Batman: Arkham Asylum (Game of the Year Edition)

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Batman: Arkham Asylum was a gaming masterpiece. There are probably not a whole lot of people out there that would argue that fact. However, there are probably a great deal of people out there wondering if they should get this if they already bought AA. Simply put.......no.

In a nutshell, the plot is simply "Joker takes over Arkham Asylum and releases all sorts of baddies. Batman tries to stop him." The game hasn't changed much since it first came out and if you enjoyed AA almost a year ago, you can expect the exact same game this time around. Nothing has really been revamped, altered, or changed up. However, the biggest surprise for me was how well done the 3-D is. While the glasses are little more than cardboard blue and reds from the past, somehow Darkworks/TrioViz managed to avoid the tinting that those glasses used to give. It's still there a little bit, but at least the image isn't in blues, reds, and purples the whole time. You can actually notice various shades. Once your eyes relax, the image is clean and clear with very little in the realm of headaches or eyestrain. However, it doesn't hurt to pause or stop every once in a while, take off the glasses, and give your eyes a rest. Instead of being "popping" 3-D, it is more of a "passive" 3-D effect. To clarify: In so many 3-D experiences the image comes out at you as if it might hit you, this 3-D effect is more like the TV is simply a window and the depth starts from the screen's edge. Don't expect to try and dodge cheesy "in your face" moments. There is depth, but it far more subtle. For the gamers out there who wear glasses, fear not. The 3-D specs still fit over glasses, although I am sure it looks about as cool paisley polyester tracksuits. The passive 3-D has one big perk though, your friends can watch you play without the glasses and the 3-D "double exposure" look is minimal to non-existant. However, for all its style, it still feels gimmicky. Sure, it's cool, but I probably won't be playing through more than once with it turned on.

The extra challenge maps are nice, but since anyone can download them for an extra 7 bucks... Well, it doesn't really justify the price for older owners. For those unfamiliar, the extra maps are "Dem Bones" (Scarecrow Challenge maps) and "Crime Alley" (um....do I really need to explain that one?). The "Play as the Joker" maps are there as well. Pretty much everything you could have added over the last few months is there on one disk.

If you have been a holdout for Batman: Arkham Asylum, then this is well worth the price for the added 3-D and all challenge maps up to this point. You should be buying this immediately. For those people out there, this is a 5 star package. For anyone who already owns/owned Arkham Asylum, then this product should probably be passed up. Unless you feel like you MUST have the 3-D, spend the extra money and buy "Dem Bones" and "Crime Alley" off the PSN/XBL and save the rest for Batman Arkham Asylum 2.

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On the few occasions Batman has had his own videogame, it's been a hard run for our hero. He doesn't have super-powers. It's hard to translate his detective skills into something that doesn't a) require the player to have the genius of Sherlock Holmes; or b) boil down to grabbing colored tokens and calling that "investigating". And of course the other obstacle Batman has to surmount is that balance between "Batman punches bad guy" and "Batman uses gadget on bad guy": you need good fight mechanics and useful gadgets that serve a purpose.

"Arkham Asylum" is the perfect marriage of the best things about Batman. It is also the perfect videogame for almost any audience. The fight mechanics make sense: they seldom leave you worrying more about being able to see than whether or not you're hitting the bad guy. There is a gameplay balance between the "quiet stealth" mechanic of a Splinter Cell or a Hitman game, versus the "weapons free" tactical assualt of a Rainbow Six. And best of all, every scenario can be handled more than one way: you can choose to sneak by a clump of henchmen, you can leap into the fray, or you can swing around Spider-Man style and torment them as you slowly take them down one by one. The only choke points in Arkham Asylum appear to be the boss battles, where you typically need to do one or more very specifc things in order to win. If you like RPGs, you'll be pleased to know that you can collect "experience" as you go and then spend it to get new upgrades to your armor, abilities, and gadgets.

Arkham Asylum is about as perfect as a game can get: it makes a complicated hero like Batman very easy to handle. It doesn't require fast-twitch skills, and yet there is plenty of action to be had. The controls are very fluid and despite lacking a platform-style "jump" mechanic, you are extremly agile and can easily chain combinations of moves together. For example, let's say you're on a ledge. You'd like to glide down, kick a bad guy, then grapple up to a gargoyle and swing across the room before he knows what hit him. You could do this by tapping square, then R1, then R1 again. If you knock somebody down and you'd like to finish them off, just hold R2 and press the triangle button: Batman will pounce on them, grapple, and subdue them with a knock-out punch and he'll even do it from some distance away so you don't have to sprint across the room before the bad guy gets to his feet.

