Akroview

I will just put this out here and say it, I have never been a Batman fan, I have never read the comics, worn any t-shirts but I have seen every film and am torn between the Tim Burton and the Christopher Nolan portrayal. But now I finally have a version of Batman that I can actually enjoy and others seem to agree!

Batman: Arkham Asylum is the first in the Arkham series and sees Batman imprisoned in Arkham Asylum with hundreds of thugs and some of the most iconic villians in the Batman universe! The Joker has set a trap for the bat and it sprung perfectly. Now it’s up to you to help Batman navigate the corridors and vents of the Asylum finding clues to stop the Joker’s plot.

Once again this game eluded me in the past mainly because it was a Batman game and because it involved a lot of stealth. I never really was a fan of stealth games! This is where I was pleasantly surprised, there are elements of stealth in it but there is ample room for plenty of button mashing, which is always a great time. Adding other gameplay elements like challenges and hidden secrets gives you a few extra hours to the enjoyment. But the Riddler has thrown a spanner in the works and has hidden some of his own surprises for you, and this by far is one of my favourite additions to Arkham Asylum. Now it has gone on sale on steam and I couldn’t resist. For the first time I have a game that actually looks better during gameplay than the in game cutscenes!

The game looks phenomenal, and I say that about a lot of games but this takes the biscuit! As mentioned above the game itself looks better than the cutscenes. But it’s not only the graphics that I love about Arkham Asylum, it’s the character design. If I were to choose between Burton and Nolan for better Batman, I would probably choose Burton, mainly because the portrayal of the characters such as Bane seemed more in tune with the comic counterpart. Arkham Asylum truly does blend both Burton and Nolan together, while keeping the surreal over-the-top character design with the more life like setting and surrondings, this brings both together and just makes for an awesome experience!

As far as the sound is concerned I’m not exactly too sure on what to say, the majority of the game is left in almost silence whilst you roam the corridors of the hospital. It adds atmosphere to the decaying walls. But it soon ramps up when there are enemies near or a boss to fight and that really does get your adrenaline pumping!

Another factor I think should be noted is the level of quality in the voice acting, it’s never something I really pick out in a game (mainly because it can be awful) but Arkham Asylum’s voice acting is some of the best I have ever heard. It only seemed fitting to cast Mark Hamill as the Joker, and honestly, given his sterling reputation as the madman of Gotham it didn’t seem like there was an alternative.

Arkham Asylum is a gem, I don’t know what else to say. For years now it seemed like there were no games that felt like they did in the 90’s, and by that I mean actually forced you to think and make you deeply engrossed in the story. Call of Duty is a simple run and gun that anybody can play and I didn’t get much satisfaction out of it, Assassin’s Creed was engrossing but lacked any proper “boss” battles. But Arkham Asylum has an engrossing storyline, tricky challenges, heart thumping boss battles and some of the best character design and acting that I’ve seen to this day. And by that note I will have to say…PLAY IT!

It may still be on sale on steam, and there’s still time to give it a go and get pumped for Arkham Origins after playing through Asylum’s sequel Arkham City. But that’s for another time.

Batman: Arkham Asylum – 9/10