Page 6
Review
Fall 2009
When a game starts out as
slowly as Batman Arkham
Asylum, one starts to worry if
the game will pick up in pace
or not. While Arkham Asylum
only takes just a few minutes
until you’re truly feeling like
the dark knight himself, it’s a
tad bit disappointing that only
few hours into the game you’ll
be hitting the credits faster
than a fan boy’s complaints on
an internet forum. Luckily
those hours alone are worth a
play through as Arkham Asy-
lum is the best comic book
game to date though it almost
wins the title by default.
Comic book game adaptions,
much like video game movie
adaptions, have been univer-
sally atrocious with a few ex-
ceptions. The creators of Ark-
ham Asylum seem to have
taken note of past comic book
games mistakes and delivered
a quite standard but thoroughly
enjoyable game.
The game begins as Batman
delivers the Joker back to Ark-
ham Asylum. When both ar-
rive, the Asylum is taken over
by the Joker with the help of
Harley Quinn (the Joker’s love
pet). Both release prisoners as
well as several other villains
including Killer Croc, Poison
Ivy, and Scarecrow. Truth be
told, there is barely a story in
Arkham Asylum and what is
there is barely enough for
gamers who enjoy a great
story with their game play. It
doesn’t help that the writing
borders on average to remarka-
bly stupid. Voice acting is hit
or miss, with a few terrible
NPC’s and even Batman
sounding a bit off. The true
star of Arkham Asylum is Mark
Hamill as the Joker who has
mastered the voice of an evil,
funny, crazy, and scary mad-
man.
Arkham Asylum’s story and
writing may leave a lot to be
desired but its gameplay keeps
the game from falling apart.
The core game play element
that the developers of Arkham
Asylum have finally succeeded
at, is giving players the closest
feeling of actually being Bat-
man. From the tight controls to
the excellent gadgets, Arkham
Asylum plays like every past
Batman game should have.
praise alone for being visceral
and straying away from mo-
notonous. Incorporating a
great mix of stealth and action
sequences, the game plays best
when it gives the player a chal-
lenge and lets players com-
plete the task in their own
way. The game plays at its
worse when you are not doing
such sequences but much more
linear tasks that gamers have
already played a dozen times
over. Fetch quests, backtrack-
ing, repetitive enemies, and
cliché boss fights hurt the
game from truly rising above a
rather familiar and slightly for-
gettable gaming experience.
Even worse the game’s short
length does not give the title
enough time to truly come to-
gether, which leaves players
with a sense of dissatisfaction.
The game offers various side-
quests as well as a challenge
mode to try cope with the short
story mode. The extra game
modes are geared toward those
compelled to discover every
nook and cranny of the game
and offer little else. The game
developers have announced
downloadable content which
seems hopeful though it might
just be quick grasp at gamers’
wallets. :
Batman Arkham Asylum is a
good effort at creating a totally
playable and enjoyable comic
book game. For comic book
fans, lovers of Batman, or just
those looking for a breezy and
decent comic book game, Bat-
man Arkham Asylum is worth
alook. B-.