Arkham Asylum Game Review

Arkham Asylum was the kind of break through game that Rocksteady was waiting for. Rocksteady was created in 2004 but released its first game in 2006 with Urban Chaos:Riot Response which proved to be a decent enough game but did not sell many copies at all. It was only when in 2009 where the monolithic game that is Arkham Asylum which has sold in excess of 20 million of copies across multiple platforms that really paved the way that, not only superhero games were made but action and adventure games as well. Inspiration from the games fluid storyline, entertaining and iconic characters and excellent game play can be seen in other games such as ‘Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor” game and ‘Assassins Creed III’.

The game has proven to be so successful that it retained the Guinness World Record for the ‘Most critically acclaimed superhero game ever’, only to be knocked off its pedestal by the next game in the franchise ‘Arkham City’, proving how successful this game has been. Although it can be easily said that there are not that many superhero games on the market which can be attributed to fear by other companies. Companies such as Activision and Gameloft should know not to mess with Rocksteady by now who clearly own the superhero video game market as proven by their succession of games rated excellent by the critics and the public.

Without a doubt this is a game made for the fans. The hard core fans of Batman and the D.C comics. The game is littered with lore, references and easter eggs that only a true fan would recognise. There are over 200 Riddler trophies, teeth and tapes to find, littered across the island for players to find and discover. Most of these extras are found alongside the main narrative whereas others will need a more thorough gamer to search as The World’s Greatest Detective to find.

Unlike most games, the story begins in the middle of Batman’s life, quite late on in his career. It is the success of Batman in all other iterations that allows for a successful creation of a Batman where we do not need to go into the explicit background of the character. We dive head first into a complex world that is surprisingly easy to keep up with.

From The Joker to Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy and Killer Croc, the game is jam packed with recognisable characters. Many of these characters have never made it to the big screen so to see them portrayed to near perfection in Asylum could bring a tear to any fan's eye.T his is not to say that a non-fan could not enjoy the game as at its heart it is still a beloved RPG and adventure game. The gameplay is completely fluid and allows for over twenty hours of game play, depending on how you decide to play the game.

The only qualms that can be found with this game is with the boss levels in particular towards the end of the game. Sure, we all want to see Batman face off against Killer croc or take down Poison Ivy but it is the repetitive nature of the fights with the henchmen that brings the narrative to a stand still. The ending boss fight with The Joker begins to feel outlandish, that is difficult to picture in a game where the premise itself seems outlandish. The game ends with the night ending however a post credit scene leaves a lot to be desired, leaving a lacklustre ending to an epic game.

The beauty of this game comes from its intentional stylised world, it is the perfect mix between iconic comic book settings and real life. GamesRadar review stated ‘playing Arkham Asylum feels like being part of a compulsive, organic story within a very real world rather than negotiating a series of levels and gameplay mechanics’ (David Houghton, 2009). With the ability to go anywhere on the island at any, the open world makes the game feel completely immersive.

The sense of nostalgia for long time fans can be overwhelming with voice actors such as Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin coming together again after having worked as voice actors on various other projects. Fans will know the voices from Batman the Animated Series and other animated movies. The sound of the trio back together again could not have been sweeter. If anyone were to think of this game, the excellent voice acting comes to mind, as written in another review on GameSpot ‘ The quality of the voice acting never falters...Mark Hamill's Joker is unsurprisingly a standout, there are great performances from other characters too’ (Justin Calvert, 2009). There is nothing worse, even in films and TV, when an actor can not sell their performances and in my belief it is even harder to sell a performance based solely on their voice. The impeccable performances given by the main cast gives the game its iconic immersive feel. However it is not only the main cast, thanks to those clever bat-devices we can even listen to stagnant characters that are littered throughout Arkham Island, at a distance. We can listen to them give their opinions on what is happening, on characters and actions or just even have a mundane conversation. It is in these small finite details where the game truly stands out as one of a kind.

This video game also brings about the return of writer Paul Dini who is known for his work on Batman Mask of the Phantasm, The New Batman adventures and Justice League. When this news was announced, the fandom could breathe a collective sigh of relief. The franchise was in good hands. The fans were not disappointed, as Dini delivered on a compelling story narrative. Dini respects the audience and their knowledge and dives head first into the world. Beginning in the midst of a Joker/Batman dispute, the audience is made to feel fully immersed into the world right off the bat. The narrative takes the audience on such an entertaining adventure that it proves hard to put down.

One could not speak about Arkham Asylum without speaking about the games iconic and singular style of gameplay. Even at the games lowest difficulty, a novice could play and still feel as if they are The Batman of Gotham City. Whether you choose to use stealth and creep in the shadows like the Bat himself, relying on numerous Bat gadgets, choose to explore the island and have a relaxed play or go in fist first, the thrill and excitement is unanimous.

Some may say that it is hard to feel fully immersed in a game that is played in the third person as it may seem that we are only spectating the character but it is in fact the easy to use freeflow fighting style that would not look as impressive nor feel as epic if done in a different person. Freeflow works by the more hits the player lands on an enemy, the longer the combo. Certain button combinations and timings help but with added use of bat-gadgets allow for hot streaks and long chain combos. Something to quietly appreciate this game is the levelling up system, longer combos aid with levelling up, the more levelling up done the more gadget upgrades can be acquired. Unlike other games on the market that work on a purely microtransaction way of getting upgrades, this offers the player a fair chance to get the upgrades that they want.

As an avid gamer myself, I owned the game from the instant it first launched on the Xbox 360 in 2009. Since the games release and its numerous awards and astoundingly high Metacritic score with an average of 91/100, the game was released onto multiple platforms. The Game of the year edition is available on Xbox 360, Xbox one, PS3, PS4 and PC and it would be difficult for me to not mention the timeless graphics that still hold up in 2018, across all platforms and are only improved with newer consoles higher FPS- the detailing's of this stylized world are still as pretty today as they were almost ten years ago.

It is all too easy to get engrossed in a game such as Arkham Asylum, it may be hard to distinguish yourself from The Bat himself. If it was not for the stunning landscapes, meticulous level designing, stellar voice acting and compelling narrative the game would not have been so hard hitting nor would have sparked such a flame of ambition in the video game industry. Rocksteady has created a game for the history books. A game that shall not be forgotten as the beginning of a video game franchise that would take the industry by storm.