Batman Arkham Asylum

It's not often that you get a game that based on a comic that is actually great, lets face it. However, Rocksteady Studios really pulled it out of the bag with Batman Arkham Asylum. Not only does it stand out as being the best comic game ever, it's probably one of the best games in recent years. It's the game that big kids like me have been waiting for since, well forever really...

The game starts out with our caped crusader bringing back Arkham's serial escapist and psychopath, the Joker, to Arkham Asylum. All is not as it seems however as Joker soon wriggles out of his cuffs and begins wreaking havoc across the island. Batman, with just as much brains as brawn, realizes that this is no ordinary escape attempt but part of a much greater plan. A plan that would show Batman the longest night of his life...

The story from here is inter-woven brilliantly with the gameplay, with the goolish environment of the asylum being a great backdrop. Rarely does the story go 'off the boil' and there are relatively few cut scenes. Instead, Joker, having taking control of the asylum, is constantly egging you on via the Arkhams PA system, guiding you throughout the asylum. This is a clever ploy by Rocksteady which helps to keep the games pace going effectively. Ok so there was one moment where i got a tad bored of popping Poison Ivy's spore pods...that is one minor issue however that can be overlooked when you see how good the rest is.

Voice acting is done very well indeed, with Mark Hamill doing a stand out performance as the Joker. It's not often that a character in a video game can make you laugh out loud. The rest of the acting isn't far behind either, Kevin Conroy's Batman is good to. Plus he didn't need to put on a stupid, ridiculous growl voice at an attempt to sound hard. Unlike a certain Christian Bale. Numpty.

The rest of the sound is great to. Playing through the game with a 5.1 system really brings it to life. Everything from the thuds and thwaks of Batmans punches, to the howls off Arkhams loonies. The underscore is dark and moody and somehow fits perfectly.

Combat. Ok, to say the combat in this game is good would be an understatement. To look at first off it looks simple enough, with options to attack, counter, dodge and stun. However, once a few moves have been chained together, it becomes a sheer joy to behold. Roundhouse kicks, leading to sweep kicks, leading to instant takedowns, leading to baseball bat round the face etc. The thing that make's it so damn good is how seamlessly the moves chain from one to another. Something which cannot be explained in a review and simply has to be experienced. The fighting mechanic alone makes this game revolutionary.

Stealth is key. Hiding in the rafters, with the Bat cowls x-ray 'Detective Mode' vision enabled, whittling down the Jokers henchmen one by one without being noticed, is very satisfying. With Detective mode engaged you can spot everything, whether it be one of Edward Enigma's (The Riddler) riddles which are hidden around the island, peoples heart rates, or handy breakable walls which with some explosive gel can be sent cascading onto any nearby henchmen. You can pull people off ledges with your Batclaw, take people out silently with a choke hold, smash through glass onto unsuspecting henchmen, or throw remote controlled batarangs at people. The possibilities are almost endless. Different gadgets are unlockable as the game progresses as are combat upgrades, such as auto-proximity detonating explosive gel, always fun! Personally, I prefer hanging a henchmen from a gargoyle, waiting for their buddies to come running and then chopping the rope with a batarang, scaring them witless.

All in all, this is a great game. There a very few bad points, if any. Maybe a few niggles such as the physics could be a little better, the henchmen 'death' animation looks a little unrealistic with the hands nearly always clasping their heads as they fall to the ground. Batman also tends to get stuck on the environment sometimes a little to easily. These however are small issues and don't effect how the game plays. Lets hope that there is some decent downloadable content for it. Buy the game, or rent it, either way you need to play it, it's fantastic. It inspired me to write my first review, nuff said!

One more thing, how cool would a Bruce Lee game be if it used the same combat mechanics as Batman Arhkham Asylum?! droooooooool..........