Generally I don’t spend too much time with many licensed video games these days. Second only to movie tie-in’s, games based on comic book characters are always on my ‘it’s bound to be crap, best avoid’ list.
However the latest Batman game from Eidos has hit with quite a bang (sorry I guess that should read Kapow!) and it’s certainly causing quite a stir within the gaming community. It’s topped the charts in my homeland UK and virtually every publication this side of Heat magazine is heaping praise upon this latest attempt to bring the Dark Knight to the gaming masses.
Game of the Year is continuously being touted and amazingly the Guinness Book of Records (Gamers Edition) has recently announced in a press release that Batman: Arkham Asylum has been given the award for “Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever" based on its average Metacritic score. And no, I’m not making that up.
So is it as good as the hype?
Well, kinda. If I’m being totally honest I’ve deliberately held out on writing this review. Literally every publication has for the last week or so raved on about how amazing this game is, it’s been compared to modern classics such as Bioshock and as I mentioned above put up numerous times as a game of the year contender; yet if I’m honest I don’t entirely agree.
The game starts off with a short intro depicting Batman escorting a captured Joker to Arkham Asylum. The Dark Knight is deeply suspicious of the Joker due to the ease with which he captured his old adversary; and these suspicions prove well founded as the Joker promptly escapes and takes over the majority of the Arkham Island complex. Its then up to Bats to track the Joker down and restore control.
The game takes the form of a 3D action adventure (think Tomb Raider) and clearly cleverly draws its game play elements from many classic titles such as Metal Gear (stealth), Metroid (exploration/upgrades) and Bionic Commando (grappling hook).
These elements are fused together remarkably well, and you certainly will not feel as though you are playing a copy of any of the aforementioned games. Arkham has its own hybrid style of play which despite the obvious influences feels perfectly adapted to the world Rocksteady have fashioned for the Dark Knight’s adventures.
Your first introduced to Batman’s combat system; a simple system involving 3 primary buttons: attack, counter and stun. Rather self explanatory, attack starts Batman attacking his foes (multiple presses unleashes a fury of different attacks), counter is used for when an enemy attacks (highlighted by a symbol above their head), and stun is used against armed (non-firearm) enemies to give Bats an opening to take them down. It’s extremely simple and so intuitive that you’ll be unleashing combos and taking down multiple enemies confidently within a minute.
Enemies armed with firearms require different tactics however; Batman is after all not super-human and this frailty is realised brilliantly in the game. Rush in with fists flying against a couple of gun toting henchmen and the chances are you’ll end up becoming a permanent addition to Arkham Asylum.
Against armed enemies you’ll need to be stealthy, and these stealth combat sections are arguably the best part of the game. Using both the environment and Batman’s enviable gadgets, you have to sneak your way to the enemy and silently take them down without alerting their comrades.
You can grapple between gargoyles, sneak through floor venting, duck round corners and hang from balconies to approach your victims and once close enough, and provided they have not been alerted to your presence, you get the option to silently take them down.
If you’re hanging from a balcony you can pull the adversary over it or you can simply silently sneak behind them to dispatch them, making sure you leave quickly before the other foes find the unconscious body (Batman characteristically does not set out to kill in the game).
The best of these moments if offered by the gargoyles which Batman swings between using his grappling hook. A quick press of a button allows Batman to hang upside down from them and then grab the enemy silently as they walk underneath; hanging them from the gargoyle by rope for the others to find. And as they find their downed colleagues they become more and more nervous.
These sections really are a joy to play; there’s such a great range of moves available and you’ll genuinely love gradually terrorising the remaining enemies. This is Arkham Asylum at its very best.
Throughout the game you’ll have to follow various trails as well as find and solve a variety of puzzles laid down by The Riddler. To do this you’ll need to enter ‘Detective Mode’.
Batman's Detective Mode in action.
Detective mode is a special vision mode which Batman uses to identify various clues and interactive objects in his environment. It also allows him to identify enemies (including through walls) and their type (unarmed or armed). The mode itself is superbly implemented graphically but it works a little bit too well and here lies one of my major issues with the game.
I love exploring my game environments and the challenges set down by the Riddler in every area certainly encourage this type of exploration, hence the comparison with games such as Super Metroid. The problem is that when you are in normal mode, many of the games interactive and hidden items are hard to spot. Combat too is far easier in Detective mode as it easily identifies enemy’s locations and again the interactive objects such as gargoyles that Batman can swing between.
Because of this the player has very little incentive to come out of Detective mode for fear of missing something and this in turn means that what the player does miss out on is the wondrously realised portrayal of Arkham Asylum. I found myself constantly reminding myself to turn Detective Mode off so as to appreciate the superb graphics that Arkham offers but within no time at all I’d have it back on through fear of missing something. Trying to constantly flick between the two in an attempt to get the best of both worlds I found rather nauseous.
The characters in the game are on the whole brilliantly portrayed and a special mention should be made of the Joker himself who is superbly voice acted by Mark Hamill. This is not camp Batman or Batman the Animated Series; the game is very much styled and influenced by the darker tone of the graphic novels and the recent Batman movies which is a great thing in my opinion. He’s not known as the Dark Knight for nothing and thankfully in recent years both movie producers and now games designers are starting to realise this.
Batman himself certainly looks the part although I can’t help but feel his character is rather flat, especially when compared to the villains, not least the Joker himself. Batman talks rather monotonously which stands out a mile from the Jokers hyperactive style, and when he’s not in motion he just seems so, well, dull.
Mark Hamill is brilliant as The Joker.
The boss battles are rather dull and generic although encounters with the Scarecrow do stand out, at least in style if not in actual game play terms. I won’t go into details as I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but I’m sure the designers have watched their fair share of Nightmare on Elm Street!
As a game Batman is certainly stands upright on its own; but as a license it really does excel. The style is perfect and you really will feel like you’re playing Batman: The Game as opposed to Batman: The Money Spinner. There’s also no question in my mind that it is the best comic book licensed game in many years, a rare game where the license has been used with some respect and not just as a revenue generator.
What it isn’t though is completely flawless. Detective mode arguably takes as much away from the game as it gives; generic guard models spoil the sense of immersion in the world and too often Arkham Asylum tries to blend too many game styles together without perfecting any.
The combat is basic and does become repetitive and even the brilliant stealth sections are not perfect; partially ruined by the guard’s inability to look up and some rather inconsistent detection patterns.
But don’t let me put you off, Batman is worthy of your time and cash, it is a great game – it’s just not quite as good as much of the media hype would have you believe.
8/10.
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