After years of expectation, gamers finally received an awesome video game that did true justice to the legendary masked hero of the "knight", Batman. With superb graphics that makes you drool, outstanding gameplay that makes you feel like you are the caped crusader himself, and gorgeous cinematic cut scenes along with impressive voice acting that immerses you in the world of Arkham Island, Batman Arkham Asylum is probably the best super-hero video game ever.
The story takes place in the iconic Arkham Asylum, where all the super villains of Gotham City are sent for psychiatric treatment. Batman has captured Joker, rather too easily, so he decides to escort him to that place. Everything's good, right? Wrong! It is soon revealed that Joker has plans, big plans to turn Arkham Asylum in a party with Batman as the guest of honor, so he had himself captured willingly. So you wander through this amazing place we've seen and read about a lot in the comics, fight groups of thugs, solve interesting riddles, apply stealth to make your life easier, and be Batman!
You are on a thrill ride straight from the outset as you face off against Joker's thugs who had been shipped from another prison facilty that had been set to fire "coincidentally" on that day. Fighting is easy and fun, as you can string combos with simple strikes and counters by bashing the buttons on a xbox controller or the mouse. The animations are superbly done and the manuevers of Batman as he throws punches and kicks this way and that at the slightest movement of the analog stick or the mouse would make even Hollywood action choreographers pale. The sound effects of each strike also feels good, especially if you have good speakers or a headphone, as every punch or kick feels as real though you were throwing them yourselves. The boss battles can be a challenge, but they are even more fun and interesting.
Unique Batman traits include using the Batarang and the Grapple Gun. Batarangs are useful for taking out enemies with guns from far away, whereas the Grapple Gun is a necessity in most areas. You are required to sneak along vantage points from above as you grapple gun your way across Gargoyles and strike down enemies from above. You could Glide Kick down from a hidden vantage point, or perform inverted takedowns which are immensely satisfying. In areas with many weapon carrying thugs, using the Grapple Gun and these hidden vantage points become a matter of life and death, because, realistically, Bats is vulnerable to bullets. But as you secretly take out enemies one by one, you could see the evident fear in the enemis, which makes this game even more real and immerses you into the capes of Batman.
The best part of the gameplay, however, is the Detective Mode, where you have x-ray like vision of your surroundings. It lets you spot hidden secrets, observe number of enemies and separate out the weapon carriers. When you are stuck, the Detective Mode comes to your rescue, as you are easily shown which way to go to reach the next area, for instance, a ventilator might be highlighted. You can also see how many enemies are in the next area by turning on Detective Mode, which is always nice. Detective Mode is a necessity when it comes to solving the Riddler's riddles, because Detective Mode shows you Question Marks where you need to take pictures or where you could find useful information. Although it is very tempting to play most of the game in Detective Mode, you don't want to miss out on the gorgeous graphics of Arkham Asylum by do so.
Another highlight of Arkham Asylum is the supremely good voice acting by all the characters, especially and unsurprisingly by Mark Hamill, the legendary voice behind Joker. Joker's taunts are a blast. He constantly throws out dark humor through TVs and PA systems and keeps you on the edge of your seat; it makes you want to catch him all the more. The voice acting in each cutscene is intense and backed by the excellent lip syncing graphics and the fluid body motion gives the impression that you are playing through a movie.
The gameplay isn't over after you've finished the Story Mode, as you could unlock Character Bios and Challenge Modes by gaining experience points. So you can repeat the more intense areas through Challenge Modes and brag about it to your friends. The Character Bios and the interview tapes found throughout the game adds to the full satisfaction of the game because they reveal much history about both important and unimportant characters. Reading on characters like Harley Quinn are especially amazing.
You honestly don't have to like Batman to love this game. With amazing graphics, realistic and intense voice acting, challenging gameplay, fun gadgets, awesome villains, and the ever menacing presence of the Joker, Batman Arkham Asylum is a game you do not want to miss. It's one of the best games of 2009, and perhaps the best super hero game ever.
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