Batman: Arkham Asylum

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For years and years, gamers (myself included) have played many different Batman video games and have only been let down time after time.

Now, Batman: Arkham Asylum IS that Batman game that you have always wanted to play.

It satisfies every part of you Batman desires and really gives you the feeling that you ARE Batman.

From the strength and power to the gadgets to the stealth and surprise you can bring toward your enemy, it is quite a marvel that a game developer finally got it right.

Thank you Rocksteady!

I do not want to give away any spoilers from the game so the plot is really basic and simple.

The Joker has taken total control over Arkham island and Batman needs to hunt him down to stop him, but not without going through many of Batman's familiar villians in the process.

Batman's gadgets come in handy often, most of the time you will be using his 'detective mode' which is built into the cowl and gives you the ability to see important items in the room and clues to lead you in the right direction.

There will be some moments where you find yourself just playing with all of Batman' gadgets for 10-15 minutes because there are so many of them to play with. (It feeds your inner dork so it's okay!)

Gameplay mechanics are solid and I have yet to find a defect in them or any glitches.

Fighting is very enjoyable, because you can be surrounded by 6-10 enemies and everytime an enemy is about to attack you hit the counter-attack button and continue to fight off all of them at once. Very fun.

The graphics are amazing and highly detailed like you would expect from a PS3.

Voice-over work is superb and Mark Hamill, as The Joker, really steals the show. If they gave out Oscars for Best Video Game Voice-Over Performance then Hamill would easily win it for this game!

All in all, Batman games have been so poor for so long, it is exciting to see a Batman game done right and this is worthy of a $60 purchase.

Go and get it and play it with the lights off in the dark with the sound blasting.

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After playing this game, you'll forget all of the other bad comic book in the past.

This is a spooky, creepy, gothic-style sand-box where you play the real Batman. Real in that he can't jump 20 ft high, but rely on his gadgets, skill and intellect to avoid, escape and hunt enemies, find important evidence and scout locations. The fighting mechanics are easy that even a 10 years old child can use it, but the difficulty of using it increases where you have to use some of Batman's gadgets to take down larger opponents. At one of several moments, I had to jump into a group of enemies to get to a location. At first I was hesitant, but then I remember how easy it can be if I remember how to deal with each kind of enemy. First, I see what kind of enemies their are and plan my onslaught. To test and hone-in you fighting skills, you have challenges outside the main game to practice on.

It's not just a button-smashing game, its also a puzzler. You can switch into 'detective mode' to find evidence, trophies and solve environmental riddles as well as figure out how to get to one place to another.

I beat the game in 10 hours, but worth going back to try on harder challenging levels as well as to complete the entire game. Puzzles were very cleaver. I had trouble with a certain type of puzzle that I decided to completely ignore them. Now, I have figured it's skillful ways and hitting myself for not thinking of it earlier.

Two things I hated were the fact that I couldn't get to certain locations and be able to get things without the upgrades I got later. The next problem of mine is that the game ended where Batman goes back to Gotham City.

One actual problem is the Scarecrow challenges. The camera angles and controls aren't that responsive verses the way the main game version. I liked them at first to give me a break from the main story line's gameplay, but became increasingly annoying when trying to time an action. It took me several times pressing on the buttons to have it work.

I can say, Batman Arkham Asylum is one of the best games I've ever purchased.

PARENTS: If your thinking of purchasing this game for your kids, here is what to expect. Light or mild sexual themes. Poison Ivy is presented in a seductive way and mild innuendos from criminals stating, "I wouldn't mine playing doctor with her."

Violence is suggestive. The locations have skulls and bones. Bodies lying in the floor or hang on their limbs(Batman only knocks out his opponents or left to their end, while criminals kill). No gory images if you could on a little blood dripping of Batman's mouth after a hit. No bad language. Basically, if you've watch or seen the animated series then you pretty much see what level of sex and violence it has.

Buy Batman: Arkham Asylum Now

It's been said that Arkham Asylum is the "best batman game" made thus far and whoever said that, was right. This game is fun, no doubt. Playing the game is the closest one can get to actually being the Batman. The freeflow battle system is joyous (once mastered) and the gadgets can be used in fun and innovative ways to solve the puzzles that are presented in the game.

