As we’ve seen numerous times before, videogames based on comic books are patchy at best. It’s all well and good letting the player take control of a much-loved character, but the damage that can be dealt if the game is poor can leave fans feeling cheated. Dull plotlines, lifeless visuals and badly implemented gameplay mechanics can all but ruin what should be a thrilling adventure and sully a character’s reputation. It’s a tricky tightrope for developers to walk, so it’s with gladness (and perhaps relief) that we can report that developer Rocksteady has created the finest comic book superhero game to date.
Batman: Arkham Asylum sees one of comicdom’s most well-known vigilantes trapped in the eponymous lunatic asylum, lured in by arch nemesis The Joker who has sprung all the inmates free in an attempt to kill The Bat once and for all. Whilst The Joker steals the limelight (and so he should, with Mark Hammil’s superb voice acting making the character more chilling than ever), he’s not the only player in Gotham’s maddest drama. Expect to face the back-breaking Bane, the monstrous Killer Croc, the super-sexed-up Harley Quinn and, of course, The Clown Prince of Crime himself.
The biggest fault with the majority of comic book titles is that you don’t feel like the hero. Arkham Asylum is a masterclass in game design. The combat is simple and exhilarating, never getting boring no matter how much punishment you dish out, the stealthy fear tactics you can employ (such as swinging between gargoyles and stunning enemies with remote-controlled Batarangs) add a tactical bent to proceedings and the references to Batman villains old and new, popular and obscure alike are sublime. Rocksteady have nailed the combat, espionage and detection perfectly, as a result making the player feel like The Bat. Smaller details, such as Batman becoming visually battered and exhausted as the ordeal wears on, make evident the obvious love the developers have for the source material. The balance of fan service is spot on: there’s enough here to please long-time fans, but not enough to alienate newcomers, pitching it perfectly at both comic fans and gamers alike.
It’s not just The Joker you have to defeat either: The Riddler has tasked Bats with finding numerous items scattered throughout the island. These include question mark-shaped trophies, artifacts detailing the descent of the asylum’s founder Amadeus Arkham, and locating items based on cryptic clues provided by Mr. E. Nygma himself. These are the most interesting to pinpoint, as the satisfaction that comes with solving a clue is hugely gratifying. You’ll find yourself gladly ferreting out 100% of these RiddlerTrophies just to hear his inferiority complex take over as you discover more and more. The addition of challenge rooms will make sure that you’ll be playing this long after the tale has reached its chilling conclusion.
Batman: Arkham Asylum has received a Guinness World Record for being the ‘Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever’ and it’s easy to see why. The blend of an excellent combat mechanic, faithfulness to the characters’ histories and backstories and a maniacal plot as good as any comic’s make this a title you’ll have major trouble finding displeasure with. It’s not perfect (the same boss battle rolls itself out numerous times, it’s occasionally easy to get stuck and there are some fiddly platforming bits) but it damn near comes close. An example of how a title based on a comic series, or any action game for that case, should be done, your heart will be pounding as you near the horrifying finale. Once again, The Dark Knight reigns triumphant.
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Under the previous scoring system (before 09/09/09) this game received a nine.
