Batman: Arkham Asylum Review

Thank the lord for a good Batman game. Finally, my dreams have come true.

This is, by far, the greatest comic book game ever made.

Forget about Spider-Man 2. Sure, it was great, but this game is leaps and bounds ahead of anything before it. The creativity in this game is so amazing and... okay, onto the first paragraph with the good stuff.

Batman: AA, is a beautiful, beautiful game. The textures are amazing, and no detail is spared in the amazing environments. What's amazing is that this game has quite a bit of back-tracking, yet none of it feels stale cause the environment is always changing around you, be it with Ivy's living plants or a sniper up in a tower. The character models are some of the best I've ever seen in a video game, and the close ups are mind blowing in the way they use lighting effects.

Also, I should briefly mention the voice acting. In most cases it's phenomenal, like with the Joker and Batman, played by Mark Hammil and Kevin Conroy, respectively. The voices of Harley, Ivy and Scarecrow are also great, but the voices of the mostrous characters, Bane and Killer Croc, are a little iffy. Did I ever mention my mom went to college with Kevin Conroy? She was Romeo and he was Juliet. Pretty cool, huh?

Moving on, the gameplay is very innovative, giving an average player the tools to be a creature of the dark without the control annoyances of something like Splinter-Cell or Metal Gear Solid. The controls are easy to grasp and fun to use throughout the entire game, which is great. The massive group battles where you take down 10 guys in a minute will leave your jaw on the floor, as well as the moments where you pull off an awesome "Invisible Predator" takedown. These consist of things like swooping down on a lone foe from the ceiling and hanging him upside down from a gargoyle, or pull a group of minions of a railing to all land on one guy. Seriously. That happened to me. 4 guys unconcious in 3 seconds! HOW BADASS IS THAT?

The story is one you'll adore even if you aren't Bat-savvy. Joker has taken ahold of Arkham Asylum and is rallying up all the crazy baddies the place has to offer for two things: To eventually take over the world and kill the Batman. The take over the world part comes later. I won't ruin anymore. The story is great and it leaves you aching for the next cutscene.

There are lots of little things for the hardcore Batman fans, too. There are so many hidden riddler trophies your head will spin, and the Scarecrow fear gas scenes will blow your fucking mind. Oh, have I mentioned Scarecrow yet? A main antagonist. A pure badass. The most menacing character in the game. The scenes he invoked in Batman's mind will haunt me and leave me overjoyed for months, maybe years. It has one of the most cleaver scenes in a video-game... a little trading places scene in Batman's mind.

Alas, no game is perfect. The last boss is a HUGE letdown. It was a really damn cool idea put to waste by Batman's over-extensive morality, and it results in a positively DISSAPOINTING ending. Although after the credits it leaves open a space for some DLC, hopefully even a sequel. Also the length. You'll beat this game in two days, tops. I did in about 10 hours. It's short ride, but a fun one.

If your not into Batman, don't play this game, though.

Just kidding. Play it. If you're not gonna buy it, at least rent it. Seriously. This is all the incredible fun of Prototype condesed into 10 hours. That's like trying to stick your dick through a cheerio. But somehow, it succeeds in an amazing way.

Final Rating; 9.8