Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC)

The reinvention of the Batman franchise by Christopher Nolan has given us the audience a need for all things batty. With a rather shallow movie related game being the only means of playing this new improved Batman, being our only chance so far. However now with the game Batman: Arkham Asylum we get treated to being the world’s greatest detective in all his dark and knightly self.

Plot

We start off with Batman racing through the night towards Arkham Asylum, after having just captured the Joker from his latest one man crime wave. Once we arrive all seems fine until Joker is set free and all hell breaks loose, curtesy of all the goons that have been transferred over to Arkham from Gotham City’s Blackwood prison after it burnt down with a little help from the Joker. You, as Batman are then charged with bringing order back to the mad house, and of course administering some downright dirty justice as only the Bat knows how.

Gameplay

The game is set in a third person style with the action being mainly seen over the shoulder of the Dark Knight. Though the main game play is in a linear form, there is still room for some free roaming of the island to take place, however this can be quite limited at the start of the game as certain areas only become available with certain items in Batman’s arsenal. There are two distinctive parts to the game itself, the first of these is Batman making his way through the hordes of villains that the Joker has under his command. The second part of the game requires for you to solve a number of different tasks and problems in order to progress through the game. The combat consists of a vast array of fighting moves in a free flowing combat style, which allows for you to take on a multiple number of opponents at one time, in an almost seamless manner. Alongside Batman’s physical prowess the wonderful collection of various Bat gadgets allow for some great combinations of fighting styles.

As well as Batman’s gadgets for combat he employs a number of different techniques to locate and solve any problems he comes across. The main thing that you will use is his ability to use an x-ray vision which allows you to find secret areas ,and also plan how you can tackle large groups of bad guys who are armed to the teeth and baying for the Bats blood.

Graphics

The graphical content of the game is nothing short of stunning, and even at its lowest settings it still provides a great deal of detail and wonder. All of the characters within the game are rendered to a very high level with even the bog standard henchmen being given a real life of their own. Above all though it is Batman who gets the most attention, and rightly so. Unlike in a lot of games like this where your character remains prefect, the whole game along Batman and his outfit really do take a good beating, and it is this level of attention that makes the game in my eyes complete.

Sound

Along with the stunning graphics the game contains a vast collection of vocal talents to complement them. The game employs various vocal actors from the DC animated universe to breathe life into the characters, with Kevin Conray, Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin providing the main characters of Batman, Joker and Harley Quinn. It’s not just the character voices that are first rate, but everything within the game is given the special touch in the sound department. From the whoosh and clink as you throw a batarang at the wall, to the eerie and ghostly sounds of your first encounter with Scarecrow is masterfully done.

Longevity

The main game plotline will take around about five to six hours of straight playing to complete for your average gamer, however in addition to the plot there are a number of hidden challenges and riddles along the way to complete courtesy of The Riddler. For those who find this type of game a bit of a challenge there is an easy difficultly level as well as an expert mode for those veteran gamers amongst us.

After completing the game for the first time, I had enjoyed myself so much that I almost instantly restarted the whole thing from scratch just so that I could experience the total immersion of a game in all its glory once again. As well as completing the main game there are a number of challenges that are opened up to you as you complete parts of the game. These challenges take the form of two different styles, firstly as a straight fighting scenario with you as Batman taking on a large number of thugs. The aim of this challenge is to achieve the highest score by combining as many fighting moves together to take out all of the bad guys as quickly as you can. The second of the scenarios is a little less direct, and requires for you to silently dispatch of a group of thugs along the way you can gain bonuses for taking out the thugs under certain circumstances, such as sneaking up behind them or throwing over a ledge. The challenge scenarios provide a welcome distraction to the main game especially when you get to a section in the game that is proving to be frustratingly difficult to complete.

Overall

Once in a while a game comes along that just really stands out from the crowd by a long way, and this game provides us with just that. There is just very little that you can fault in the entire game, and the whole thing just moves along at such a cracking pace that you will find it hard to tear yourself away from the screen. Although the overall length of the game is not huge the beautiful look of the game will bring you back wanting more, luckily a sequel to the game has been announced which if this game is anything to go by will be the most wanted video game of this year, if not this decade.

I’ve just spied the Bat Signal so I’m off to fight crime once more, what can I say third time rounds a charm.