Batman: Arkham Asylum

[toastman]

Why is no one talking about this?

It's part stealth, part beat-em-up, part puzzler, and all awesome. I've played through on normal difficulty so far and found the game to be a touch easy still. Even collecting all the Riddler challenges wasn't horribly difficult (hint: each of the sections has a map that shows where all of the secrets are).

The combat is pretty straight-forward. There are some cheap enemies (I'm looking at you knife guy and stun baton guy) yes, but they occur rarely enough only to be mild annoyances. The gadget assortment is nice and gives you several options for dispatching henchmen. Also, if you are doing your job right, you won't be in a lot of flat out brawls. Batman's various takedowns and stealth moves allows you to separate and dispatch henchmen from the shadows causing dissension and fear among the ranks. The game also gets labeled as a "Metroidvania" style game, which is true. The pacing of the gadget acquisition allows you to revisit old areas to ferret out all of the secrets.

There are also a few special levels centered around the Scarecrow that are really well done. The atmosphere and level design is top-notch. Exploring the various nooks and crannies of Arkham Island never feels like a chore. The game knows when to call it quits as well. I've played maybe 15 hours (hard to tell, the game doesn't track play time) and I've finished the story mode and collected all of the Riddler challenges. The game stops just short of leaving you satisfied, when you finally beat the Joker at the end you still want the game to continue for a bit more.

Luckily, there are the Challenge Maps. These maps are small sections of the game that let you focus on either of Batman's play styles. There are Combat Challenges, which are all about practicing beating the crap out of henchmen and racking up combos. The Predator Challenges allow you to play a more stealthy game where you must avoid direct confrontation with the henchmen who are all armed with guns. There are also additional trophy objectives to complete.

All in all, Batman: Arkham Asylum is the closest thing to an actual Batman simulator there is. It is one of the best games to have come out this year so far and compares well with other highly acclaimed games. The holiday line up has a lot to live up to if it wants to be remembered in the wake of this game.

[not just souLLy now]

Heard nothing but good stuff about it myself, I'm gonna pick it up this week

[mrandyk]

I played through it sometime last week and it was very good, especially the scarecrow parts.

[Nico0020]

I played the demo, I will say it's better than any other batman game I have played.......Which basically amounts to NES and Genesis titles. I dont see myself picking it up though. I preferred to actually take guys down by sneaking past them rather than getting in fights, as that just turned it into random button mashing on my part.

[Lartrak]

I played the demo, I will say it's better than any other batman game I have played.......Which basically amounts to NES and Genesis titles. I dont see myself picking it up though. I preferred to actually take guys down by sneaking past them rather than getting in fights, as that just turned it into random button mashing on my part.

Ya know, the NES Batman game is pretty great. Just sayin'.

[Nico0020]

Some free DLC was announced for this game.

[MulletMan13]

I'm balls deep in this game right now, about 45 Riddler Challenges short of finishing the single player. I have a lot of other games to play, so I probably won't go through with the Challenge levels. Regardless, this game is absolutely fantastic, and it's like a blend of Zelda, Metroid and BioShock; all covered with a heavy coat of paint that makes it uniquely Batman.