batman-arkham-asylum

The game starts off with you reminiscing a familiar comic from your childhood: that of a superhero recapturing his evil arch-nemesis. However, it turns out that the Joker has laid a trap for the Dark Knight at Arkham Asylum, Gotham’s psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane, imprisoning him within the compound and releasing all the vengeful inmates in a bid to enlist them.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is a third-person action game where you control our Bat hero through a maze of cells populated by some of Gotham City’s most notorious criminals. Be impressed by the witty comments of the Joker, when he taunts Batman with remarks like, “I set a trap and you sprang it gloriously! Now let’s get this party started.” or “Over? Why, my dear delusional Dark Knight, it hasn’t even begun.” together with his crazed companion Harley Quinn as you battle through waves of his minions.

The game puts you right in the middle of a fight with the Joker’s goons rushing you straight off. Fortunately, the combat system is relatively easy to grasp, with simple techniques and hints to get you accustomed. What’s interesting is the way you are able to interact with the environment: expect swooping down on enemies from a gargoyle statue or watch out for enemies picking up pipes and boxes to hit you. While the AI reacts quite slowly, you can still expect a room full of enemies to be a sizeable challenge as you wipe them out one by one.

There’s also a Detective Mode that you can activate whenever you want to experience a darker world through X-ray and infrared vision. It seems as if you become a real life bat, and it gives you a realistic perspective from inside the Batsuit.In some areas, it’s wise to make use of stealth techniques to sneak up on enemies, slowly clearing out the dangerous inhabitants in the different cells.

Although the animation of the game is wonderful as the characters flow and act in a lifelike manner, the graphics of the game can be a slight put off. The camera appears to be weirdly angled, which can be very distracting while maneuvering. For those who are turned off by gore, this game has surprisingly little bloodshed in it, which should be the case considering how our hero will never kill any villains.

Audio effects and background music lay the finishing touch, and give you the rush and fear you should experience when playing the game. The orchestral music makes the mood even more brooding, and gives you the sense of being in Bruce Wayne’s world of horror.

What’s great about Batman: Arkham Asylum is that it allows you to look into the twisted minds of these maniacs. There are many sound files and logs, detailing conversations and interviews between them and the staff at Arkham. The dark and warped world of Gotham City is fully portrayed in this game, leaving you to find out more about individual characters and how their story is played out in the original DC world.

Developer: Rocksteady Studios

Publishers: Eidos Interactive, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Square Enix

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Writer: Paul Dini

Engine: Unreal Engine 3.5

Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows

Release date: Aug 25

Genre: Action-adventure

Mode: Single-player

Rating: 3.5 / 5