Review Score:

When Batman: Arkham Asylum was first announced way back by relatively unknown developer Rocksteady Studios, I was split in two over it. Seeing as I am a huge lover of Batman media, one part of me couldn’t wait. On the other hand, superhero media in general (not including the original comic books) has not garnered itself the best of reputations over the years. When I finally got my hands on the PC copy, I was very pleasantly surprised.

Arkham Asylum, unsurprisingly, takes places in Gotham City’s notorious insane asylum. In a rapid turn of events, the Joker and chums have taken control of the asylum and it is up to the Dark Knight to (once again) set things right. The story itself clocks in at around nine to ten hours (probably a few more, depending on your difficulty setting), although possibly the best collection of riddles to be solved and collectibles to be found in any game easily boost that into the fifteen, possibly twenty hour areas. Although I was a little bit disappointed with certain sections of the ending (I won’t go into specifics), the rest of the story is very well written and very faithful to the comic book series. The voice acting is superb, with animated series veterans Kevin Conroy voicing batman, Mark Hamill (that’s Luke Skywalker, for those of you who aren’t up to speed) and Arleen Sorkin voicing Harley Quinn. Mark Hamill absolutely steals the show, and there isn’t a trace of Christian Bale or Heath Ledger in these performances, so that really does help distance this game from the recent Christopher Nolan saga of films and closely ties it to the comic book canon.

Hayley Quinn gives you two good reasons to visit Arkham

I have to get this out of the way before I write any more about this game. The only major problem I had with the game is the way upgrades are gained. It’s probably my old habit of extreme impatience kicking in, but I felt like I was being held back from some of the cooler gadgets and some of the cooler attack combos until much later on in the game and, as a result, being denied some of the key attractions of the game. There were some truly astounding fight scenes later on in the game, and pulling off all of the combos and takedowns successfully really made me feel like some sort of transcendental fighting master (in video game terms, of course). It’s just a shame that those fighting experiences are not experienced right through from start to finish. Obviously, it’s a small problem, and it doesn’t really take away anything from the rest of the game, but for me, it’s enough to hold this game from getting top marks.

The controls are very simple: left click to attack, right click to counter. Add left shift and ctrl here and there for a few special moves, and it basically sticks to this formula. To chain combos, you have to swiftly move from one enemy to the next. For example: you walk up to a crowd of five enemies, you pick out the biggest threat (enemies wielding guns or knives take top priority) and you take him out. Attack one enemy, jump to the next, then to the next and then to the next. Before you know it, you will have a 10x multiplier (at which point you are granted use of several special abilities). Using the keyboard/mouse setup for this is, arguably, a lot more comfortable and manageable than any gamepad or controller. The over-the-shoulder (or sometimes top down) view points just seem much more naturally fitted to the mouse. Sure, it does provide some occasionally jerky moments, but I’d have jerky over slow and clunky any day.

Joker has been captured and sent to Arkham Asylum - but the fun doesn't stop there...

Running on my mid-high end rig at 1280×1024, with anti-aliasing at 16x and everything else at the highest possible setting, it looks absolutely amazing. While the Batman may look like he ingested a truck full of anabolic steroids, the attention to detail on his suit is impeccable. Looking out at Gotham City did, at times, provoke me to try and fly over there (something I can guarantee you is impossible). The dark look helps reflect the fact that Batman must be as crazy as the people he is chasing (any normal person would be out of there in a heartbeat), something many, many people have gotten wrong over the years. Certain aspects of the design were breaking new levels of creativity, such as one particular Scarecrow nightmare sequence (I won’t go too far into it, but I will tell you that opening up body bags isn’t all that fun).

In conclusion, Batman: Arkham Asylum is a game that, while maintaining one or two faults, stays relentlessly faithful to the comic book canon, and does so without disturbing that core fanbase. With simple, effective combat controls, a stellar story and breathtaking visuals, it’s hard to not love this game.