| Brand: | Eidos | ||
| Average Rating |
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In Batman: Arkham Asylum, the Dark Knight takes on his greatest challenge yet when he becomes trapped with all of his most dangerous villains inside the insane asylum of GOTHAM CITY – ARKHAM ASYLUM! Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum –Gotham’s psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City’s most notorious villains who have taken over the asylum. Using a wide range of Batman’s gadgets and abilities, players will become the invisible predator and attempt to foil The Joker’s demented scheme. Batman: Arkham Asylum features an original story penned exclusively for the game by famous Batman author and five-time Emmy award winner, Paul Dini, whose credits include Lost season one and Batman: The Animated Series. With amazing graphics and a moody, immersive setting, Batman: Arkham Asylum offers diverse gameplay options that push the envelope for all action, adventure and superhero games. more info
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Great game, definetly worth your money
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
If you like action games and batman, this game is for you, without a doubt this is one of the greatest action games available on the 360, great graphics, story and gameplay, playing this game is something you can’t miss
Hallelujah! A great Batman game!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you’re any kind of Bat-fan, you’ve already played and enjoyed this terrific game. Batman: Arkham Asylum does a great job putting you in the shoes of the world’s greatest detective. Not only do you have to beat up thugs and the violently insane, but you also have to put forensic and investigative skills to work as you put a stop to Joker’s sinister plot. A great many villains and their lore also make appearances, woven artfully into the game in ways that make sense (as opposed to “hey, let’s throw the Scarecrow here and Killer Croc here and blah blah blah”.) Lurking perpetually in the background is the Riddler, who leaves trophies and puzzles behind in an optional sub-game that ends up being almost as compelling as the main plot.
The graphics are darkly delightful. The combat, which might seem simplistic at first, ends up terrifically entertaining once you learn how to string together combos and beat up the bad guys with style. The acting is superb; Batman: AA’s voice cast draws heavily from the animated series, including a spectacular Joker courtesy of Mark Hamill. (Joker will emerge from the shadows to taunt Batman when he dies or botches a mission, and these moments do much to take the sting out of failure.)
Batman: Arkham Asylum should be required playing for developers of superhero games from now on.
Arkkham
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
For a teen rated game this was a very good game. Worth the money to get used like I did.
Batman
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Batman, Batman, Batman! Where to begin with Batman: Arkham Asylum. First off this game is well worth the price of admission. From the opening interactive cinematic that has you as Batman ecsorting the Joker back into the bowels of the namesake asylum, to the final ( & somewhat) anti-climatic batlle with ol’ Ruby Lips himself, this is a ride worth taking. Not since MGS4 has a game pulled you into it’s storyline with great voice acting & dialogue that is this crisp, engaging, & in the case of the Joker, very funny.
I won’t go into story plot points, there will be enough of that on the net in short order. I am going to focus on the gameplay mechanics and other factors that make you want to keep playing “For just a few more minutes.” You’ll find yourself saying that often. First the movement of Batman & all other characters onscreen is very natural. Imagine if the pages of a classic Batman comic came to life. This is how those characters would move & act. It’s that convincing. From the way Batman’s cape flows & trails behind him while walking, jumping, running, or during some well choreographed fisticuffs, you’ll get the sense you are the Dark Knight. As for the colorful & rather intelligent AI enemies that are the cannon fodder for you, they give you a sense of what it must be like to be a ‘Real Badass’ & then everything around you starts going wrong. Your buddies begin to get knocked out one by one, or hung from a gargoyle in the hallway, & you suddenly realize that your not the hunter but the hunted. This one of the more shining moments in the game. Batman can easily best 5-6 enemies at a time in the game with some simple combat controls that translate to an ass whooping on screen. You will find yourself feeling sorry for these guys. Especially when they begin to panic & shoot blindly around corners while the Joker taunts them on the PA system & moniters. This clearly demostartes what has always been the most glaring flaw with Batman games since the earliest efforts on the NES. Batman was always a weakling compared to the most rudimentory bad guy. Boss battles were always hit or miss in those games also. I mean do you really believe that Penguin could beat batman in a fight? Of course not & this game doesn’t present that scenario. What does happen in the boss fights is the creative manner that you have to approach them & figure out the startegy to win. Again no spoilers here but there are some unique moments. One glaring omission is some of the more iconic Batman foes make an appearance, but you don’t get to take them on. But a minor gripe such as this shouldn’t deter you from playing this game.
