Recently released, Batman: Arkham Asylum is set in Gotham’s lunatic asylum, where all of the city’s nastiest crazies are kept in a hopeless attempt to ‘cure’ them of their terrible habits – mainly mass murder and some reason to feel obliged to cause Batman a lot of pain. The story begins with Batman’s capture of the Joker after his latest escapade, although something’s not quite right - the capture seems far too easy and Joker seems all too willing to be caught. After an eventful trip escorting a restrained Joker to a high security sector of Arkham, Joker escapes his captors and – aided by the crazed beauty Harley Quinn – gains control of Arkham’s security, and the fun begins.
The game is a third-person title, giving you free reign of the grounds of Arkham at night-time. Somewhat reminiscent of Bioshock, the Asylum has a creepy darkness about it that gives the game a disturbing feel. In a somewhat ‘metroidvania‘ feel, certain areas are locked off until you acquire certain gadgets, which means you won’t be able to go everywhere to begin with, but there’s enough freedom to keep it from feeling linear.
Basic gameplay involves exploring the asylum’s various areas, whilst battling various goons and a mix of stealth and traversing the environment. Batman has access to some basic platforming abilities, which work fluidly by holding the run button whilst moving towards certain short walls or ledges to jump or climb them automatically, in a similar style to Assassin’s Creed – albeit without any complex wall climbing, but it all fits together well.
While exploring, Batman has access to a selection of gadgets, such as his cape which can solidify to glide, the batarang to hit or cut objects from a distance, his grappling hook which allows him to access higher ledges and explosive gel for breaking weak walls to access hidden areas. This allows Batman to travel quickly and quietly through various types of terrain, and access different vantage points to hide and get the upper hand on his enemies.
Batman also has access to a very handy ‘Detective mode’ which can be used to see any important aspects and enemies to take note of, with x-ray features to see through some walls. Interactive objects such as vent covers and control boxes are highlighted in red, and enemies are highlighted in red and blue depending on whether they hold guns or not, allowing you to assess the situation before you make your move. As a secondary function, the Detective mode allows you to search for forensic evidence in a few locations, such as DNA or chemical traces, which will allow you to follow traces of the substance to find your next objective, usually a person who needs to be saved, or the villain you are currently tracking.
As you progress through the game, you will receive experience which fills up a meter at the top left of the screen. Each time this meter fills, you can choose an upgrade from a list which grants batman a new ability or improvement – giving him new functions for tools such as multi-batarang, and proximity detonation for explosive gel. There are also upgrades to improve Batman’s health, which will be vital for some of the harder stages later on. Batman gains most of his tools throughout the story, and the corresponding upgrades are added to the list as he gains them. I won’t spoil all of the gadgets, but there’s a nice range of tools to collect which can aid in accessing new areas, or used for taking down enemies – some, such as the Batarang and Explosive Gel, can be used for both attack and exploratory purposes.
Using these various tools and functions, it’s possible to manoeuver around enemies to take a stealthy approach. Whilst it’s generally possible to take a head-on approach to most groups of enemies, it’s always advantageous to strike from the shadows at first - especially if they’re armed, since Batman is human and can’t take more than a few bullets. Using the grappling hook you can access higher ledges, and in many locations there are gargoyles that are conveniently placed around the asylum’s grounds. Depending on your location there are various ways to take down opponents – while on the ground you can sneak up to an enemy from behind for a silent KO, while hanging from ledges below opponents you can yank them to a surprise drop, and in true batman style you can drop down with an upside-down batman hanging from a gargoyle, and grab the unsuspecting victim for an instant KO. If you are spotted, you can escape to any location out of view to try and hide from any armed opponents. Although the AI is fairly good, it can often be simple enough to escape their view by swinging from gargoyle to gargoyle until they lose you.
The enemies consist of a mix of lunatics, and convicts working for the Joker - prisoners whom were transferred to Arkham after the Joker bombed Gotham Prison while he was on the loose. The combat itself is fairly easy to control, yet has enough variation to keep it interesting. Batman has three main melee attacks – the basic attack, the counter-attack, and the stun attack. Using the basic attack button Batman will use various combos which can be chained by keeping attacks flowing without missing or getting hit. When an attack is about to hit Batman, a symbol is shown above the attacking enemy, and by timing the counterattack button you can perform an impressive looking counter attack and keep the combo going. The stun attack can be used on some of the later enemies, which need to be stunned to stop them blocking before you strike. Also, it’s possible to jump over enemies, as some opponents with stun rods can only be attacked from the back, to avoid getting stunned . Finally, it’s possible to unlock new special attacks such as throws and instant KO moves, which can be performed by pressing two buttons at once, when you have a high enough combo. It all chains together in very smooth animation, and at the end of each group of enemies you are shown a close-up slo-mo of the final blow. Some gadgets such as the Batarang can be used in combat as well, to mix up attacks, stun enemies or attack long range.
