Mon 13 Jun 2011
Playstation
Batman Arkham Asylum
This Batman game is based on the 90’s cartoon which I myself actually
used to be obsessed with when I was a kid, so I would be lying if I said
this game didn`t hit me with a sufficient dose of nostalgia. The story
begins with Batman escorting to the Arkham Asylum prison. But Batman
is apprehensive, he knows the Joker is up to something, he proceeds to
escort the Joker into the depths of the compound to spring the trap
regardless.
Let me start by saying I loved the atmosphere and feel of this game, it was appropriately dark and gothic, almost to the point of being eerie, it felt and looked like the Batman animated series of the early 90’s which by the way was the best one.
Taking place in an asylum I was definitely left with the sense that this is a psychological story, a story of villains and heroes, who are all equally psychologically abnormal whether for better or for worse. The environment is well suited to the confrontation between Batman and the many quirky villains he encounters throughout the game.
This is a very stealth based game, you will frequently find yourself in instances where you have to dispose of enemies one at a time without being heard or seen, or instances where you have to enter rooms where there are alarms that cannot be set off.
This leaves the gameplay extremely open and adds to the replayablity value of the game. Also the game felt so realistic, I actually felt like I was Batman, with so many gadgets and moves at my disposal, everything I’ve ever seen in the movies or shows I could replicated in this game.
One of the greatest aspects of this game, is after you beat it, you can continue exploring the island collecting Ridler trophy’s without any enemies or other annoyances to slow you down. You get to make use of all of Batman’s gadgets, go where you want and swing like Tarzan all over the place. However this game wasn’t without its faults.
I found the boss fights were mild, tired and overall just uneventful, and to be quite blunt I felt the combat system was very weak even with just regular enemies, the game doesn’t effectively challenge you in close quarter combat, there are not enough enemies to fight at once and once you kill a group of enemies in an area (or sorry knock out, remember Batman doesn’t kill anyone consistent with the show), they’re gone for good.
The combat system is rudimentary at best and gets boring fast, it doesn’t help that because you are playing as Batman who is reknown for never killing his enemies, no one ever gets killed, they merely fall unconscious, and yet they disappear as if they had been killed which doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense...Likewise, a lot of boss fights fall into a predictable and sleep inducing pattern of “big enemy mindlessly runs at you, you throw a boomerang at his face at which point he is stunned, then you essentially beat the crap out of him until the cinematic pops up”, which again, isn’t that interesting.
Rating: 89%
Pros:
Appropriately gloomy atmosphere, excellent visuals
No doubt the first solid Batman experience ever
Excellent Story Line
Cons:
Not enough enemies, once the enemies die, they don’t regenerate
Uneventful Boss Battles that are overly linear and simple
Let me start by saying I loved the atmosphere and feel of this game, it was appropriately dark and gothic, almost to the point of being eerie, it felt and looked like the Batman animated series of the early 90’s which by the way was the best one.
Taking place in an asylum I was definitely left with the sense that this is a psychological story, a story of villains and heroes, who are all equally psychologically abnormal whether for better or for worse. The environment is well suited to the confrontation between Batman and the many quirky villains he encounters throughout the game.
This is a very stealth based game, you will frequently find yourself in instances where you have to dispose of enemies one at a time without being heard or seen, or instances where you have to enter rooms where there are alarms that cannot be set off.
This leaves the gameplay extremely open and adds to the replayablity value of the game. Also the game felt so realistic, I actually felt like I was Batman, with so many gadgets and moves at my disposal, everything I’ve ever seen in the movies or shows I could replicated in this game.
One of the greatest aspects of this game, is after you beat it, you can continue exploring the island collecting Ridler trophy’s without any enemies or other annoyances to slow you down. You get to make use of all of Batman’s gadgets, go where you want and swing like Tarzan all over the place. However this game wasn’t without its faults.
I found the boss fights were mild, tired and overall just uneventful, and to be quite blunt I felt the combat system was very weak even with just regular enemies, the game doesn’t effectively challenge you in close quarter combat, there are not enough enemies to fight at once and once you kill a group of enemies in an area (or sorry knock out, remember Batman doesn’t kill anyone consistent with the show), they’re gone for good.
The combat system is rudimentary at best and gets boring fast, it doesn’t help that because you are playing as Batman who is reknown for never killing his enemies, no one ever gets killed, they merely fall unconscious, and yet they disappear as if they had been killed which doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense...Likewise, a lot of boss fights fall into a predictable and sleep inducing pattern of “big enemy mindlessly runs at you, you throw a boomerang at his face at which point he is stunned, then you essentially beat the crap out of him until the cinematic pops up”, which again, isn’t that interesting.
Rating: 89%
Pros:
Appropriately gloomy atmosphere, excellent visuals
No doubt the first solid Batman experience ever
Excellent Story Line
Cons:
Not enough enemies, once the enemies die, they don’t regenerate
Uneventful Boss Battles that are overly linear and simple