As for graphics & sound effects & soundtrack etc., this is the Unreal engine underneath so you can expect good things. It’s comparable to any recent game released for it’s visual flair & presentation. The dialogue & voice acting is spot as mentioned earlier. Just keep saying to yourself if i saw a Batman comic come to life it would look like this. You’ll have a good time.
The game is not that difficult which reflects the current trend in the biz toward earier games. I finished it on normal difficulty in just one day. But I enjoyed the ride from beginning to end. There is also enough extra modes & bonus content to keep you busy for good while after you’ve grown bored with the story. From online to challenge rooms & extra unlockables, this is a treasure trove of Batman goodness.
If you are a fan of Batman in comics or movies, buy this & have a blast. If you just want a good action romp then maybe a rental is for you. Either way the folks at Rocksteady & Eidos deserve much credit for doing what has never been done before. They actually made a believable Batman game that is fun to play & will make you want more at the end!
Great game
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The gameplay and storyline are very good. Fits right in with Batman lore. All in all a great game.
For once, the Dark Knight is better than Superman!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you like at all my comments I’m usually a very negative commenter. With my good reviews there are usually negative comments dribbled in there. But for a lack of anything bad to say I’ll just do a positive comment. First off this game is awesome and anyone who likes Batman, or even action games should get it. The story begins with Bataman, just having captured Joker, is taking him to Arkham Asylum. But he notices something is wrong and so follows the Joker as he’s being led away. Sure enough The Joker manages to get out of his handcuffs and kill the guards who were guarding him. Joker then announces that he’d set a trap and Batman had fallen for it. Your adventure then begins. You start out with only a batarang but after as you get skill points you can advance your arsenal. Don’t worry there’s plenty of gadgets to satisfy even the most gadget loving people. The combat is amazing, simple yet complex in its own way. It consists of two bottons yes, one to hit and one to counter, mastering using these in a harmonious way is essential to getting through the game. Also little background, Mark Hamill returned to his role of the Joker and does it excellently. Anyways this game is amazing and I’m not sure I’ve ever played a game this good.
Pros:
Lots of gadgets
Excellent combat system
Well written story
Yes, excellent graphics help
Cons
NONE SUCK IT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Batman: Arkham Asylum from an aging hardcore gamer’s perspective
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I want to state that I’m not really a comic reader and a gamer foremost. I think it’s safe to say that at this point, any Batman or comic book fan will tell you this game is awesome. But how does it stand on its own as a video game? This is what I want to share as a hardcore gamer.
The glaringly best thing about the game is that you feel like Batman. Being Batman, or any super powerful character with plenty of gadgets – licensed or otherwise, is fun when it’s done correctly and Batman: Arkham Asylum’s gameplay mechanics in this regard shine brightly. The gameplay is broken up into three main parts: beating up unarmed foes, incapacitating armed foes through stealthy means, and using detective skills to look for clues on how to proceed. The combat system is quite intuitive, and really highlight Batman’s martial arts training since he can engage several unarmed thugs at once as he melees and counters his way through the crowd. It works beautifully, and you feel like a total badass when you can clear a room without breaking a sweat.
I am actually having a hard time deciding which aspect of the game I enjoy more: the brawling with the unarmed thugs, or the stealth with the armed thugs. In the stealth mode, Batman encounters several armed thugs at once, and he takes major damage from gunfire so the best plan of attack is “Predator style”. To take out armed thugs, Batman makes use of quietly sneaking up behind enemies to silenty incapacitate them, or he can make use of floor grates or his hookshot to travel where the enemies won’t see him. Perching above enemies allows Batman to hang upside down like a bat and take out any enemy walking by, or he can go with a less stealthy method and simply fly down and knock them out. In any case, the stealth and the combat are the most enjoyable aspects of the game.
