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- Aug 2, 2008
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Once upon a time, a 17 year old boy was putting on his reviewing pants after hearing of a new Batman-game in the making and the demo being just released. After launching the game and preparing for the orchestra of suckage something changed in that boy. He was no longer playing the demo to find flaws in it and to hate it because everyone needs something to hate. He was playing it.. because it was fun. It was dark, gloomy, addicting. Heck, it was Batman.
And so, there I was, after playing the full version and hoping that the demo did not colour my perceptions of reality too much.
No, no it didn't. It just keeps getting better till the point where I actually might have to name this my Game of The Year (still reserving a spot for Assassin's Creed 2).
After that inspiring story, Batman: Arkham Asylum then.
The game takes place in an island off the coast of Gotham City, where Amadeus Arkham founded an insane asylum years ago.
Batman, having once again captured Joker from wreaking havoc on the city (an easy capture.. spooky) returns the clown to the place he belongs, Arkham Asylum. Only minutes after arriving in Arkham, Batman finds himself in the middle of a hijack. Joker takes over Arkham Island and once again it's up to the Dark Knight to put that smiling freak in his place.
The game is a mix of stealth and action with puzzlebits mixed into it with some World of Warcraftish 'grinding' of the Riddler-challenges if you prefer.
When Batman needs to beat up some bad guys that want to carve him up, he resorts to his fists which are "easily" controlled with a button or two. I say "easily", because it is far from it. Unlike other fighting games where you can just win everything by punching the keys until everything in front of you breaks, Batman will soon find himself lying on the flood bleeding like a pig if he resorts to that strategy. So you have to prioritize your enemies and plan ahead of your attacks if you are to survive without taking a hit.
The combat is smooth and flowing and keeps you entertained all throughout the game while being simple enough as not to make use of 3/4 of your keyboards' buttons to work.
When stealth takes over, Batman's best bet is to stalk on top of gargoyles that are conveniently in the rooms where he has to battle his assailants. Why the gargoyles, why stealth instead of running head on, hoping that the enemies die before you do (also known as 'every other stealthy game ever made except Thief-series'-syndrome).
Well because the enemies have weapons, there's only one of you, and you aren't a god. You're fear incarnate in a batsuit but still human. If you run headlong into battle against people armed with weapons the caped crusader soon turns into a caped swiss cheese. With a taste of lead about him. But you don't even want to take enemies head on, because the stealth aspect works so well that it's much more fun to make your enemies wet their pants before finishing them off.
Then there are of course the investigation sections, where you see the world through a pair of what I call 'I win'-glasses that allow you to see enemies through walls and even identifies if they have firearms or not and allow you to see points where you can grapple etc.
When you use the glasses you begin to view the world through a blue x-ray filter which like I mentioned, pinpoints enemies even through walls etc and at some points during the course of the game allow you to track a certain person you must find to advance in the game.
This is where the game somewhat fails. It is good that they tried to get as much Batman in the game as possible but come on. If you're going to make Batman investigate something, make it so YOU do it. In this game YOU are Batman, not the computer. But no, in the only mandatory sections where the Bat actually investigates something, it is done through a dialog in which Batman explains to his sidekick Oracle what he is going to do. That's not playing, that's watching an interactive movie.
And then there is the story, it's nothing much. The most basic Batman-scenario you could possibly think of. Joker wants to do something that Batman doesn't like and so Joker has to be stopped. Along the way you'll beat up baddies, solve puzzles, fight bosses and find out more about the characters of the game and Batman-universe through some crypted messages, character biographies and and interview tapes scattered throughout the island. All of which add to the story in a way that keeps you interested and hooked and wanting more.
All in all, it is a great game with a few minor flaws that do not affect the gameplay so much that anyone would actually care. No one can tell you if you will like a game or not and whether you should buy it or not. Everyone has their opinions.
I'm Batmaaaaaaan.
And so, there I was, after playing the full version and hoping that the demo did not colour my perceptions of reality too much.
No, no it didn't. It just keeps getting better till the point where I actually might have to name this my Game of The Year (still reserving a spot for Assassin's Creed 2).
After that inspiring story, Batman: Arkham Asylum then.
The game takes place in an island off the coast of Gotham City, where Amadeus Arkham founded an insane asylum years ago.
Batman, having once again captured Joker from wreaking havoc on the city (an easy capture.. spooky) returns the clown to the place he belongs, Arkham Asylum. Only minutes after arriving in Arkham, Batman finds himself in the middle of a hijack. Joker takes over Arkham Island and once again it's up to the Dark Knight to put that smiling freak in his place.
The game is a mix of stealth and action with puzzlebits mixed into it with some World of Warcraftish 'grinding' of the Riddler-challenges if you prefer.
When Batman needs to beat up some bad guys that want to carve him up, he resorts to his fists which are "easily" controlled with a button or two. I say "easily", because it is far from it. Unlike other fighting games where you can just win everything by punching the keys until everything in front of you breaks, Batman will soon find himself lying on the flood bleeding like a pig if he resorts to that strategy. So you have to prioritize your enemies and plan ahead of your attacks if you are to survive without taking a hit.
The combat is smooth and flowing and keeps you entertained all throughout the game while being simple enough as not to make use of 3/4 of your keyboards' buttons to work.
When stealth takes over, Batman's best bet is to stalk on top of gargoyles that are conveniently in the rooms where he has to battle his assailants. Why the gargoyles, why stealth instead of running head on, hoping that the enemies die before you do (also known as 'every other stealthy game ever made except Thief-series'-syndrome).
Well because the enemies have weapons, there's only one of you, and you aren't a god. You're fear incarnate in a batsuit but still human. If you run headlong into battle against people armed with weapons the caped crusader soon turns into a caped swiss cheese. With a taste of lead about him. But you don't even want to take enemies head on, because the stealth aspect works so well that it's much more fun to make your enemies wet their pants before finishing them off.
Then there are of course the investigation sections, where you see the world through a pair of what I call 'I win'-glasses that allow you to see enemies through walls and even identifies if they have firearms or not and allow you to see points where you can grapple etc.
When you use the glasses you begin to view the world through a blue x-ray filter which like I mentioned, pinpoints enemies even through walls etc and at some points during the course of the game allow you to track a certain person you must find to advance in the game.
This is where the game somewhat fails. It is good that they tried to get as much Batman in the game as possible but come on. If you're going to make Batman investigate something, make it so YOU do it. In this game YOU are Batman, not the computer. But no, in the only mandatory sections where the Bat actually investigates something, it is done through a dialog in which Batman explains to his sidekick Oracle what he is going to do. That's not playing, that's watching an interactive movie.
And then there is the story, it's nothing much. The most basic Batman-scenario you could possibly think of. Joker wants to do something that Batman doesn't like and so Joker has to be stopped. Along the way you'll beat up baddies, solve puzzles, fight bosses and find out more about the characters of the game and Batman-universe through some crypted messages, character biographies and and interview tapes scattered throughout the island. All of which add to the story in a way that keeps you interested and hooked and wanting more.
All in all, it is a great game with a few minor flaws that do not affect the gameplay so much that anyone would actually care. No one can tell you if you will like a game or not and whether you should buy it or not. Everyone has their opinions.
I'm Batmaaaaaaan.
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