Game Review: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC)
This game was reviewed using the Xbox 360 Version. The PS3 version can be considered to have a slightly higher value to due to the exclusive Joker challenge rooms.
If there is anyone out there prior to The Dark Knight (or even the Batman Animated Series, based on how good it was) who doesn't think Batman is the most awesome, badass super hero out there, think again. Before you read, yes, I am saying this because, not primarily though, this game is one of the best comic book games ever made. While thats not exactly a big achievement to be able to get after many, many mediocre superhero games, rocksteady, the developers of the Batman AA scored big points with this game. Without exaggeration, this is by far the closest thing you'll ever have to feeling like the dark knight himself. That said, this game is definitely not without flaws, some minor, some stupid.
The story begins after Batman apprehends the Joker and brings him into Arkham Asylum, the high security prison where all the super villains of the likes of Ivy, Joker, Killer Croc, and all Bat's other rivals are taken. Well, if the intro doesn't hint you off long before the actual event occurs, the Joker proceeds to break out into the Asylum, gaining control over it and trapping Batman in a night long hellish battle against many of his major foes.
The story itself belongs in a Batman Animated Series cartoon, or a 3 issue comic sub-series. That is to say that it isn't anything close to the stories of games such as Bioshock or half-Life, or even Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. To be honest, it was underwhelming, but felt very fitting, and you'll probably feel the same way if you grew up on the old Batman Cartoons. Batman consistently walks into traps, even though he himself states that he knows they are traps. I suppose this is to show just how skilled a fighter he is, knowingly walking into traps set by his various rivals. It came off more in a way that made me think rocksteady wasn't quite sure how the real Dark Knight would have approached these situations, most certainly not as headstrong and reckless as he does in the game. Stealth is almost nonexistent in the boss fights with the exception of the Scarecrow battles, which really doesn't feel anything like the way Bats begins a fight. Its nothing big, but it grated my nerves a little to see him fight as head-on as he does with enemies like Bane and Ivy.
The combat system is unique. Trademarked as the "FreeFlow" combat system, you jump from enemy to enemy beating them up, countering some attacks and dodging others. It works great on small to medium sized groups of enemies, and its a blast to use, though the slow-cam really got on my nerves later on in the game. What doesn't work is when there is a larger group of enemies attacking you all at once. The controls don't react as tight as you'd like, and pulling off long combos becomes more tedious. When more then one enemy type appears at any one time with the large group of people, it borders on becoming a mess. Specific buttons for specific enemies doesn't work as well as it could with the clutter on screen during this mass battles.
Bosses are a different matter. With the exception of a few (I'm looking at you, Ivy) the boss battles are fun and fast. Even though as aforementioned they aren't the way Bats would handle them, each boss usually has a different way to defeat them other then "mash the attack button!!!11". The Scarecrow levels in particular stand out as the best by far, combining more scariness then Silent Hill and Resident Evil had in the last four years with great platforming stealth. The visuals at this point are at their best, with fantastic lighting and special effects. Oh, and some of the most clever ideas I've seen in a video game(you'll know it when you see it. Escaping Convicts may be Batman XD) Bane's fight is also a standout. With this said, what the hell happened with the final boss, rocksteady? For me the worst boss battle in the game, and fairly easy at that, and without spoiling anything, is very similar to a certain "mess" I described earlier. Surely they could have made a much better battle with the Joker of all people. I'm also very disappointed we never got Mr. Freeze in the game.
Now the game where Batman AA can stand proud is its stealth component. When fighting armed enemies, running into even two of them will end in a pretty bad time for the Batman, and if you somehow live, then you'll have probably only a fraction of life left. When you enter rooms full of 6 or more gun wielding nuts, you've got a party on your hands. The game prides itself on the various ways to take down an enemy. Stringing them by their feet from a gargoyle, smashing through glass onto them from above, pulling them off a ledge, the possibilities are huge. The AI is very convincing too. When they see a body, they'll call over their buddies and you can hear them talking about you, gradually getting more and more afraid of you as you pick them off one by one without even being seen or heard. If they get scared enough, they'll even start just shooting all around them, blasting at bats and shadows on the walls. You can hear them begin to talk to themselves and say things like "I'm next...hes going to get me isn't he..." It really adds the the satisfaction you get when taking them out, especially when you take them all out without being seen or heard at all. By far, this is Batman AA's best quality, and the time when the game shines its brightest. Though not as realistic as the often trial-and-error stealth in Splinter Cell, its more so then games like Metal Gear Solid, though not as forgiving. This adds to the idea that although you are still just a man, you are as close to the best a man could hope to be.
