Video game review: Batman Arkham Asylum (2009)

The game which I am going to be reviewing today is somewhat of an older one, but is still one of my favorites to this day, it's called Batman: Arkham Asylum. Batman: Arkham Asylum is an action/adventure game which was released back in August of 2009 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, with a release happening a month later for Windows/Steam. It also saw a re-release to the Xbox One and Playstation 4 in October of 2016, making it readily available on just about every console. The game was developed by Rocksteady Studios and then published by Eidos Interactive alongside Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment.  

I'm sure most of you can probably tell that this game is based off the DC Comics superhero, Batman. Getting a licensed superhero game that actually kicks ass is something I believe is pretty rare. You can look back through quite a few superhero games over the past 2 decades and find that almost all of them are either terrible or mediocre at best. I would say most of the Batman games that came out before this one were more in the mediocre category, not being the worst things ever, but obviously not being anything all that special. In short, they were playable but not super fun experiences, at least in my opinion. Batman: Arkham Asylum, however, is a far different beast that works towards being one of the best action games ever made.  

The story for this game is a fairly strong one that ends up weakening a bit at the end, but for the most part was very enjoyable. The game takes place in the infamous Arkham Asylum, where you're in control of Batman. It starts off with the Joker being caught by Batman and escorted to Arkham after he attempted to assault Gotham City Hall. Many of Jokers minions have been temporarily transferred to the asylum due to a fire that occurred at the prison they were locked up in. Batman is very leery of the situation, as it seems the Joker has allowed himself to be captured quite easily. This leads to him escorting the clown prince of crime into the asylum himself, as he does not want to leave anything up to chance.  

Very quickly after entering, his suspicious are proven true as Harley Quinn takes control over the facility allowing the Joker to escape further into the building with the help of a corrupt guard who then kidnaps commissioner Gordon who was present at the time. After escaping the Joker reveals that he has planted several bombs around Gotham City, and he will detonate them should anyone try to enter Arkham. This leaves Batman on his own without any allies to deal with the Joker and every other lunatic within the asylum. That's about as far as I'm willing to go without entering spoiler territory.  

I will say that you can expect to encounter a few of Batmans super villains throughout the story. Thankfully the creators didn't try to stuff the game chalk full of them, something that I really find annoying in games. They scatter them throughout and use them quite carefully in a good pace, and most of the time it's to help further the plot in a sensible way. Every character from the series that is in here serves a purpose, and they aren't just in here for fan service which is the best way to go about it. It never feels like the game is trying to beat you over the head with showing off its gallery of villains. 

Most of the gameplay within the game will require you to explore Arkham, looking for secrets and collectibles while playing through the narrative. There are roaming prisoners all over the place just waiting for you to come knock them out in ridiculously wonderful ways. There are also other areas where you'll have to be stealthy and take them out one at a time until they're all taken care of. The combat within the game is done extremely well, and never gets tiresome really or irritating like other action games can be after several hours of playing. The stealth elements are more fun than tense, which is something I found really refreshing.  

The normal combat against the inmates is also quite entertaining, and you definitely feel like you're playing as someone as legendary as Batman. The combat is fairly fast paced, but definitely relies more on good timing than button mashing or anything like that. The controls are simple, using one button for attacking, another for countering the enemy attacks and then one more button used for stunning your enemies via batarang. With the inmate enemies, you can easily do chaining and build up your combos which can be intoxicating with how entertaining it is.  

Certain enemies will require that you disarm them with a stun attack first though before you can begin chaining through them or working on your combos. You might be wondering why you'll want to do this, and the reason is it gives you a lot more exp for doing so. It's pretty easy to get into the rhythm of combat after trying it out for awhile, and I think most people can tear through most of the enemies in the game after awhile. As you beat down on the gang members and continue solving puzzles to further the plot, you'll be gaining experience points like I mentioned before, which allow you to upgrade your abilities. There isn't that much to upgrade though, it ranges from things like health to more intricate combat moves and a few new gadgets. 

The gadgets are a really fun part of the game, and as you would assume Batman has quite a few awesome little things on his person. It's all extremely versatile and it seems like he has something to help you out in just about every single situation you could think of. You never have to worry about picking up items to further the narrative, as Batman already has you covered with all of his gear. Whether that be a special batarang, special gel that is uses as an explosive or his grappling hook gun which has multiple uses. While you'll still have to get a few things here and there to switch through, your mostly ready for anything at any given time. 

Besides all of the combat, there are some side missions for you to do thanks to the Riddler. And, by some, I mean there's a lot for you to do. The amount of trophy collecting that you'll be doing with this section of the game is insane in a way. Between solving his riddles which are pretty fun, there's also audio tapes to be found which give some good backstory to the game and add to the lore a bit. There's also secret maps, chattering teeth and secret marks to be found throughout the area. There's honestly so much side content to find that you'll be spending hours doing it all if you choose to. 

The game does have some problems, which keep it from being a perfect game. As I previously mentioned, the ending of the game gets to be fairly weak and very out of character for the Joker. It's a bit annoying and seems like the devs just decided to say screw it and went with a generic ending for the game. Another thing is that the camera angles feel a bit wonky at times and can almost seem kind of tight when you're indoors, where it feels like the camera has to be almost always 2-3 feet behind batman giving a slim view. This isn't a huge issue, but can be a bit bothersome at times for sure.  

So, yeah, I would say that was about the only parts of the game that I really didn't enjoy, though the end of the game really did put a hamper on things for me. Even with that, the game has so many memorable moments that have stuck with me for over 10 years now. Moments like entering the sewers and having to play a life and death game of cat and mouse with Killer Croc, or dealing with the Scarecrow and his fear toxin gas that makes you have some absolutely batshit (pun intended?) insane visions and provides some amazing gameplay sections. There's also of course Mark Hamills amazing voice work for The Joker, which is a match made in heaven. There is just so much good stuff to say about this game.  

Overall, while the game has some issues and a terribly done last boss fight, this is without a doubt a great game in my mind. And, it captures the essence of the Batman universe quite well. If you're a Batman fan, you'll love it. It's well worth your time to pick this up and play through it if you haven't yet. This game takes what you've seen with other comic books games and throws them into a dumpster and lights them on fire. It's a consistently fun and entertaining game that will stick with you for a long time to come. There was so much attention to detail in the game, and everything was made with lots of care from what I can tell. I'd definitely recommend this one to you guys.  

Anyways, thanks for stopping by to read through my review. Appreciate it!