This being Arkham Asylum it's inevitable you'll meet some of the more insane and colourful characters from Batmans world; Batman has incarcerated many if not all the main threats to Gotham City and being who they are they all wind up in the Asylum. The Joker wanting to make life as difficult as possible for Batman periodically sets one loose and gives them a chance for revenge on their mutual thorn in the backside. These include Mr. Zsasz, Bane, Scarecrow, Killer Croc and Poison Ivy, all hell bent on revenge; Batman must face his foes with either brute strength or with a more tactical approach. The first fight is with Mr. Zsasz, well, I say a fight, it's over with pretty quickly as you find a 
way into the room where he is seeking refuge and take him down before he gets the chance to see you. The second big fight of the game against Bane is combat based and you'll need your wits about you to defeat him, not only do you face off against the Bat breaker himself but you'll need to give a beating to some of The Jokers men at the same time, not an easy thing to do! Scarecrows approach is more subtle and comes as more of a surprise than anything else, over the course of the game you'll meet him more than once and at often completely unexpected times, true to form the battles against him take place in a nightmarish world and offer a puzzle element to beating him. Again, not wanting to ruin the surprises in the game but some of the encounters with Scarecrow offer the best bits of the game to anyone who knows even the basics about Batmans history. A novelty in the boss scenes is when you die (and you probably will the first time) the villain who beat you goads you; normally this duty is given to The Joker who berates your performance, but, should you be beaten on a boss stage then this is handed over to them, it's another good detail to the game that stops things getting stale.
The Riddler is also a villain included in the game, albeit from a slightly less obvious viewpoint. His character provides a distraction from the main game in the form of riddles that Batman must decipher, each area has it's own unique riddle to which a clue is given upon entering it, when Batman deciphers the riddle he is sometimes rewarded with access to an upgrade for a gadget or weapon, or he will unlock a different challenge that can be played independently from the main game. These challenges take the form of either a brawl with waves of The Jokers goons, like a survival mode, or borrow a scene from the game which employs the stealth mechanic setting you certain tasks to perform on each in a Predator challenge. The better you do at each type of these the more points you are awarded which lead to medals that grade your performance. While the main game mode is linear in nature you are still given enough leeway to venture off and find the solutions to the riddles, some of them are placed so you encounter them early on in the game but can't actually do anything about them until you get another piece of gadgetry or an upgrade to an existing piece.
The graphics on Batman: Arkham Asylum are stunningly realised, another in a long list of games to be using EPIC's Unreal Engine 3, the dark visuals that normally surround both Batman and Arkham Asylum are a perfect use for this engine, the games characters are all instantly recognisable and the cut scenes are also of a very high standard. The main Batman model is well animated in a variety of different situations, and a nice added touch that keeps the game real is that his costume gets worn along the way, little rips and tears appear in his cape and his beard grows to a stubble as the game progress's, subtle but a nice inclusion all the same. On the subject of the graphics, while the Detective mode is a nice touch to the game, and sure enough it comes in handy, you do seem to spend a lot of time in this mode which distracts from the games visuals somewhat, I found myself spending a lot of time utilising this mode as I was looking for clues or following a forensic trail, it's a shame because on the occasions where you do switch it off and run through the scenery you realise just how much of the games lush scenery you are missing.
The music and sounds all stand up to the quality of the game as well, several of the key actors from the Batman Animated Series lend their voices to the key roles in the game (no surprise as the game is written by the animated series creator, Paul Dini) and this in itself brings an air of authenticity, not just to fans familiar with the TV show, but because the actors are all already familiar with their characters and their roles. Crossing over from the TV show is Kevin Conroy who adds depth and meaning to the dark knight, Mark Hamill lends his voice to the homicidal Joker giving a truly great performance with his maniacal insane ramblings, Harley Quinn is also voiced by the same actress, Arleen Sorkin, who to me could be voiced by nobody else. The music is suitably dark and brooding, again being perfect for the game and reminiscent of other Batman scores from the recent movies.
As previously mentioned the game is scripted by Paul Dini who created and wrote the Animated Series of Batman, this adds serious weight to the story which borrows from all of Batman's history and not just a certain period. Because of this, some things aren't exactly as they should be, but, such licence is common and doesn't infringe on the original facts as much as the movies for example. One thing did puzzle me though and that was the decision to change the costumes of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, it's odd given that within the game itself you can see the original costumes on their biography pages and the like.
Once the main game has been completed you can find you can return to the game and complete to 100% by collecting all the bits and pieces and solving all of The Riddlers challenges if you've not done so already, or, there are various levels of difficulty you can make your way through if you fancy starting the game from scratch.
In addition to the games challenge rooms you can unlock from solving The Riddlers Challengers, PlayStation 3 owners can download challenge maps from the PlayStation Store which will allow you to take on challenges as The Joker. This is the opposite of Batmans challenges who takes on The Jokers Henchmen; The Joker has to take on the Asylum guards instead. Don't think that is just a skin for Batman though, it's not. The Joker comes with his own moves and own gadgets, instead of the Detective Mode, The Joker dons a pair of X-Ray glasses to see where the guards are and his methods of capturing guards are different as well, instead of relying on the ability to swoop up to gargoyles with a grapple gun you rely on various Joker-esque devices instead such as a gun, electric hand buzzers and chattering teeth. Continuing the theme of the bosses taunting you as you fail your challenge, this time it's down to the Batman himself who'll taunt The Joker should you fail a challenge.
So, the question remains, did Rocksteady Studios make the dreams of Batfans come true? Well, the answer to that is a definitive yes!
Batman: Arkham Asylum is a great game and one that I would recommend anybody tries out, not just fans of Batman, it has something for everyone. The truth with this game is that the main character could have been anybody and not just Batman, it's a great game that would stand on its own two legs without the main character, the fact it is a Batman game is just icing on the cake and an excuse to use already well established characters and story devices. It's a grown up Batman game, it's not one for the kids, it's one for the parents and manages to combine all of it's different elements into a superb mix of a game, the story never drags itself along, it always throws up a decent twist and just when you think you've seen all it has to offer then something else will come along and make you go "Wow". Something else that is important to mention as well is the lack of loading times, there's hardly any which is impressive in a game this size, it's all done with smoke and mirrors, generally you enter a door into a smaller area as the main part of the level loads in the background it's a neat trick and lends itself well to the fluidity of the game as a whole. Of course there are plenty of little touches here and there to delight Batman fans, I personally was never happier than when I first entered one of the grates into the ventilation tunnels and saw Batman's shadow cast on the inside, it's a classic image and one gently woven into the overall tapestry of the game. Of course, there are lots of little Easter Eggs stashed away in the game for the true Batfans to come across, again though, that's something I shall let you find for yourselves.
Aside from a few geeky niggles I have, I can honestly say that this is one of the best, if not the best Superhero game on the market today, Rocksteady Studios can hold their heads up high and know that they've made at least one Batfan in the world very happy and no doubt many more!
