Batman: Arkham Asylum [360/PS3/PC]

[ekucz123]

I've just picked up a full retail copy this afternoon as a couple of places in Montreal have broke the street date.

I am really loving the game, the intro to the game is much longer now and only the first 5 minutes of gameplay are the same as in the demo everything else is different.

The voice acting is excellent and the first boss fight is pretty cool-it has the Bioshock style vibe to it

I can see the rest of my weekend is gonna be taken up by this.

[ezee ryder]

Been playing this for a good 4 or 5 hours now and am loving it, superb game.

As the ekucz123 mentions, the first section of the game is actually quite long and the demo is just parts of that "randomly" pieced together to give players a small taste of the full game. The opening part as you enter Arkham Asylum is actually really cool and very cinematic, loved it. I have dunno which encounters actually count as "proper" boss fights but I guess I would say I have done one, maybe two of them.....needless to say they have been fantastic.

Gameplay wise it is quite similar to the demo but expanded a whole lot more. The hand-to-hand combat is just a few buttons but then as you gain XP you can acquire new moves. For example I just recently acquired a throw move which I can pull off in a certain situation. Basically the hand to hand is simple to use but difficult to master. It may not be as deep as DMC or anything but then again it is not trying to be.

As I said in the demo thread though, the stealth combat is what I loved the most. This is where you feel like Batman. Thankfully there have been quite a few of these sections so far too and I have loved them all. It never gets tiring seeing Joker's goons crapping themselves when they see one of their own hanging underneath a gargoyle. These sections do get harder as you progress though so at time you really do have to work out how you are going to go about taking out the goons. Unlike the first couple of stealthy sections if there are two goons left most of the time they won't split up, they will tremble in their boots and stay together because after all there is strength in numbers right?!

Apart from that the exploration/"platforming" stuff is great too. Batman can't really jump (minor gripe) but if you hold down A while nearing a gap (much like Assassin's Creed) he will "auto" jump instead it. The grappling is fantastically executed too, I haven't had any issues with that all. You also get quite a few gadgets as you make your way through the game, each one having its own "proper" use just like in the comics or more recent movies. Random comment but I love holding A as you fall and watch the cape expand as Batman glides down.

Ah I have to mention the awesome collectables too in the form of the Riddler's challenges. Might not seem like anything major but they actually do add another layer of brilliance to the game. They break down into collecting his question mark trophies scattered around the world and solving certain riddles. The riddles themselves are too taxing on the old noggin but certainly are fun to solve. When I am given one I usually almost immediately try to solve it, kinda addictive.

I will finish off by saying this game will be a Batman or DC fans wet dream. It clearly shows throughout the game that Rocksteady have researched and understood the Batman world from the comics. There are little bits of information and detail scattered around everywhere throughout the Asylum that pay tribute to the comics. I really want to to mention a certain encounter with a particular villain to give an example of this but I think everyone should experience that for themselves rather than have me tell them about it.

I will probably get accused of hyping the game up or overreacting but I don't really care. I have to say, unless the rest of the game is a total disaster, that Batman: Arkham Asylum is the best comic book based game ever made, simple as that. Hell, it is probably going to be one the best games released on any console this year. Great mature story combined with fantastic gameplay. Early contender for game of the year for me, brilliant.

EDIT - I forgot to mention the visuals, they are great. Character models do look a bit plastic at times but for the most part everything looks lush. Batman's character model (himself and his attire) even show signs of wear and tear as you progress, great little touch. Basically the visual style suits the game and the setting perfectly.

[ekucz123]

i've now played about 6 hours of the game, the level design is superb and their is one section which ended in a really cool boss battle that blew my mind.

The detective mode is nicely implemented and I love actually going into detective mode during combat because the level of detail in the contact and impacts during these sections is displayed properly on the NPC skeletons when you fight them.

Like ezee_ryder says the Riddler Challenges are pretty cool and add some nice extras to the game without wholly resorting to collectables.

The XP system for upgrades is pretty sweet, the upgrades are well thought out and because you have a choice between a few of them at a time, picking the one to upgrade is pretty tough.

In terms of challenge the game is really well rounded, a lot of the time you see the game over screen is because you have made a bad choice in a combat situation and not properly paid attention to your surroundings.