Arkham Asylum also boasts a storyline written by Paul Dini, who is well known for the lion's share of the Batman Animated Series. Characters are voiced by the same people from the series, such as Mark Hamill as the Joker. There are all sorts of hidden goodies to find in every level, and each can unlock either the ongoing saga of Dr. Arkham or detailed information on the many DC characters that make up Batman's universe. Half of the fun is in listening to "patient interview tapes", reading origin stories and "first appearance" details, and exploring the "Behind the scenes" video content on the disc. You don't have to find everything that is hidden in this game, but the payoff makes you want to. Best of all, rather than worrying that you might miss out on a hidden secret, you are very clearly shown that some things won't be accessible until you come back later. Batman's gadgets come to him over the course of the game, and sometimes you'll need one that you'll be getting later in order to get into a secret area...you can always come back another time.

If games like this are typically hard for you, Easy difficulty does make it a cakewalk. Normal difficulty still gives you a lot of helping hands, though: if you get into a fatal situation such as falling off a ledge, the game will tell you 'tap R1 to escape' and give you a chance to avoid death. If you do die, you'll get a tip on the loading screen specific to what you were trying to get through. And if you're having trouble finding all the goodies, each section has a map that you can find that will light them up for you.

Still not impressed? Well, the Game of the Year Edition offers you the ability to play in "3D". This isn't the polarized "Avatar movie" style 3D, unfortunately: it is the traditional "red-blue glasses" 3D and comes with two pairs of folding paper 3D glasses. It works, it just doesn't bring much to the table. In levels with specific color balances such as the Arboretum (which has a lot of blues and greens), the colors tend to bleed out because you're looking through tinted lenses, so most of the time I leave this off. The Game of the Year Edition also adds 4 more maps, and the ability to "Play as the Joker". These extras really boost up the replayable appeal of Arkham Asylum. No matter what you're looking for in this game, you're going to find yourself coming back for more. You don't need to be a comic-book cognoscenti, but if you are you won't be disappointed.

Buy Batman: Arkham Asylum (Game of the Year Edition) Now

I like Batman, but I am far from a big fan. With that being said, this is one of the best games I have played. The fact that it is in 3D makes it even better. The game combines many things that are familiar elements from other games. Some levels have a scary sensation like F.E.A.R offers. The fighting is similar to God of War. Stealth movement is like Splinter Cell. There are plenty of areas to explore. The graphics and voice work are amazing. But, let's get down to the basics:

Pros: Has a well organized upgrade system, easy to learn controls and Batman moves and reacts like a superhero should. You get to use a lot of Batman's gadgets which is cool.

Cons: In some levels, you will have to go back and forth a few times to accomplish a task. The Boss battles are pretty close to being the same (a batarang to the head and then pummel them).

Graphics: Great 5 of 5

Sound: Great 5 of 5

Controls: Good 4 of 5 (pretty smooth, but not perfect)

Story: Moderate 3 of 5 (good but not captivating unless you are a Batman fan)

I would still give this game overall a 5 of 5, because it was a lot of fun and the 3D effect made it so much cooler. It is probably the best Comic Book game out there. Let's face it, Marvel has a hard time making a game that gets over 3 of 5 stars in most reviews, which is hard for me to say as I am a huge Marvel fan. I would definitely recommend this game and I can not wait for the sequel.

