Batman fans have been waiting for a game that truly defines the character for as long as I can remember. The hero’s track record in the gaming world ranges from old school awesome-ness (Batman and Robin – Genesis/SNES) to recent movie franchised pieces of junk such as The Batman Begins game. As a Batman fan, myself, I have been tracking and anticipating AA for a while, but also dreading yet another mediocre “Batman” game. Batman fans rejoice, as Batman: Arkham Asylum is the game that Bat fans everywhere have been waiting for. The game starts with The Dark Knight doing what he does best, stopping the Joker from doing what he does best, and returning him to Arkham Asylum, the local insane asylum which specializes in “super criminals” resulting in all of Batman’s greatest foes being in one place at one time (someone should seriously reconsider that idea). Joker springs his trap and “captures” Batman within the halls of the Asylum and the madness begins…..
The game excels in making you feel like the Batman. The issue that appears with most superhero games is that the hero gets “Nerfed” in order to make the game harder. While you do see some of this condition in Batman:AA, it’s only because you don’t have access to every gadget that Batman should carry on a normal basis. In battle, Batman flows effortlessly, striking, countering, or stunning foes. As you unlock abilities, he’ll be able to tackle and instantly take down a foe after raising a combo count high enough or pick up and launch a foe into others. One small complaint, as the count grows higher, Batman moves faster which makes him a little more Spiderman than the Dark Knight, but this is soon forgotten as you KO one foe, counter another by catching an attack and dropping the enemy and bounding across the room to launch an instant takedown.
The game also highlights Batman’s detective skills, requiring the player to utilize “Dectective Mode” vision to pick up and follow clues, solve Riddler’s riddles and stalk enemies through walls. Detective vision also separates armed foes from unarmed foes, a trait that is helpful when trying to pick off foes one by one. Stalking foes makes you feel like Batman as well, allowing you to swoop down silently behind enemies, glide through the air to deliver a kick, or even executing silent takedowns from behind an unsuspecting enemy. Using Detective vision, a player can also read the mood of enemies (through heart rate), which changes their behavior. A calm foe makes for an easy target, while a nervous foe that has realized Batman’s presence will move faster and watch their area with more caution. Much like stealth action titles, stealth is often key to battles as facing enemies with guns head on will more than likely be fatal (Batman is still mortal you know).
The cast of the game is expansive as well. Obviously Joker is present and considering the battle locale many other Batman villains make appearances. Harley Quinn assists “Mr. J” from the very start in springing the trap, while others are released for fights or just happen to be moving to a new cell and have enough time to drop a serious threat. Fans of the Batman Animated Series will also recognize the familiar voices of at least Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker.
There is plenty of replay value within the game as well. Outside of story mode, a player can take place in challenge rooms, either fighting or stalking enemies as quickly and efficiently as possible. Results get posted on leaderboards so you and your friends can compete to see who makes the best Bat. The story mode also features collectible Riddler marks, Interview Tapes, and other secrets of Arkham. Riddler has also left actual riddles for Batman to solve by scanning some object in the environment. Finding all the secrets of Arkham will take the player some serious time, even if you are an excellent detective as well.
The game does have some faults though, firstly that you will be tempted to play through the game in detective mode. It allows you to see your surroundings much better than standard vision, but combat doesn’t impress as much this way so be sure to switch back before any hand to hand fights. Secondly, there is no manually save feature. It’s easy enough to enter a room to activate autosave, but this makes it feel as if there is no “good” place to save which locks you into the game for a bit longer than you may have expected. Repetition of rapidly pushing X to open a grate or a similar item will get kind of annoying as well, but once it’s off, there is no need to repeat the action.
If you’re a Batman fan, you probably already have this game or you may be on the fence waiting to see if it became another Bat-Fail. If so, hesitate no longer, at very least rent this game. If you are a not a Batman fan, be prepared for an intense adventure that will leave you spellbound (although you’ll want to pay special attention to character profiles and such if you want to solve the Riddler’s riddles). End result, the game delivers and is worth a purchase leaving you with the ability to reasonable say, I am Gotham’s Dark Knight, I am Batman.
Here's a list of Xbox 360/PS3 games that would be great on the Nintendo Switch (at a modest, reasonable price of course). These games could really flourish if given a new lease on life, introducing a new generation to their greatness.
I'm sure R* knows the Nintendo Switch install base and probably dont really care to port over more R* games to the Nintendo Switch tho i gotta say playing GTA4 & RDR1 on the go on the Nintendo Switch would be dope
I would buy Lollipop Chainsaw, Alice Madness Returns, Enslaved, Splatter House, Brutal Legends, Dante's Inferno, and Dead Space for sure if they were ported to the Switch.
Deus Ex Human Revolution would be a great title to The Holy Grail of All Consoles aka The Nintendo Switch*. Also Haze Remastered, Grand Theft Auto 4 and 5 Remastered, Silent Hill HD Collection, Max Payne 3 Remastered, Call of Duty World At War Remastered, The Orange Box Remastered, Halo Master Chief Collection, Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 Remastered, Metal Gear Solid 4 Remastered, Afro Samurai Remastered, Demons Souls Remastered, Xmen Destiny Remastered, Jack and Daxter Collection, Def Jam Icon Remake, Folklore Remastered, Spiderman Edge of Time Remastered, Persona 5 remastered, the list goes on. (*Best Selling Console of All Time)
Seriously? Isn't it time Nintendo make a Switch successor? I mean they have the sales and money.
"From winks & nods to straight-up gameplay-altering sequences, video games often break the fourth wall. Read on for some of the best moments." Mike @ Thumb Culture
Open world games are usually praised these days for their freedom, but what about linear games? Will Heath shares why linearity is important in video games, too, and why he prefers them over open world games.
Linearity is fine so long as everything else is good = characters, music, story and gameplay.
Great write-up! I've always found it funny when people complain about linear games. Have they never watched a movie, read a book, listened to an album? This article is point-on. It allows developers to really add intricate detail, flesh out specific characters and story. I really wish more games would go back to linearity and less fluff.