The graphics are very smooth and I didn't notice any frame rate issues. Absolutely everything looks breath taking, from the batarangs to the thugs upon that Batman wantonly stomps. The sound design is perfect: nothing is too loud or too soft and the sound effects don't sound out of place at all.

The only real problem i have with the game is it's length. I beat the game in two sittings in a total of about 8.5 hours. Sure there are things to do after the game is finished, but hunting for trophies and riddles gets old real fast and unless you're the OCD type who has to finish every little thing, bear that in mind.

Arkham Asylum is a good game with a great story but is kind of short.

Read Best Reviews of Batman: Arkham Asylum Here

From Rocksteady studios, who's only previous credit comes in the form of 2006's budget title Urban Chaos Riot Response, comes Batman: Arkham Asylum. While Batman: Arkham Asylum might not be perfect, but it's definitely the best game to feature the Caped Crusader.

If you're a fan of the Batman universe, you'll fall in love with the story. The story is penned by Paul Dini, a former producer and writer for Batman: The Animated series, and a man who clearly knows him his Batman. The story picks up just as the Dark Knight has captured The Joker, and is delivering him to the famed Gotham madhouse. Batman notices something suspicious, however, as The Joker didn't put up much of a fight, and, alas, he is quite right. When The Joker arrives at Arkham, all hell breaks loose, and he's the man behind it all. The events of the game will follow Batman's night in the asylum as he tries to put an end to The Joker's rampage. The plot throws in quite a number of characters from the Batman universe, and even the few who aren't included are referenced. During your adventures in the madhouse, you can find a ton of material about pretty much all of the significant characters in the Batman mythos from their background on down to their first comic book appearance. The game's main plot is fully featured as is, and all the extras will be sure to please any comic book fan.

Arkham Asylum offers quite a number of gameplay elements, and pulls them off well. To put the core experience in simple terms; it's a lot like a Metroid game. You'll venture through the asylum, eager to explore as much as you can until you find a certain key item. You then use said item to venture further into the environment.

But of course, what you do along the way is very important, and luckily Arkham Asylum has quite a variety of activities. To survive the Asylum with as many goodies in tow as possible, you'll have to fight, sneak, inspect, and explore. Arkham Asylum truly packs a lot of variety, but unfortunately falls for the old "jack of all trades, master of none" type deal.

Combat and sneaking are both entertaining, and especially fun to watch, the problem is, however, it takes a while for either of these systems to get especially deep.

The game's Freeflow combat system only consists of a few basic button presses at the start of the game, and one can easily dispatch most foes while just sticking to those few button presses; if you want to make things a little more complex, you'll pretty much only be doing it for the extra points.

The stealth system falls in the same category. It's fun, but it's basic, you really only need your few basic takedowns and gadgets, and anything you do beyond that is superfluous.

Exploration, however, is the meat of this game's fun factor. Arkham Asylum is huge, and at any given time you'll have a fair amount of free reign in terms of areas to explore. But what drives you to want to search every nook and cranny of the Asylum are the 240 riddles one Edward Nigma has set up for you around Arkham Island. These riddles will range from simply platforming to find question mark icons the Riddler has scattered about, or actually solving some riddles that can range from simple to devilishly tricky. Venturing throughout the island with all of Batman's gadgets is fun enough as is, but these riddles really serve to flesh out your experience.

The game also features 8 Challenge Maps, unlocked by either progressing through the game, or solving riddles. These Challenge Maps recreate certain fighting, and stealth sequences found throughout the game, and each map consists of one round of brawling, and one of sneaking. Each map also features a ridiculously tricky "Extreme" mode counterpart which are sure to keep diehard fans occupied for a while. Your scores on each Challenge Map are also uploaded to online leaderboards, which is a nice touch for the particularly competitive players out there. Also, since I'm doing this review for the Playstation 3 version of the game, it's also worth noting that it features a playable Joker on the Challenge Maps, who is quite fun to tinker around with, but at the end of the day simply isn't cut out for the job as the Caped Crusader is.

