Arkham Asylum is not your typical licensed game. For one, it's bloody brilliant. London-based developer Rocksteady Studios - who's CV shows the relatively unknown PS2 action game, Urban Chaos - has caught us totally by surprise with an expertly crafted, supremely polished single-player game that really is up there with the best.
It's production values rival Gears of War. It's attention to detail is almost unmatched outside of the very best first-party console exclusives. Without trying to drench ourselves too thoroughly with the hyperbole hosepipe, Batman: Arkham Asylum is simply a shockingly good action romp in a cape and utility belt.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Official trailer
1:51The making of Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Official trailer
1:51The making of Arkham Asylum
Age Restricted Content Please enter your date of birth below in order to verify your age before watching this video
You must be at least 15 years of age.
Play Again? Missed something? Just watch it again..
Watch More Videos Browse related videos and see what's new & popular
Share This Video Email this video, or embed it into your own web page
The game kicks off as old Bruce Wayne - totally under your control - wheels the Mark Hamill-voiced Joker into the Arkham Asylum for imprisonment - and it's here we're shoved into the passenger seat of Rocksteady's brilliant comic creation. Animation and voice work are flawlessly paraded in front of the controller as Joker fills the security-filled hallways and elevators with his chirpy quips.
We get a glimpse of hallmark series villains as they're dragged away in chains - knowing full well that we'll be seeing them again later in more eventful encounters.
It's a sublime introduction and the stellar production and solid pacing thankfully doesn't stop there. Once the Joker inevitably escapes to cause carnage in the madhouse, Batman's escapades have him swopping down on heavily armed thugs, scanning the environment for fingerprints in the hi-tech detective mode, visiting the Bat Cave for gadget upgrades and even the occasional Eternal Darkness-esque nightmare with the Scarecrow.
Of particular note are Batman's stealth encounters, which really are the centrepiece of Arkham's gameplay (and you can replay battles in Challenge Mode). Most rooms are filled with aerial gargoyles which old Bruce can shoot up to with RB. It's here that you'll sit and plan your assault on the room's roaming guards, and armed with the x-ray detective mode vision, you can see exactly where henchman are, what they're armed with and how much they're shitting themselves.
And this is the first game we've played that can give us a thrill from scaring the living Christ out of virtual characters. Systematically take out grunts one by one, laying traps with explosive gel and tricking victims with sonic bat-arangs, and you'll see the remaining prey grow increasingly nervous. They'll pair up and patrol together, flinch at the sound of your gadgets and even shoot the environment if they think they saw a ghost in the shadows.
And then you can wait for one poor sod to stray off from the group, swoop down from a Gargoyle and string him up by his feet. And when the horde comes running with flashlights to find him swinging from the sky, launch a bat-arang at his rope to send him plummeting into the floor. They'll absolutely cack themselves and you'll love it.
Picking off each guard without getting machine gunned into the floor is a real thinking man's stealth game, and later on guards will be armed with alarm collars that sound an alert to their mates when they're knocked unconscious - making it even tougher.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Official trailer
1:34The gadget show
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Official trailer
1:34The gadget show
Age Restricted Content Please enter your date of birth below in order to verify your age before watching this video
You must be at least 0 years of age.
Play Again? Missed something? Just watch it again..
Watch More Videos Browse related videos and see what's new & popular
Share This Video Email this video, or embed it into your own web page
But hide and seek isn't all Arkham has to offer; Bruce Wayne's wide array of gadgets will have you adventuring in true Zelda style. Line launchers create a swift solution to perilous gaps, explosive gel can be used to strategically blow walls and ceilings onto your foes and the bat claw and sonic bat-arang are both solid additions to your Poison Ivy-topping arsenal.
The attention to detail present throughout Arkham is fantastic. Rocksteady doesn't stop throwing new foes, better gadgets and unique boss encounters directly towards your pointy ears, and after every scuffle Batman's suit will show rips and tears from his encounters. And if you don't get that far you're rewarded with one of dozens of post-Game Over screen taunts from the killer blow-delivering foe.
Basically, if you gave the Gears of War boys the Batman license, what you'd end up with probably wouldn't be too dissimilar in quality to this. That's how good Arkham is.
Once the credits roll you'll be left wanting more and ultimately Arkham Asylum is a little on the short side at the seven hour mark - and multiplayer doesn't feature at all. Having said that, if you're like us you'll immediately start your second playthrough and the Challenge Mode. Tons of unlockables and Riddler challenges littered around the Asylum add a sizeable chunk of replayability. And there's DLC too.
Batman Arkham Asylum is a hugely impressive, gem of a licensed game. Pick it up without hesitation and hope that the Dark Knight returns again. Soon.
Was hoping for more than 7 hours but im sure i'll play more than once and going by that review, theres a ton a replay. Great review can't wait to play it next friday on the PS3.
It took the IGN review 9 hours to beat the main game and around 12 to get everything in it. The time its takes to beat the game just depends on the person.
