GamesRelay

Name: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Ok – First things first, I've been waiting for this game for a long time. Not just this game, a decent Batman game. Any would do! You see, Batman is my hero, I've been a fan for years now, I've bought comics, toys, graphic novels, DVD's and even Bubble Bath all in the name of Batman. So, you can imagine, when I first heard about this title I got very excited, it wasn't just a Batman game based on a film, an animated series or even tiny pieces of plastic, it's based on Batman's home territory, the comic book world.

I previewed the game shortly before the game came out; I was excited and ended that preview with my fingers crossed that this would be the ultimate Batman game for all of us Batfans... Have Rocksteady Studios made my dreams come true? Before I answer that, let's get down some basics for all those who haven't read our earlier preview.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is an action adventure come stealth game, it's played from an over the shoulder point of view. Arkham Asylum is the name of the home for the criminally insane in Batmans world, it's located on a small island off the coast of Gotham City. The game begins with Batman returning his arch enemy The Joker to the Asylum after a recent escape and subsequent crime wave which has once again seen him wreak havoc on the poor souls of Gotham City. During this spree The Joker makes a move on the Mayors Office but is caught in the act by Batman, however, not before he has also attacked Blackgate Prison which is where the normal villains of Gotham are sent as punishment. Unfortunately The Joker's attack has left the prison temporarily unable to home many of its occupants and the burden of responsibility has been passed over to Arkham Asylum. Batman arrives at Arkham with a trussed up Joker and hands him back over to the authorities, but, ever the trusting fellow Batman refuses to leave until he can make sure the clown prince of crime has been incarcerated fully. Once inside the Asylum, Batmans worst fears are realised and The Joker launches into his real plan and takes control of the Asylum from the inside with the help of Harley Quinn, The Jokers on and off partner in both life and crime. Once in control of the proceedings The Joker announces that he has placed several bombs around Gotham City and will detonate them if anyone enters Arkham, this is where the game begins properly with Batman trying to locate The Joker before the bombs can be detonated.

This being a Batman game you can obviously expect a few fisticuffs, as if this is your first action in the game world you're introduced slowly into the action with some gentle fighting courtesy of a few of The Jokers henchmen. The fighting concept is pretty basic, you use one button to strike, another button is used to counter moves from henchmen that come up on you from behind, you've another button for a heavy (or stun) attack and finally one more which will jump Batman out of the way should the henchmen surround you and leave you no choice but to get out of the middle of them. It's quite a good system to play with, it seems intuitive from the start and having access to a good range of animations the fights that are played out never seem that boring or repetitive. If you manage to stun your opponent(s) then you've also got access to a finishing move which can see Batman leap across and satisfyingly finish off the foe before he gets back up for another pop. All of these moves link into a freeflow combo system increasing your score and giving you experience points with each successful hit; Get enough hits in a row and you'll open up an option that will allow you to finish off an attacker there and then by pressing a two button combination, or, pick up the next attacker and throw him into someone else as a diversion. The henchmen start out as simple thugs, but later in the game you'll meet some that are armed with knives, baseball bats, stun batons and even guns, each of these demand a different fighting tactic and you'll often find yourself getting into the mix with a selection of these different types of attackers.

Batman is also known for his gadgets that help him fight the villains of Gotham without the aid of super powers and you start the game with an assortment of Bat-Gadgets, your trusty Batarang, Grapple and Exploding Gel. More gadgets are acquired as you progress through the game and each will have the Batfan within you go "Ooooooh", giving you another reason to smile. Some of these gadgets will help in combat, others in exploration of the Asylum. As experience points from combat and exploration are found you'll have the option of upgrading some of these toys, giving some of them simple enhancements or others a whole different way to use them. You're also able to upgrade Batmans armour and other fighting skills along the way giving you new tricks to learn and new ways to beat the bad guys. Another game attribute is access to Batmans special eye visors within his cowl, pressing the appropriate button activates a special 'Detective Mode'. This allows special objects to be seen more clearly as the visor scans the immediate vicinity for objects of interest, these can come in the form of an exit to the room, a trail that must be followed from whiffs of alcohol to fingerprints or special objects that Batman can collect. During this mode you'll also be able to see through walls in a kind of a X-ray vision, henchmen awaiting Batmans arrival can be spotted and you can act to take them down before they see you, structural defects that can hide exits or other special items are also highlighted, although you may not be able to act upon these straight away owing to you needing a gadget you don't have access to at that point. Of course, it's not all about the gadgets and Batman is not completely on his own in his quest to foil The Jokers plan; He has incidental help from various guards alongside Commissioner Gordon and from Oracle who is in semi-regular contact with Batman via radio link and can upload schematics and other useful information to Batman on an ad-hoc basis.

On entering some of the Asylums locations you'll be forced to act stealthily to progress; Several of The Joker's goons armed with machine guns will litter the corridors and patrol the area keeping an eye out for you, and blocking your way to the exit. Obviously they have orders to shoot on site and as Batman isn't a gun toting character you'll have to work out a way to evade them. Several options are normally available to you, allowing you to be able to take the guards down and still remain out of sight, you can go high and prowl on the gargoyles that normally adorn these types of rooms, you can get into the ventilation system or you can get under special parts of the floor. Once you've taken down one of the guards the others will be alerted by The Joker who'll rush to see if they can help there fallen comrade so you better leave the scene of a takedown pretty sharpish to avoid discovery. Guards can be taken out in a number of satisfying ways, if you manage to sneak up behind one, a quick button tap will see Batman grab the enemy from behind and silently take him down, an explosive gel charge can be placed onto a wall to stun the opponent giving you chance to swoop down and silence him, or, simply hang from a gargoyle and swoop down on your opponent as he casually walks past underneath, there are other methods to take out the guards but I won't ruin the delight of these, but I will simply say you won't be disappointed with your options. The A.I. in this game really shines through here as well, if you fail to do the room the first time then you'll be taken back to it but you won't be able to approach it again in the same way, there is almost always one of the henchmen you can take down straight away, but, once the guards have been alerted then they will change there patterns, you half expect them to do the same thing again as they did last time but quite often they'll set off in a different direction or do something else differently so you can't 'learn' the room, it makes it a lot more interesting and adds another challenge to these sections.