After Action Report: Batman Arkham Asylum

I finally got my hands on Batman: Arkham Asylum and boy was it worth the wait. I was really skeptical about the title in the beginning because I was expecting it to be some lame spin-off of a television/movie/comic series that had absolutely no gameplay and that would only appeal to those who absolutely loved the Batman series.

I was totally wrong. It deserves every accolade it has been given thus far and a very high rating is exactly what the critics should be giving this game. The storyline was well played, well played indeed and made me feel like I was living one of the Batman comics. The developers did an excellent job of capturing what made the Batman series so enthralling and entertaining. The characters were spot on, not with the movies or television series but with the heart of Batman, the comic books. In fact, there was a lot of unlockable character bio’s that showcased characters as they appeared in the comic series. I was most impressed with the Joker because unlike the overly comical Jack Nicholson Joker, or the overly dark Heath Ledger (RIP You Amazing Actor) Joker, this Joker had a very good mixture of insanity and evil intentions.

The customization was “there” but could have been a bit better. You got to choose which unique items and objects you wanted from a list of upgrades each time you “leveled up” which helped you to build your own “Batman” as you progressed through the game. The combat system that was paired with it however was flawless. It was incredibly fun to be able to execute moves so fluidly and in some aspects of the game I felt like I was playing Hitman, rather than Batman. I don’t want to give too much away because I feel the game is something that needs to be experienced by everyone rather than talked about.

I would really recommend picking this title up, even if you rent it. I am not sure how much time it took me to complete, unfortunately it was a short game in terms of the storyline. However there are many challenge modes to master and some downloadable content for it. The PS3 version allows you to play as the Joker which is exclusive to PS3.