Along the way, there are of course several bosses, these usually being Gotham’s more prominent villains – such as Harley Quinn, Bane, and The Scarecrow. These all have different methods of fighting - some simply involve defeating waves of henchmen they send at you, others are larger enemies that you must defeat by avoiding attacks and using gadgets to stun them and give you a chance to attack. The Scarecrow is a formidable villain, torturing Batman with strange hallucinations and visions to torment him. I won’t say too much, but suffice it to say that the Scarecrow was one of my favourite villains in the game.
As a fun sidequest, the Riddler talks to Batman by hacking into his communication’s device, challenging him to a battle of wits. Throughout the game there are a total of 240 things to find – ranging from trophies hidden around the game, certain objects such as statues or relics you must find which relate to various riddles he gives you, hidden interview tapes which can be listened to in order to get some extra insight into the game’s villains, and hidden question marks which can only be seen in detective mode – but are hidden cleverly in ways that can only be seen from certain perspectives. Many of the riddles involve finding objects and items relating to the Batman characters, so there are plenty of references to many of the characters for the Batman fans out there – such as the Penguin’s Hat and Umbrellas, and newspapers with articles about Prometheus and Firefly. Finding these secrets also nets you some experience towards upgrades, so it serves a worthwhile purpose if you’re not bothered about scores. As a nice touch, however, these items can also unlock various bios for many of the Batman comic characters with comic artwork and lots of details about them all. It’s also possible to unlock “Character Trophies” which allow you to view 3D models of the game’s various characters from the main menu. Lastly, finding some of the Riddler’s secrets unlock challenges in the game’s Challenge mode – so there’s plenty of reasons to search for them all.
The game’s Challenge mode offers some extra gameplay to the title, and allows for a bit of leaderboard competition. There are two types of Challenge – all-out brawls, and stealth challenges. The brawl type Challenges involve fighting five waves of increasing amounts of enemies, whilst getting scored on your combat performance. This is graded depending on how varied your combos are, how high your combos get, and whether or not you take damage in the process – beating a round without taking damage nets you some points, while beating all five rounds without taking a hit grants you another score bonus. The stealth missions, however, involve taking down armed opponents as silently as possible. You will be in a certain area of the asylum with a large amount of enemies, and its up to you to take them down quickly and quietly. Each stealth mission has three special objectives you should try to meet for the best result – such as successfully performing a silent kill, or taking an enemy out by hitting them with an explosion. Get all three, and you’ll be awarded 3/3 bats for that particular level. The game also records your time, so you can try and beat the level as quickly as possible for a better result on the leaderboards.
The game runs on the Unreal Engine so the lighting effects are done very well, as I said before the style reminds me somewhat of Bioshock, and has some very unsettling parts that were done masterfully. The characters look great, textures on Batman’s suit looking detailed, and the Joker and Harley looking quite scary. The game is dark and gritty so it works perfectly, and the game’s range of environments isn’t at all lacking – from caves to the medical centre, the Arkham Mansion, plant-filled Botanical Gardens and the scary Penitentiary ward where all of the craziest lunatics are held. The sound merges perfectly, with Mark Hamill voicing the Joker perfectly, and Batman with his familiar over-the-top hero voice – the sound effects only add to the scariness of the place with hysterical laughter and the voice of the Joker taunting you over Arkham’s PA system.
There is also some free DLC for the game – The Insane Night Map Pack which has just been released – including ‘Totally Insane’ - a challenge of endless waves of enemies to fight, and ‘Nocturnal Hunter’ another stealth type map. Another DLC pack is also due on the 24th October, named “Prey in the Dark”. No details have been released yet, but we’ll let you know the details as soon as we know! Obviously, for free, theres no reason not to pick up these goodies to expand the game a little more.
Also, exclusive to Playstation 3 are some extra Joker Challenge Maps, also a free download. These maps work in the same way as Batman’s regular stages, yet you get to play as the Joker with his own moves, and a couple of exclusive gadgets. If you have a 360 don’t worry, its nothing you can’t live without – yet it is a fun little thing to mess around with so theres no reason not to get the PS3 version if you have the choice.
Overall, Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of the best games I’ve played in a while – a beautifully designed game with loads to do. There’s plenty of gadgets and toys to play with, and you often have a fair amount of freedom to attempt things in whatever way appeals to you most. It’s got a decent length, and is fairly challenging but not impossible. The controls and gameplay work very fluidly, and even if you’re not a huge Batman fan it’s a highly enjoyable game. It has scary moments so I’d keep it away from the kids, but it’s not terrifying so don’t expect huge scares if you’re actively looking for them. With more DLC on the way the game has potential to offer yet more gameplay time, and so far I could even go so far as making it my personal choice for Game of the Year.
-Leon
