Batman: Arkham Asylum is an amazing game.

Half of you only want to keep hearing that drivel so that you can justify popping out $60 and picking it up to satisfy your fan boy urges.  Hell, a plurality of you only want to pick it up so you can get the panty shot of Harley Quinn (or maybe the amazing ass shot of Poison Ivy).

If that is what you want, go get it.  It’s worth it… though I don’t get the Harley Quinn thing… she really grossed me out.

On a completely unrelated note:  I hate clowns.

Anyway, the difference in this review is that I actually finished the game before writing.  I’ll also be completely honest and say that the game is awesome… up until the last hour or so.  Because of this unfortunate fact, I will be riddling this (HA!) with spoilers-galore.

Gameplay:

Now this is covered elsewhere in great detail, but let me sum up the way the game feels from behind the controller.

I’m Batman.

As soon as you don the cape and cowl, you are a one-man army against innumerable foes.  Guns?  Of course not; you’re fucking Batman!  You’re not a pussy like Duke Nukem, Gordon Freeman, or Master Chief.  You save the world by punching it straight in the damn head.

That being said, I have a minor gripe in that the game essentially plays like an NES button masher.  Fights consist of hitting ‘X’ until you need to counter something–indicated by a very obvious series of flashing lights above an opponent’s head, kind of like a wireless symbol–then you hit ‘Y’.  While it may seem too simplistic, I can’t complain too much.  I mean… you’re Batman.

My only real complaint about the gameplay was that I never really felt challenged by the number or skill of the enemies in the game.  Even the challenge modes were not, well, challenging.  I was encircled by Zsasz, a baton wielding clown-freak, and twelve other thugs and the fight was over in right about 45 seconds.

No one hit me.

Dark Knight Bonus, mo-fo.

If you want a challenge, I would highly suggest playing through on Hard.  There isn’t much there on Normal–I can’t even fathom how easy it is on, well, Easy.

This leads to the SPOILER, of course.  The Final Fight.  The End Boss.  The Big Cahuna.

The Joker… or rather, Titan Joker.

Despite the annoyance caused by the introduction of the Titan plot-hole in the first place (how the hell is a super-power inducing, toxic cocktail supposed to help mentally deranged patients, Dr. Young?) I almost put the controller down when The Joker shot Batman with Titan.

Sure, Joker has Commissioner Gordon, but when Joker shoots at him why didn’t Mr.Wayne throw a goddamn batarang?  It takes more time for him to jump in the way…

I hate plot devices that don’t fit the character.

Regardless, if Batman had changed into a muscle-bound killing machine, I might have been okay, but nooooo… he fights it off through pure force of will.

I’m sorry, but I call bullshit.  You don’t get to mentally fight off a physical transformation on the scale of the Titan transformation.  Shit, Bane doesn’t have a choice when he is hit with Venom, neither will Batman.

Add to all of this crap the lame boss fight with Titan Joker–pull him down to the ground with the Batclaw three times–and the ending becomes incredibly unfulfilling.

By the way, there are three faux-endings.  One of three characters pop up and grabs a case of Titan: Bane, Killer Croc, or Scarecrow.  I got Bane… woo-hoo.

Score:  On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the Gameplay a 7.  The controls are a little too easy, difficulty is lackluster, and the ending kind of blows.  Besides that, it is damn awesome.

Graphics:

Batman: Arkham Asylum nails this.  I mean, really, really nails it.  Shit, I felt like I was in Arkham Asylum most of the time.

(OSHA would have a heart attack if they were even let inside that place, by the way.  I mean, who maintains Arkham Asylum?  Satan?)

The character art is amazing.  It looks and feels like an ultra-realistic combination of Batman: The Animated Series and the Dark Knight comic books.  Harley Quinn is especially disturbing… I imagine the feeling can be likened to watching amputee porn: you’re turned on, but there is the feeling that what you are doing is just so wrong.

Additionally, the battle scenes are amazing.

The folks over at Rocksteady nailed the way that Batman flows between opponents.  Even though you’re only hitting two buttons, it feels like you are in a deeper combat game, like Jade Empire or Soulcalibur.

That’s right, Jade Empire.  If you haven’t played it, you need to.  It’s available like everywhere.  Xbox Marketplace and Direct2Drive have it for your gaming needs right now!

Anyway…

Score:  On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the Graphics a 10.  Compared to most games, this is perfect.  It makes me cry tears of joy.

Sound:

Like the graphics, Rocksteady nailed the sound.  The effects are spot on, the soundtrack accompanies the action beautifully, and the voice acting is just pure perfection.

When I started writing this, I nearly forgot that there is an ever-present symphony playing in the background.  This is perfect.

While things have come a long way since the distracting midi soundtrack of Faxanadu, a lot of games still fail to strike the optimal balance between a score that accents the environment for the sole purpose of immersing the player in the game world and a soaring musical arrangement that would make Beethoven proud.

Batman: Arkham Asylum does it and does it well.

I usually spend some time on sound effects in these things, but you know what?  You hit someone and it sounds like you hit someone.

Blowing up a wall?  Yep, sounds like an explosion.

It really sounds exactly as you think it should, which is just great.

And as for voice acting… well, let’s just say any future Joker acting needs to be voiced-over by Mark Hamill.  No one has captured The Joker so utterly and completely as The Guyver.

Nobody.

Score:  On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the Sound a 10.  The soundtrack is transparently disturbing and the voice acting is top notch.  Of course, if Batman expressed anything other than disgust, determination, and anger interspersed with the periodic sardonic comment, I would have to deduct points.  Luckily, Batman doesn’t feel anything BUT disgust, determination, and anger so it’s all good.

Fun Factor:

If we only had the single player mode, I would say that the replay value of this game was relatively low, but that all changes with the introduction of the Riddler Challenges and the Challenge Modes.

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t pay enough attention to these until Poison Ivy was shot up with Titan and getting around the map got a little more difficult.  I’m all for side quests, but I’ve never been the “Kill all the Weapons in Final Fantasy 7” kind of gamer.  I prefer to do these things as the game proceeds, rather than popping back in right before the end boss or following the credits, so my inattentiveness pretty much ruined my chances for full Riddle Solving.

Oh well.

The bottom line is that if you enjoy an open platform of exploration on the lines of Oblivion or Fallout, then you’ll really enjoy the Riddle Challenges.

I did find the Challenge Modes to be pretty disappointing though.  When I unlocked one of the Extreme fighting maps, I got a little depressed.  I know the point of the challenge isn’t necessarily to take out one hundred henchmen at the same time, but you know…

Maybe it should be?

Score:  On a scale of 1 to 10, I give Fun Factor a 6.  It’s a great single play through and the Riddle Challenges coupled with the Challenge Modes bring a lot of additional playtime, but that only puts it a little above average.

Summary:

Batman: Arkham Asylum is a great game filled with high action, smooth gameplay, and immersive sound.  The overall story arch leaves a little bit to be desired, but compared to most of The Joker’s comic book crimes it certainly rings authentic.

However, add a limited replay bonus–fake endings really aren’t enough drive, thank you–and the value drops off a bit.

I would definitely put this in a buy category, but I’d suggest waiting until it hits the $40-50 range prior to purchasing.  It’s good, but it’s not full-price good.

Overall Score: 8.25

Picture from http://media.teamxbox.com/games/ss/2105/1240279440.jpg