The detective skills aspect of the game is “passable”, making the adventure aspect of the game a bit mediocre. At any time, Batman can enter Detective mode, changing the way he views the environment. In this mode, the colors are practically inverted, and items or clues that should be investigated are colored in orange. The clues in general aren’t really much deeper than a breadcrumb trail to the next objective (you won’t be doing any Phoenix Wright style investigations or piecing together clues), so the whole detective aspect of the game doesn’t have any depth. Another issue I have with the Detective mode is that if you want to be aware of clues or any hidden items in the world, you pretty much have to run through the game with the Detective mode on at all times. I’ve spent the majority of my time in this inverted color mode, and don’t even know what the real graphics of the game world looks like. That’s just poor game design right there – I would have preferred that the colors weren’t all inverted while the important stuff is still highlighted for the player.
The Unreal Engine 3 works very well here, along with the music, sound, and vocals – providing for a very impressive presentation. I imagine that those who are fans of Batman and have desperately wanted to play a good one will giggle with glee when they play through Batman: Arkham Asylum. There’s a ton of background material and references to popular characters in the Batman universe that get unlocked throughout the game. Unfortunately for me, as I’m not really a fan of the Batman universe, they come off as simple “collectathon” stuff that adds more fluff to a game I wish had more depth than its combat system.
One more negative: who was responsible for designing the bosses in this game? There are so many memorable villains in the Batman universe and we end up having to fight practically the same generic boss for most of the game? I’ll admit that the first encounter was enjoyable since it did have some sound boss design, but by the fourth or fifth encounter I was shocked that the same fight was reused shamelessly throughout the game. If the developers every comes out with a sequel, they better have someone devoted to just bosses because this is probably the biggest negative in the game.
All in all, I think this game is enjoyable and a must-buy for Batman fans, but far from a revolutionary game such as BioShock (Game Informer calls Batman: AA this year’s BioShock). Although this is what it’s like to play a Batman game done right, would it still be as highly rated if it wasn’t a Batman game? Most likely not, as hunting for hidden packages (disguised as Riddler’s challenges in the game) are not enough to give the adventuring aspect of the game any real depth. Luckily for us, I think we’re all a little bit biased towards wanting to be Batman, so the game’s faults are easier to forgive.
Batman review
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is an amazing game for Batman and action game lovers alike. Hardcore fighting engine, good boss battles and an overall feeling of accomplishment when you reach the end.
Play this or suck a batarang
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Yes, yes and more yes. It took video game makers over twenty years to come up with a title worthy of the legend.
They finally got it so right it you’ll be saddened to finish the game. Arkham Asylum takes you in and never lets go. It stuns you with beautiful graphics (Batman looked awesome), a host of sinister characters, tons of unlockables, and a huge area to explore. Batman moves like a superhero, fluidly and gracefully, slinging up and down on his bat grapple hook and gliding down on ignorant foes with his bat cape to kick ‘em in the chest. AA squeezes every bit of awe out of its $65 price. I can’t wait for the next one.
Good gameplay and story
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is one of the most fun Xbox games I’ve played because of game play and story.
I didn’t plan on buying this game; Batman the character is not really one I’ve followed much. However, the hype and positive reviews from game sites and G4 helped me decide to give the game a try.
I’m glad I did.
The story is well told, which I love (This is one of the reasons that Mass Effect is another of my favorites if a bit longer of a game.) The game play is fun too. It’s not too hard to learn and master the combat system, with new perks and options opening up as you progress to keep you interested. The game does a good job of teaching you how to play without being too slow or too fast–unlike some games like Call of Duty: World at War which doesn’t do so good of a job leading the character on a progressive story.
You feel really immersed as you use your grapple to quickly fly up to a high peak and swoop down with your cape on unsuspecting bad guys. The flying can make you forget at times that you’re playing a game and evokes the sensations of actual free-fall or gliding.
If the guys who created this game make episode 2 any time soon I’ll be in line.