Read Best Reviews of Batman: Arkham Asylum (Game of the Year Edition) Here

Batman Arkham Asylum: Game of the Year Edition is one of the greatest video games I have ever played. I am the rarest of gamers, a 63 year old who has been gaming on computers and consoles since the late 1970s. This game in the PS3 version is the best translation of a comic book hero into reality I've ever seen or heard of. If you want to get inside the mind of Batman and fight notorious villains and their henchmen without compromising any aspect of the characters, this is a game you must have. The GOTY edition allows you to play as the Joker, (main criminal adversary of the game), and comes with extra maps and challenges. There are puzzles which are solvable by people with average intelligence and if you need help solving the puzzle aspects of the game you can always find solutions somewhere on the web and plenty of walkthroughs are available on You Tube. The fighting is fast and calls for the cunning of a supreme crime fighter as you have so many weapons and "wonderful toys" to fight with. The game is enormous and encompasses all of Arkham Asylum as well as Arkham Island. You will be playing this one for a long time as it is just full of things to do and they are all fun. This game is considered one of the all time PS3 hits and is likely to remain as such for as long as there is a PS3. If you are considering purchasing Batman Arkham City, which is the sequel to this game, make sure you have played this one first. This game comes with all of the downloadable content which Arkham City has already started selling. So for about $20 you will get a game which cost $59.95 when it was released plus about $30 in downloadable content for free. When you finish playing Arkham Asylum, you can buy Arkham City for a lot less than it costs now. Buy this game, put it on your big screen, and enjoy yourself in the insane asylum.

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This game is as good as it was when it first came out, is not going to be any other way, nothing is going to change that, what an amazing game this is, so there's no much to add when it comes to the game it self, the additional maps is a nice bonus and you will have fun playing them.

Now is the 3D worth it?, the answer is YES!, as I been saying TriOviz 3D is a great alternative and doesn't force you to change any equipment, I had no previous experience with this 3D option before this game, I had high hopes for it and it didn't let me down, I knew that the guys behind Batman Arkham Asylum wouldn't add and support a lame 3D feature to this great game.

Is a fact that there are diffences between this 3D option and the 3D option from 3D HDTVs but again it does deliver the 3D experience, it adds great depth, which by the way is the strongest point of this 3D option however it does offer some moments with pop'up images and depending on the angle you see something, things do have the feeling to come out from the screen, but not the way you would see in movie theaters though, not as close if you will, but again great 3D feature, like I read, this 3D option was applied to a finished game, apparently there can be more improvements/benefefits when taking it into consideration and applying it while the game is being developed, we will have to wait for more then, I also read that they do have many other projects yet to be announced for games and others things.

I'm looking forward to see more TriOviz 3D in games, movies, etc, this is not the old annoying analygraph 3D, though it might seem due to the glasses that come with the game, although they do have different glasses. You can check out their website for everything related to this tech: , I had talked about this 3D alternative in a few discussions already and well for me, at this moment, this is the way to go as far as 3D is concerned, I am willing and of course I do want to go through the 3D transition, we all would like to have a 3D HDTV, who wouldn`t?, but for me I have to face the fact that I just cannot go and pick one up without putting a quite some weight to my finance situation right now, so no 3D set for me, at least not yet, another fact is that I am not willing to change my 37 inch 1080p Panasonic LCD HDTV just yet, I am quite happy with it.

I fully support this tech for they provide a great, simple and functional 3D solution, hopefully it will get more support from the games/films industry to have more options in 3D, and not trying to sell the idea that in order to get 3D you HAVE to change your equipment, yes 3D equipment is a must for many partnerships created between companies, but 3D it self can be given to consumers no matter what with options like this, yes I'm up for the change and moving forward but there should be a smoother for 3D, lets not forget that there are people who don`t even have a regular HDTV, people in other countries who don`t have access to the latest technology, this is a great tech for that, and like they advertise on their website you can get 3D in a world dominated by 2D equipment.

Now, lets not forget that 3D will not make a game, movie or TV show good or better for that matter, Batman Arkham Asylum is still the same 5 out 5 stars amazing game in 2D or 3D.

3D is an option that I do appreciate for some movies, more suitable for games I would say but at the end is also way to get more money from us willing to pay more for it in this 3D momentum, 3D improves nothing but feeling when things move or interact in space, but that`s the whole point right!, I do like having the option but is not like "things won't be the same" if I don't have 3D availability or that I going to disregard a movie or a game if it doesn't have 3D in it.

...just for the record I talked more about 3D than the game it self because as I mentioned the game is still the same great game, 3D would be the reason to take into consideration for Batman Arkham Asylum: Game of the Year, otherwise get regular release of the game and save the difference for any other game or for Batman Arkham Asylum 2, on the other hand if you are a Batman fan and loved Batman Arkham Asylum, in that case the Game of the Year edition is probably a must, the 3D adds great value to it.