I’ve been playing far too many games so this is the last for a while, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of the best games I have played in a while and is obviously not only the best Batman game but I’d consider it the best game using a license since Goldeneye and I do not say that lightly. I completed it all in a week and although I wouldn’t say it was the longest, it felt more light a quickie than a relationship, it was most definitely sweet.
The Joker has escaped and it’s up to Batman to save the day which involves fighting hordes of bad guys and various classic villains aswell as solving puzzles, exploring the island of Arkham and doing general Batman-like things. This is the way I like games, where exploration and thoughtful, intelligent puzzles take over from mindless violence. Well, there is violence and at fist it seems incredible simple with just hitting the same button until everyone is dead but later this evolves until something more where the bad guys use different weapons and you have to think about what you are doing before you actually do it. Yes, I died a couple of times but not many and I wish I’d played it on hard rather than normal mode but even on that it did prove the occasional challenge.
Favourite moment of the entire game is the Scarecrow segments where Batman had been infected with a gas that makes him terrified and you play the levels in his subconscious with the glowing eyes of the Scarecrow constantly looking out for you. I did get some general chills from these bits.
Voice work is exemplary, especially Mark Hamill as the Joker and everything is just done to an incredible high polish. I haven’t played a game of this quality in a while and it was good to get stuck into it.
I recommend you get it.