The graphics in Arkham Asylum are a mixed bag. The environment itself is beautiful, and surprisingly varied. The animations are superb as well, especially for Batman's Freeflow combat segments, which you might at first glance think is choreographed. But, unfortunately, not everything is so hot in the graphics department. For one, the character models, while stylized, need some work, and the animations for all non-Batman characters are stiff. But still, this game has a perfectly good graphics department.

The sound on the other hand, is excellent. The game features awesome sound design, which is masterfully showcased throughout the Scarecrow segments of the game, and the sound effects as a whole are all very well done. What steals the show, though, are the voice talents. Much of the voice cast from Batman: The Animated series returns, and reprise their respective roles in top form, the standout being Mark Hamill's terrific performance as The Joker.

The story mode in Arkham Asylum will last you about 10-12 hours if you try to get through while minimally working on riddles. If you do choose to pursue a good portion of the riddles, you'll likely see a pretty huge increase in the number of hours you'll sink in. The Challenge Maps also provide for a good bit of entertainment, and as previously stated, will be especially addicting for the perfectionist gamers out there.

Arkham Asylum is a great game, it combines tons of different gameplay elements fairly well, has a great story, plenty of extras, good production values, and a surprisingly high replay value. While there are some flaws, mainly in the form of certain gameplay elements that are too basic, and some minor graphical issues, Batman Arkham Asylum is easily the Bat's best video game adventure. Here it is: the best game of this summer. If you're a fan of action adventure games, or of the Batman universe, you owe it to yourself to check out Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Want Batman: Arkham Asylum Discount?

Batman: Arkham Asylum is the best Batman game ever made. But that is not the reason that you should buy it. You should stop what you are doing and get this game immediately because it is one of, if not the best, game of the year. It excels in every category, and is alot of fun to play, a quality that is fast fading in this modern gaming age.

The game starts off with you escorting the Joker back to his home away from home in Arkham Asylum. Just before he can be safely stored in his padded room, all hell breaks loose and you are trapped on an island filled with your fiercest foes. The story only gets better from there, and you see villans ranging from Harley Quinn, to the Scarecrow in some of the most psycologicaly thrilling levels since Eternal Darkness.

The Graphics are gorgeous. Period. The voice acting is so good I go to geek heaven every time I hear Mark Hamill give us the greatest Joker laugh ever concieved. Many of the voice actors from the excellent Batman: The Animated Series reprise their roles in this game to great effect. Paul Dini penned the excellent story so have no fear, you will not be rolling your eyes at cliched dialogue the entire game. Think of this as one of the best episodes of the animated series ever.

As I stated in my title You are the Dark Knight, and it has never been this enjoyable. As Batman, you have at your disposal a wide array of gadgets ranging from your standard issue Batarang, to grappling hook, and blasting gel. Every item has a unique function, and often has combat applications for the more adventurous players. Which brings me to the combat. As Batman you have the ability to jump into a group of ten thugs and put generations of Jet Li and Jackie Chan movies to shame. After a few fights you should have the basic mechanics down, and by the time you have logged in a couple of hours you will be racking up 20 hit combos. There are times however, when you won't be able to charge into battle, but will need to use stealth, and badass scare tactics to defeat the more heavily armed foes. There are few things as satisfying as swooping down from the ceiling, tying your foe up, and leaving him to swing, scaring the crap out of the rest of his friends while the Joker taunts his men for their incompetence.

While the combat is fantastic, the area of the game that most impressed me was the exploration. In games past exploration was barely a sidequest and treated more as a distraction for after you had completed the game. In Arkham Asylum you have a ton of interesting things to find from awesome recordings of the villans psych evaluations to engravings chronicling Amadeus Arkhams slow descent into madness. While most games make you turn over every rock and look in every cranny in AA you can find maps that point out the approximate location of the items. And once you find said secrets you are rewarded with extra experience to boost your abilities.

The one gripe I have with the game is that you do not have a jump button. You jump automatically when you reach a ledge. While this seems like it would be a hindrance, in many case it is easier than a jump button. There are a couple of times I wished I had more control over my jump, but not to the point that it affected my performance.

The playstation three version allows you to use the joker in the challenge maps so if you own a ps3 get this for that.

This is an incredible game, and you owe it to yourself to play it.