As usual, this review is brought to you a day late and a dollar short. In other words, I’m too cheap to by them when they’re new so this is going to be old hat for many but useful to some.
A few weeks ago I purchased Batman: Arkham Asylum from Amazon for $30. I just wanted to post my thoughts about the game in case some of you were wavering on giving it a try. I recently posted a comment about it on Facebook:
“The video game, Batman: Arkham Asylum has rekindled my interest in the Batman franchise. The new movies are good but the video game is pitch-perfect.”
At the time I hadn’t yet finished the game but the sentiment still remains.
It was really an exciting game and very true to the franchise on every level. The controls were intuitive and the gameplay was fluid and challenging. The detective aspect was brilliant and it was very cool to periodically encounter some of the Bat’s greatest enemies. In a sequel I’d love to see arch-villains like Catwoman, The Penguin and Mr. Freeze. A proper Cobblepot storyline would be awesome. I did hear something on the Bat-jet’s radio as he flew off eluding to a Harvey Dent story. That might be good too if they did into the comics.
I recently read an article in which Sefton Hill remarked he’d like to make a stand-alone Bane game. Personally, that would not be my cup of tea. In my opinion I think Bane is pretty annoying… and a whole game centered around the behemoth would be more suited to a different audience. The sequel is already underway– I hope they’ve dug up some other villains and set the stage in Gotham.
The other thought I had while I was playing the game was, “Wow this reminds me a lot of the old PC game, Alien vs. Predator.” I was then reminded that there was a Batman vs. Predator comic book made in the 90s. “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” The stealth aspect of the game was probably the most fun for me. It added a very important puzzle element to the game that balanced out the action sequences.
In the next installment [when you complete the game] it might be nice to have the option to turn the thugs on in certain areas of the map. Sort of a free play option for the stealth and combat freaks in us.
I will nick the game a half-star for repetitive combat aspects and the fact you pretty much stay in Stealth mode for the entire game. If there were a better way to know when to use the stealth aspect I think we could have enjoyed the textures and scenery that the developers put into the game a little more.
My final score is 4.5 out of 5. The following statement may seem a bit lofty, but this was quite possibly the best Batman video game ever made. I highly recommend picking it up the next time you see it on sale. If you’ve already played Arkham have a look at the Sequel’s website.
Madaracs
Posted by Madaracs on April 19, 2010 at 8:29 am
