- Title - Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Original Release - August 2009
- How to Play it - You can get this on the last two generations of Microsoft and Sony consoles, as well as PC and Mac. It may be playable elsewhere, but these are the easiest avenues.
Arkham Asylum is one of those seminal games of the last console generation, the kind of surprise hit that ended up having an unexpectedly large influence on the industry. Going in, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Certainly, it would not be a bad game, but it could be a situation similar to both Half Life and Half Life 2, in which it doesn’t seem fresh and interesting because the competition have spent years aping it ad nauseum.
Ultimately, I found Arkham Asylum to be both good and bad in ways I did not expect.
As a Batman game, it excelled beyond my expectations. The development team have a clear love for the character and his lore, as evidenced by the fact that you can unlock character bios for villains that don’t even show up in the game. I also appreciated that the game is not quite as grimdark in tone as the visuals suggest. The generic police officers and thugs are straight out of 60’s era Batman, all helpless and goofy and deferential/scared of Batman respectively. The super villains are a touch more violent and sadistic in comparison, but even they occasionally have an “I’ll get you next time Batman!” moment (especially if you’re The Riddler). There is also the fact that the character bios are drawn in a somewhat exaggerated, cartoony style that doesn’t mesh with the in-game visuals at all. Arkham Asylum is interested in celebrating the idea of the Batman universe, in all its many forms, moreso than it is interested in putting its own particular stamp on the character.
That being said, the in-game visuals are a bit much at times. Commissioner Gordon looks way too jacked for a guy his age, Joker’s face is a bit too craggy, and it is a bit absurd just how many goons have stiches in their head that suggest they had the top of their skull cut off to gain access to their brain. And while there is nothing overly graphic about the game’s violence, it does feel a bit odd to see Killer Croc drag Batman under water to eat him should you fail to defeat him.
Speaking of Batman, he’s the least developed character of the bunch. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind you, considering most people who play this game will be familiar with the character. Nevertheless, his responses basically boil down to “Don’t worry, I’ll make
The game also uses its setting in one other, very clever way. Like so many AAA action games, Arkham Asylum is filled with a lot of features and plot mechanics that are, on the face of it, absurd and ridiculous. You have a comms channel to some remote individual that never goes away, a neverending supply of gadgets, and the ability to use a “detective mode” that lets you see through walls and find clues (right down to giving you the ability to track a person by the whisky particles on his breath). If this is were in any other game, I’d give it a lot of crap for all of this. But if you tell me that Batman can do all of these things, I don’t question it. It’s Batman – of course he can do all of those things (and more!). Whether or not this is really a good argument in favor of the game is debatable, but it certainly made the proceedings go from stupid to enjoyable in my eye.
As an action game, Arkham Asylum is not up to snuff. I can see why its Freeform combat system was so widely copied by competitors, but it doesn’t feel fully baked in its current form. The problem is one that many AAA games face – the developers want to have a combat system with the depth and grace of Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, but they can’t actually make a system like that, lest they make a game that is too hard to be enjoyed by a mainstream audience.
To be fair, the developers give it a go here. Players who are able to get a high enough combo multiplier during combat can gain access to devastating special moves, but if you delay even a split second between attacks (or, of course, if you get hit), then the multiplier vanishes and you have to start all over. Getting the multiplier up with any sort of consistency requires you to really understand how to use not just punches, but all of your gadgets, and even the space around you, in order to maximize the efficiency of your justice.
Unfortunately, I see two problems. The first is that the game is perfectly playable without mastering these advanced techniques, which gives one less of a reason to master them. The other problem is that game lacks anything resembling a good lock-on system. The amount of time it takes to equip the right gadget, and aim it, and fire it is so great that nothing short of perfection will help you keep that combo. If you whiff, or if you find yourself fumbling to target the right goon, it will all be for naught.
Another, minor issue is that the game has a fixed number of goons to fight, and there doesn’t feel like there is enough of them to allow you to really practice the combat engine enough to master it. There is just no point for anyone other than perfectionists and achievement hunters, and their opinions are meaningless to me any way.
Arkham Asylum also has a lot of stealth, which makes sense considering its about Batman. Again, this is an area of the game in which you have a lot of options, but most of them aren’t necessary, and in some cases can be less efficient. Honestly, the best way to clear a room is to try and sneak up on everyone one at a time, and in scenarios where that is not an option, stun two of them, knock them out, and escape to the shadows to repeat the process. The ability to grab enemies while hanging from the rafters, or blowing up a wall behind them is cute, but it feels like their main purpose is to make it easier to be spotted.
As a Metroidvania style game, Arkham Asylum gives players a good excuse to explore, in the form of the Riddler challenges. These some times unlock character info, or in other cases simply lead to great dialogue from the villain himself. They are collectibles that exist to generate more entertainment, rather than simply being busywork for the sake of it, and I appreciate that.
What I do not like, on the other hand, is the fact that unlike Metroid (or even Castlevania), there is not a lot of variation in the environments. Everything is dark, gothic, and drab. The penitentiary doesn’t look all that different from the Intensive Treatment building. When I found myself going back to a place to look for secrets, there were times where I couldn’t remember if I had actually been there in the first place. I knew the answer was “yes”, but I could hardly tell. I understand that it takes place on one island on one night, but the interiors could at least be given some different colors.
There is one more thing I have to say about this game – it is refreshingly short. I beat it, secrets and all, in under 15 hours. It ends before it can gets boring, but without leaving me wanting more. I wish more games had this willingness to be short and sweet.
Arkham Asylum is a game with some old, creaky design underneath, but it is wrapped in a Batman-shaped shell that looks and feels the part better than any game that came before it. It might not be as fun as it was in 2009, but it still executes well enough to be worth a look even ten years later.