Batman: Arkham Asylum is a 3rd person action/adventure title for the PS3 and X-360. Now I don't have to tell you who Batman is. So I'll just set up the game for you.
Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy) returns to the asylum with The Joker (Mark Hamill) after his escape. However Batman has a feeling that something isn't right as the Joker surrendered quite easily. Batman follows Joke with armed guard into the heart of the asylum. There Joker escapes their custody and we soon discover that he's taken control over the island. On top of that several of the most well known villains of the Batman universe are there to make the situation a living nightmare for The Batman.
Story: Overall it's not that complicated to tell what's going on. You're following Joker for most of the game, having to save innocents and cops along the way (including Jim Gordon) as you battle the likes of Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, among a few others. Solid overall, except for the very end where it's kinda... well… okay. maybe.
It's a wobbly ending, I'll give you that.
The other thing to note is that this story is not adhering to a specific segment of batman history (comics or movies) instead it has an evergreen atmosphere, including in some way or another a shot of all major villains of Batman over the years. Influences from comics to Tim Burtons BATMAN can be seen in this incarnation of the Dark Knight.
Gameplay: Solid. Fantastic even. The combat system was designed that you were the G**D**** Batman, you ebb and flow from one lackey to the next, pummeling them to a pulp, racking up chain attack multipliers, reversals, incorporating Batman Tech. Fantastic. A.I. acts as it should. The gadgets used have multiple purposes and don’t feel like add ons.
Two issues I have with the gameplay:
1. You have a visual mode called Detective Mode that spots environmental issues, help track criminals, assess hostel threats in the area, and so on. You spend a large amount of time in this mode because of the nature of the missions you’re undertaking, possibly missing a lot of detail that the game has been given. 2. As great as the battle system is, they start relying on it too much for their own good as similar villain types get reused at the end.
Voice Acting: Another golden opportunity to have the fan favorites producing our favorite characters Kenvin Conroy and Mark Hamill have provided the voices for Batman and Joker since the early 90s when Batman: The Animated Series was produced. Since then these gentlemens voice have become the standard for anyone else who’ve stepped up to the plate to portray these characters (vocally at least). Aside from that the rest of the voice casting is solid all the way through.
Design: Well Animated. Lip synic was good. Location design was top notice as well the character design for Heros, villains, leads, and petty criminals. Not much I can say about that.
Replay-ability: The nice thing about this game that you’ll have a hard time getting tired of wiping the floor with 20-some thugs. There are challenge rooms for both combat, stealth, and I hear even Scarecrow challenge rooms too. It’s essential to note that the PS3 version has exclusive challenge rooms where you play Joker.
Also, throughout the island the Riddler has placed various riddles and trophies to collect for experience points AND unlock bonus content such as character statues and character bios of Batman Heroes and Viliians (the art is amazing for these characters) There are also these tablets throughout the island to decipher to learn about the original founder of the asylum - Amadeus Arkham.
Also there are interview tapes ( think six for each character) interviewing each of the villains you come across during the game that you can collect throughout the asylum.
Final verdict: A must play for Batman fans. Like Ghostbusters – we finally have a GOOD Batman game. That shows off Batman as THE Batman. The overall game design is brilliant, detailed, and a labor of love, I just wish the ending didn’t feel like a little rehash of all the great stuff the game is built upon.
Next Time….War…. War Never Changes….
No comments:
Post a Comment