And wtf at no multiplayer complaint. I'm glad they didnt bother.
7 hours isnt bad . plus you'll have the challange modes aswel and for ps3 owners the Joker challange modes. And the vast ammount of collectables and voice recording of the inmates etc... Theres alot in the game really , cant wait for it to arrive through my letter box lol
Sounds positively fantastic! I look forward to playing this game with the Xbox 360's gamepad. That said, I do not anticipate picking it up on release date. I think I'll wait a while and see if some place sells it at a lower price, or if someone is selling an near-new-in-condition second hand version for a cheaper price. Regardless, eventually this beauty will join my collection, oh yes.
I found this game a fine definition of what games these days are reduced to. You have to see that £30-£40 for a 7hr game is a lot of money. However many times you play it, it's still the same game!
The fighting is boring, being there only few moves to perform and the stealth integration is just lazy. It seems every place to grapple to just happens to be an conveniently placed gargoyle. I insist you waste your money if you want, but I think this was a major let-down.
As a fan of the comic I had my eye on this. After the demo I knew it would be worth it, even if it is only 7 hours long. Come next Friday the game will be in my XBox360.
I found this game a fine definition of what games these days are reduced to. You have to see that £30-£40 for a 7hr game is a lot of money. However many times you play it, it's still the same game!
The fighting is boring, being there only few moves to perform and the stealth integration is just lazy. It seems every place to grapple to just happens to be an conveniently placed gargoyle. I insist you waste your money if you want, but I think this was a major let-down.
I think i will pay more attention to the all the great reviews this game has been getting rather than some random reviewing a demo. Also you clearly havnt learned how to play the game, as when you get higher combos you can pull off more moves and unlock more moves & gadgets etc with XP. The fighting is simple if all you do is button mash, you wont get your combos very high by doing that.
i played a level of arkham asylum on x360 last month and it appeared as good, just that the ps3 game has more features you'll hear about.
IGN said the graphics were a tad sharper on the 360, but not that it really matters. Had my game pre-ordered for my 360 months ago, still tempted to change and get it for for my ps3 cos of the joker content. Then I am also tempted to get it for my PC for the better graphics and save some cash on it, tho thats not out till september now. Ah such a confusion.
i played a level of arkham asylum on x360 last month and it appeared as good, just that the ps3 game has more features you'll hear about.
IGN said the graphics were a tad sharper on the 360, but not that it really matters. Had my game pre-ordered for my 360 months ago, still tempted to change and get it for for my ps3 cos of the joker content. Then I am also tempted to get it for my PC for the better graphics and save some cash on it, tho thats not out till september now. Ah such a confusion.
If you want a free training level (which is basically what the extra content you get with the PS3 version is. Dressed as the Joker) then go for the Game preorder, it comes with the free Scarecrow training level. I can live without being dressed as the Joker!
i really cannot wait for this, a very polished and slick game with satisfying combat and stealth to boot. gamesradars review sealed it for me "this years bioshock" ... who wouldn't be sold after reading that.
I was never in doubt this game would deliver being in the capable hands of rocksteady who were responsible for the brilliant urban chaos on the original xbox,one of the best FPS on the system in my opinion
I was never in doubt this game would deliver being in the capable hands of rocksteady who were responsible for the brilliant urban chaos on the original xbox,one of the best FPS on the system in my opinion
Damn, another victim of the short game syndrome that's been blighting this generation.
I may just wait for it second hand then.
Yeah, I'm thinking about doing that purely because there really aren't many good deals out there for it at the moment.
If it is short, then it's likely to pop up pre-owned quick enough - then there'll probably be a few special offers a couple of weeks from now (I'd much rather buy a new copy to make sure that Rocksteady get some royalties).
I won't actually get to play it until Monday if I were to pick it up on Friday....so, I might just hold out - I have to buy a copy of EA Active on the Wii for my girlfriend this week too.
You get to play all of the challenge rooms as the joker, which, according to IGN adds a whole new dimension to that part of the game as it's a completely different combat style, no hiding in the darkness etc
Not sure why this review neglected to mention it as its available free at launch
I agree, the game seems to be great, but 9.2? Scores are given out very generously these days... I think the fact it's based on a popular license may have added an extra 1.0 to the score if I'm honest. Graphics are solid and the game's very polished, but the gameplay is repetitive in terms of combat and the stealth is hardly Splinter Cell level. The puzzles, or rather crime investigations, are also spoon-fed as well, leaving a rather average experience if you take away the characters people know and love. Basically I think it's a quality game but in these days, not worth £40. Some are saying you can get it for around £22 at some places, and if so, I'd certainly suggest picking it up.
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW England and Wales company registration number 2008885
More polish than Mr Sheen
?
hours isnt bad . plus you'll have the challange modes aswel and for ps3 owners the Joker challange modes. And the vast ammount of collectables and voice recording of the inmates etc... Theres alot in the game really , cant wait for it to arrive through my letter box lol 
