners. This is definitely the Batman
game gamers have been waiting for and definitely lives up to its promise
in almost every area. It's not an exaggeration to say that Arkham Asylum
ranks as probably the most impressive Batman video game ever created,
making it an essential purchase for hardcore and casual fans alike.
- Michael Palisano
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