Very enjoyable video there, but the Spy clearly steals the show.

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"You want chaos in Arkham? Kill the Batman!"

Let’s get this out there right now–historically, licensed super-hero games blow. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that they blow pretty hard. Combine that trend with my favorite childhood super-hero, the Batman, and there’s some potential for bitter disappointment. But Batman: Arkham Asylum succeeds where other Batman games have failed. The top-notch audio and visuals throw you into an engaging world that compels you to see the story through, and you’ll actually feel like Batman for a good portion of it. Unfortunately though, being the best Batman game ever doesn’t save this title from a disappointing lack of depth and some misguided creative direction.

Your stay on Arkham Island starts with a lengthy intro sequence that shows off just how gorgeous the unreal engine can be. The Bat-mobile whips through the streets in stunning detail as you escort the criminal master-mind Joker to his new eight by twelve foot home. Upon arriving at the asylum, Batman senses that something isn’t right, that this is all too easy, so he assists the Warden and his men in transporting The Joker through processing. All the while, your nemesis, voiced fantastically by the one and only Mark Hamill, quips at you, provokes the guards, and maniacally laughs in the definitive Joker persona. I honestly think this is the best Joker I’ve ever heard with exception to Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

Inevitably, it isn’t long before the mad-man escapes his chains and the “party” begins. Joker has big plans for his home-coming, and although he has many friends he plans to see, you’re the guest of honor. It’s here that the intro sequence finally ends and you’re thrust right into bone-crunching combat. Early on, fighting amounts to repeatedly jamming on the X button, but the superb animations and delightfully comic-book-inspired sound effects make dismantling a group of henchmen a joy.

Simple, but satisfying.

The other side of the gameplay coin is the stealth predator sequences, which have you swinging around the ceilings and lurking in the shadows in order to silently pick off isolated thugs. The audio’s just as good here, as enemies will grumble about their boss’ orders, brashly taunt the Batman to come out, and once they’ve seen their share of unconscious comrades, whimper in glorious henchman paranoia. The only disappointment when it comes to the game’s audio is the missed opportunity music could have played. When it does play, it’s always good, but it oddly goes unnoticed during these core gameplay experiences.

One thing you will notice however, is how the game designers rob a variety of beautiful environments from you. Generally speaking, and especially during the stealth sequences, the information that the game’s “Detective Mode” visual filter affords you is too valuable to pass up. It shows you enemy locations through walls, the weapons they’re brandishing, their mental state, as well as all important ventilation access and gargoyles (which are apparently the only things attached to a ceiling that Batman can possibly grapple to). This wouldn’t be a problem if the filter didn’t flood the screen in a tranquil blue that hides all of the amazing lighting and textures. But instead of just highlighting the information we need, the developers thought it a good idea to have us play in a Tron-like virtual world with walking skeletons outlined in red. It’s a real shame considering how pretty the game is when the filter’s off.

But that won’t stop you from wanting to progress to the next environment, as the perfectly paced story has you wanting to capture the villain of the moment at all costs, so you’re never in one place for too long. There’s a great variety of classic Batman villains that are all voiced quite well and their characters are developed such that you’ll want to give them what for.

Poison Ivy, world's hottest tree-hugger.

Often times you’ll be forced to track these enemies using your detective skills, which pathetically amount to analyzing a traceable item of the person you’re looking for (such as whiskey vapors, tabacco fibers, or finger prints) and following the trail. It’s unfortunate that the detective segments don’t actually require searching for clues or piecing things together with your astounding bat-intellect. These goose-chases are a fairly regular occurrence too.

But those boring hunts usually lead to increasingly complex brawls and predator scenes. As the game progresses, combat becomes more varied with a small repertoire of upgradable moves that can be strung together into large combos. At its heart though, the combat is still a bit too simple, as a player can get through the game easily by button mashing. Something as minute a strong attack, weak attack would have helped the “X, X, Counter, X” style of fighting. I also feel like the combat could use some more precision, as it is quite difficult to string large combos together when the combo multiplier ends after less than a second of not hitting an enemy, which becomes a problem when your first round of attacks knocks all your foes to the ground in every direction, leaving you with nothing to attack for a split-second. Add in the fact that certain enemy types, who inevitably get in the way as you’re mashing on X, instantly end combos by blocking your attacks and in-depth combat is all but impossible. It just feels too difficult to overcome the sloppy button mashing that is choreographed so well.

The predator parts aren’t without flaw either. The more difficult ones require you to create diversions and utilize your arsenal of renowned gadgets, which is a greatly appreciated breath of fresh air to traditional stealth games, but at the same time they lack essential stealth components. You can’t perform simple distractions like knocking on the window or whistling to grab a guard’s attention. Lighting plays almost no role. And as fun as the gadgets are, they are far too restricting. Only specific walls can be exploded, Batman isn’t a very good climber without his predestined gadgets, etc, etc. The stealth just isn’t open enough, which makes perfecting the art of silently taking out a room full of enemies a matter of trail and error until you find the best pattern of attack. A tutorial option would have helped here.

"Should I blow up that wall, throw a Batarang, or do an Inverted Takedown?"

Even with all those complaints, the stealth aspect of gameplay is still the most fun. Planning how you want to pick off Joker’s men makes you feel like Batman more than anything else. That’s why it’s a shame that the game puts more of a focus on the combat sections than stealth. And the combat starts to get repetitive when you’re constantly facing the same enemies. Sure, they’re smart enough to grab weapons off the walls to spice up combat, but they’re just not nearly as fun as the mini-boss henchmen, of which there are far too few. Besides maybe a half dozen intermediate enemies/mini-bosses, the entire game is the same old thugs and full-blown boss fights.

The boss fights, while slick in presentation (especially Scarecrow’s trippy stuff), actually kind of suck. They’re hardly fights, as most involve throwing the Batarang at the boss while fighting off henchmen. Not the first definition of “epic”. But great characterization teams up with the legendary Batman lore and Arkham Asylum‘s engaging atmosphere to make victory over the lords of crime satisfying.

The game’s core story takes around 12 hours to complete and certainly feels meaty enough to compete with other third-person-action titles. But other than going back to finish finding all the collectables and solve the Riddler’s many riddles (because certain areas are off limits to you until you’ve bought the proper equipment), the linear nature of the story doesn’t provide much reason to replay. The Riddler parts are a lot of fun though, as you’re tasked with deciphering brain-teasers and scanning the in-world answers, which are often artifacts of lesser known Batman characters that don’t make an appearance in the game. I thought it really added to the authentic Batman feel. The collectable audio diaries of villains also go a long way towards doing that, although the recordings aren’t nearly as interesting as those in, say BioShock. 16 brawl and predator challenge rooms also add value to the package, but the weaknesses of the gameplay are only further highlighted in these sections.

Not an actual gameplay screen.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is the best Batman game ever made, and it is fun to play. There’s a special attention to detail and polish that makes the game’s atmosphere very authentic and compelling throughout. You definitely feel like the Dark Knight at times. But graphics and story can’t compensate for the unvaried and restrictive gameplay that comes off as a bit schizophrenic at times. You’ll most certainly enjoy this game if you’re a fan of Batman, but don’t fool yourself into thinking this is the cutting-edge new standard for third-person-action games.

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