Visually it is easy to tell its an Unreal Engine game but the style they have put in place like Bioshock gives it a distinctive look unlike most Unreal based games.

Alongside Shadow Complex this is easily the best game released in 2009.

[Jebus]

I see from xbox.com that Ezee, you've finished this already?

How long would say it took please mate?

[ezee ryder]

I was on it pretty much all day yesterday. I can't remember the last time I have forgone food and sleep in favour of playing a game! Seriously though probably took me about 12-14 hours. The cool thing is though you can go back into Arkham after you finish the game and go on the hunt for collectables.

So yeah as pointed out, I finished the game in the early hours of the morning and, despite one minor annoyance, I stand by my earlier impressions. This is just one superb game, whether you are a Batman fan or not it is just so easy to appreciate everything about it.

I would really like to go into detail about a particular section towards the end of the game (sort of related the part I didn't wanna mention before) which is just pure genius on the part of the developers. Seriously at like 3am in the morning it got a huge simile from me and I might have even clapped! It came out of nowhere, totally unexpected, but oh so brilliant. Once again though I will leave it there, as you all should experience this section for yourselves. Will be interesting to see how people react to it actually.

People complaining about a lack of challenge in the demo, well that idea is torn to shreds in the second half of the game. The game gets harder and you will know about it. It gets harder in terms of hand-to-hand combat and stealth. This doesn't mean just an increase in the number of goons either, other factors also come into play.

Another thing people will probably wanna know about is the boss battles. They make up a small portion of the game but they certainly play their part. They are all very good (and weird) but I did have one minor annoyance regarding them. A few of the battles are quite similar and I can't help but think a little more variation wouldn't have gone amiss. Now that's not to say the boss battles are poor, far from it really. Infact the only reason I probably noticed this was because the overall quality throughout the game is just so good.

Talking of quality, I must mention the storyline.....it is absolutely fantastic. Like I said previously you can really tell the folks at Rocksteady have paid attention to the Batman world in the comics. It is not just some random story pieced together, it is so good that it wouldn't even be out of place in a Chris Nolan Batman movie. Yup, that good.

I think I pretty much covered everything else in my earlier impressions so I will wrap it up now. Batman: Arkham Asylum is brilliant and for me it is the best release of the year so far. Not just a great comic book game but a great game full stop.

[Spatial]

I demand you stop posting positive impressions like that at once!

It's going to be a hell of a long week waiting for this to release...

[ezee ryder]

Sorry! Let's see.....umm.....Batman: Arkham Asylum is dog poop*.

*if dog poop was amazing

One thing I forgot to mention is the superb voice acting especially by Mark Hamill who (as you all probably know!) plays the Joker. Some of the random things he spouts off over the Asylum microphones is just pure genius, got a laugh out of me quite a few times.

[SuperBeatBoy]

Hope my CE ships early from Game next week! Its the one game i've been looking forward to all year.

[Jebus]

The riddler collectibles...are they actually riddles? It'd be amazing if a collectible was more than just a number, and you actually could solve a puzzle when getting it or something.

[ezee ryder]

Yes some of the Riddler collectables are actually riddles which you have to solve. How you solve them, I won't go into too much detail about but it's quite simple enough. They sort of test your Batman knowledge and your searching/hunting skills.

The other collectables are things like Riddler trophies and patient interview recordings. The recordings are actually very cool, giving you an insight into the villians and how messed up they really are.

[mr_woo]

I'm really really looking forward to playing this, got it sitting right beside me ready for action Just trying to finish this last boss on Wolfenstein first, goddamn it he's a pain in the ass on uber!

It's like I'm teasing myself with the anticipation

[Largo]

damn it ezee you got the scoop on an early release again....who are you working for

[ezee ryder]

The Joker and Harley Quinn but shhh don't tell anyone!

Might be worth mentioning that it seems like the more riddles you solve and more items you collect throughout the game the more challenge rooms you unlock. I think I also unlocked Batman in an armoured suit.

[Steve]

Finished this today - simply brilliant fun.

[Malc]

How'd you guys get it so early?

How long did it take you to complete Steve? Just wanted to get a couple of peoples completion lengths so I have an idea how long it is on average.