Speaking of which, Batman has never been simply about bashing the crap out of people, though he definitely does that. Hailed as a genius, Batman's detective skills are also a large part of the game's realism, though unfortunately from a gamer's standpoint they aren't really very fun. To do as the Bat does, a special type of vision labeled Detective Mode is used to study evidence or crime scenes to determine where to go next. The detective work is more used as a breadcrumb trail to follow to continue the story then anything else, though they do help to display to the player Batman's true intellect.
As is custom, Batman also has a vast array of weaponry by his side, such as the batarang and grappling hook. Lets get this out of the way; the batarang sucks. It couldn't take out a half-dead squirrel. Others are pointless. The remote batarang, the Sonic batarang...not too many uses for them. The rest of the tools he has don't really feel necessary. While the grappling hook, batarang(yeah, even if its not too good, you need it) cape and cowl all have many uses to them, the rest of the gadgets don't help with anything but their specific regions of use. Of course, that isn't a bad thing at all, but some of his toys seem well suited for other purposes, such as grappling an enemy into your fist instead of just sort of moving them around, or a batarang knocking out an enemy instead of just making them flinch. They all work, though with some cumbersome controls, but they have more potential then they use.
Thats not to say the gameplay isn't a strong component of the game, but it has flaws that start out as annoyances and gradually build up to frustrations later in the game. The stealth is freakin' sweet.
This game's audio is a mixed bag. On the one hand, you have the almost impeccable VOs in the game. On the other, you have some of the most forgettable music I've ever heard in a high profile game. Literally, I just spent the last week or so playing this game each day, and I cannot recall any tune whatsoever from the game. I don't ever remember thinking "this music is bad", but I don't ever really remember thinking it was good either, or even if there was music...its entirely forgettable. The sound effects aren't a whole lot better. Pretty much just generic punches, cracks bangs, etc.
But the VOs, like I said before, are fantastic. Straight from the heart of our nostalgia with the Bat, the voices of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as the Batman and Joker are in the game. And just like over a decade ago, they still sound just as fitting as ever. The cast is here, mostly anyway, as Harley Quinn, the Scarecrow and Commissioner Gordon retain their original voices. Honestly, the cast was steller back then, and since nothing has changed. They did great VOs, end of story. Except that the new, steroid-induced Batman looks a bit strange with Conroy's voice.
The level of detail on the characters is stunning. Batman's suit, the rips and tears it gains through the game, the Joker's....everything, its all detailed all the way around. The only real complaint about the character models is that they look fairly toy-like, maybe due to the Unreal 3 Engine its based off of. That, and that every baddie you beat up look essentially the exact same, and have the exact same movements and animations.
The environments aren't bad either, but they really don't stand out at any point in the game. the game also suffers from a case of "too grey" and not having enough variations in the environment. The detective mode is really neat, turning all the baddies into walking skeletons and making everything around you blue and orange. The only problem is that detective mode makes the game easier then what otherwise would be a masochistic difficulty level, and while in detective mode you are unable to appreciate the graphical detail of the characters and the environments.
Summary:
Batman AA has a great, if repetitive combat system that tends to get too confusing in massive groups. The use of tools is neat, but forgettable and the potential each tool could have had is not realized in the game. The stealth system and action is the drawing point of the game, standing up to games like Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid, though not above them. The many ways to dispatch an enemy and terrify others truly makes you feel like the Dark Knight. The Voice overs are fantastic, the music isn't. The story feels just like a comic book story, which is actually fairly shallow for such deep characters. Boss fights are good, with the exception of the last fight, and the Scarecrow boss fights are up and away the best. Great atmosphere. Graphics are detailed, but have flaws such as plastic-character syndrome.
