Game of the Week: Batman: Arkham Asylum
May 24, 2012 by SoGoCJE
Hello and welcome to this week’s Game of the Week. Today we’ll be covering a game I was recently allowed to borrow with a recommendation from a good friend. Batman: Arkham Asylum, first in what may be a series of games, followed by Arkham City, is an amazing step in the right direction for superhero games in general (with Spider Man 2 coming in at a close second place). With all the grit of the original and later series and a lot of interesting mechanics and gameplay nuances, Arkham Asylum makes for an intriguing time killer and fun-filling machine. The plot is interesting, deep, and peppered here and there with a bit of maturity (if not a lot ofmaturity, people DO die). Let’s get into the dissection of this game before we go any further.
The plot of this game really did draw me in and make me look at everything with a renewed interest. I’d lost a bit of the flair I used to have for well written games about the time when all the writers seemed to be using the same tropes from television in order to please the masses. Arkham Asylum did a good job of reeling me back in with well written dialogue and a cool plot progression that had me feeling nostalgic as many traditional faces came back to help take out the bat. The game focuses mainly on the Joker, whom, after a run-in (and arrest) with the Batman, finds himself locked in an isolated prison known as Arkham Asylum. Due to a freak fire at another prison area, many of Joker’s henchmen also find themselves in the asylum, with Harley Quinn spritzing about just enough mayhem to allow the Joker to gain control of the facility. The rest of the game focuses on a Dr. Young, who created a serum known as ‘Titan’ that can transform people into huge, hulking monstrosities (a la Bane). Batman spends the entirety of the game doing missions around the island involving finding people, rescuing people, and kicking butt.
- Hoooo-boy…gonna be a brawl.
I believe that the battle system in this game is a huge step up from your regular mash a button and win games, such as Prototype and Infamous. You’ll figure out pretty quickly that you can’t just mash your favorite buttons and hope to take out a gang of hoodlums without taking a chunk out of your pretty miniscule health bar. It may feel like you’ve got the hit points to spare, but don’t let the game fool you. At harder difficulties, taking a single hit even at full health can mean the difference between life and death in some instances. I found that at lower difficulties, learning how to dodge blows was incredibly easy, although determining how to position yourself plays almost an equal part in keeping yourself alive. Additionally, the stealth portions were incredibly fun to do at any difficulty level, with the only differences being the ability to lower yourself from perches and being able to instantly take out enemies at lower difficulties. I had fun with almost every portion of the gameplay, from the stealthy to the straight bar brawl fights.
So, overall I’d definitely want you guys to give this game a try if you haven’t already. It’s definitely an amazing work and a must-have game for any Batman enthusiasts out there who just want to play a game dedicated to their favorite hero. The gameplay is easy to get accustomed to with a staggered level of difficulty for those who feel like they want more of a challenge. The puzzles throughout the game really get the mind going (riddler puzzles, eff you), and the villains are delightfully scary (Scarecrow really did get to me every time he had a cameo). If you absolutely HAVE to add this game to your collection, they have the Game of the Year edition out in stores still, though I’m not sure how much longer they’ll stock a 3 year old game. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed getting a little bit of insight into Batman: Arkham Asylum and would love to hear feedback as to your favorite parts of the game. This has been your Game of the Week. Thanks for reading!
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My kids love both this one and Arkham City. They are truly good games; I like to see them play!
It’s definitely very well done piece. I’m actually quite thrilled to know that parents are out there enjoying games with their kids. I’m sure you guys will have many more hours of awesome family time with these (assuming you guys haven’t beaten it already!). 🙂
My kids have SO finished both games… hahahaha… but only in the “easy” level! Bummer… one day they’ll be all brave and play them in the “difficult” level. Maybe.