First of all I must start by saying that I am not a Batman fanatic, my knowledge is made up of the films and nothing more. I could list a few villains but would be more successful naming the actors that have played the Dark Knight.
Arkham Asylum is the darkest Batman game I have ever played and it is not too early in a review to say it is the best - by far! You start the game walking into the Asylum with Joker tied up and mocking the guards escorting him in. This part of the game acts a teaser of what is to come, inmates of the Blackgate prison being ushered around and Killer Croc appearing from the depths of the building promising to kill Batman. Of course Joker escapes two inept guards with Harley Quinns help and the chaos ensues.
Batman: Arkham Asylum is a third person action game based on combat and stealth, the ultimate aim of the game to restore order and lock up Joker 'once and for all'. The controls are solid and simple, essentially a one button combat system is easy to pick up but tricky to master. As the game progresses you unlock more moves but even with 100% you only have a handful of buttons to press, still based on the one impact button. This is one of the most satisfying fighting games I have ever played, your score is calculated via a combo and variation meter which can unlock achievements, upgrades and points (which are very important in the later challenges). Weapons are lethal on this game, if you come across an armed enemy you would be a fool to take them head on; you must work from the shadows and silently take the goons out. This is again very satisfying as you swing at the top of the room on stone gargoyles and listen as the enemies are picked off one by one and the prisoners get more and more edgy. This is made a great deal easier by Batmans detective vision which is somewhat like an X-ray visor. When enemies in a game appear in this game you never get bored because it is just so much fun to take them out!
The graphics in Arkham are top notch high grade material. Every environment is unique and you can really see the effort the team have put in. There is only the occasional clipping of Batman's cape and some more effort could have been put in with lip syncing on periphery characters but these really are minor issues which are easy to ignore.
The story and detail in this game is great, there is so much information to take in. There are 42 character profiles which are discovered by finding one of the 240 challenges set by 'The Riddler' (much akin to GTA's hidden packages - they are the collectible item in this game). Though all 42 are not in this game it does give show the material they have to work with, a sequel would be no problem at all. The enemies you do come across in the game are fantastic, there is enough to satisfy a hardened fan and a casual movie goer alike. The infamous Joker is joined by the likes of Victor Zsaz, Scarecrow, Bane and Commissioner Gordon. Personally my favourite is Scarecrow purely because when you fight him it is genuinely scary, a very clever touch to the game which I won't ruin for anyone reading. You develop a real care for the story and are disappointed when it ends, my only quarrel with the game is that it does not last long enough (oh, and the Batcave under the island lol).
There is enough to keep you occupied though, if you're going for the full 1000G you will spend a good few hours swearing at the combat challenges and finding all 240 of E.Nigma's challenges is actually quite fun (and made easier by the in game maps you can find!).
Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of the best games I have ever played, if you an XBox you should have this game - it's as simple as that
Final Score - 98%
Achievements:
As mentioned above this is a do-able 1000G if you are willing to put the time in, the difficulty achievements are stackable though going trough this game more than once is no chore. The only annoying ones are combat challenge medals which are well earned but will have you screaming at times - I'm looking at you 'Shock & Awe (Extreme)!' A good list of points mixed around by story and individual effort, good job Eidos.
