Is it strange that one of my all-time favorite super heroes ever just happens to be the star of the game that literally holds the Guinness World Record for Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero video game? But anyway, Batman: Arkham Asylum is a part beat-em-up, part stealth, part horror, part puzzle hybrid game starring the Dark Knight himself made by Rocksteady and originally released back in 2009, and when on to be praised as the greatest superhero themed video game ever made, and spawning two equally beloved sequels. In the event you don't know anything about Batman, basically, Batman (sometimes called the Dark Knight or the Caped Crusader) is a superhero/vigilante donning a bat themed suit who fights crime using a combination of detective skills, martial arts, and a variety of gadgets he invented himself. Batman was created mostly to serve as a (rather extreme) contrast to Superman (who made way for the entire superhero genre), and while Superman has a wide variety of superpowers and is pure and noble to the very core of his being, Batman has no powers whatsoever and is more morally ambiguous. Sure, Batman doesn't kill people, thanks to Batman stubbornly following his "one rule", which is never kill anyone, even if that "anyone" is a eco-terrorist/temptress (Poison Ivy), a clown themed gang leader (Joker), or a surprisingly lame serial killer (Zsasz). But considering he's okay with breaking limbs, cracking ribs, throwing razor sharp boomerangs, and putting military grade weaponry on his car, it's a miracle Batman doesn't kill somebody by accident.
The story of Batman: Arkham Asylum begins with Batman apprehending and escorting one of his oldest and most well-known enemies, the Joker (who is voiced rather magnificently by none other than Mark Hamill!) to the titular asylum. But the fact that the Dark Knight openly admits that this time, the Joker went down a little too easily should be setting off alarms, especially for the folks that read the comics. And sure enough, the Joker escapes because let's face it, the Joker ALWAYS escapes, and with the help of other fan favorite villains and villainesses (and Zsasz) takes over the entire asylum and turn into a base of operations for the Joker's biggest and most ambitious plan yet (I will not spoil what said plan is).
This game is part of the reason why I consider
Scarecrow (pictured) to be the best DC villain
ever.
So, as per superhero tradition, it's up to Batman to track down and subdue all the inmates while trying to thwart the Joker's schemes. The story is a little simple, but it's not bad. But the main appeal of this game is A) it's a licensed video game that is actually well-made with lots of heart and effort put into it, and B) seeing fan-favorite characters from the DC mythos (and Zsasz) appear here. Plus, this game made me like a lot of the more underrated members of Batman's Rogues Gallery (the collective name for all the Batman villains). Like Scarecrow! I also have to thank this game for introducing me to Zsasz, who is by far the lamest villain ever. Yeah, for a game that's famous for making previously cheesy and lame villains cool/terrifying, Zsasz is just lame when compared to the rest of the Rogues Gallery. Why is Zsasz lame? He's a serial killer. That's it. That's his thing. Plus, Batman subdues him almost effortlessly in all three of the Arkham games. Heck, he's so lame that DC comics didn't even bother giving him a cool alias. And why on Earth is Zsasz kept in the same prison as the infinitely better villains like Joker and Killer Croc and Poison Ivy? I mean, if Zsasz had a cool alias and there was more to him than just being a Jason Voorhees/that insane axe swinging dude from The Shining (the one that yelled "HEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRREEEEEE'S Johnny!) wannabe and make him somewhat challenging to defeat him, then I would have disliked him less. But... Just... Why, Zsasz? Why are you so lame?
As previously stated, Batman: Arkham Asylum is a hybrid of puzzle solving, stealth, beam-em-up, and horror. Wait, horror? What kind of super hero game has horror elements? Apparently any game that has the Scarecrow, whose fear toxins cause legitimately frightening nightmares to occur, such as the greatest fourth wall break in the history of video games.
The puzzle solving aspects come from the fact that as a detective, Batman has more than a few riddles to decipher, and the puzzles usually involve tracking forensic trails and using his gadgets to find alternative ways to enter buildings/rooms. There are Stealth segments where the Dark Knight can do what he does best; Strike fear into the hearts of his opponents. During these segments Batman can use his Grapple gun to swing around the room, and ambush the Joker's henchmen in a variety of ways. However, there are times when Batman is forced into open combat, and these segments are my favorite out of the bunch, because Batman: Arkham Asylum has perhaps the best and most satisfying combat system I've seen in a long time. You can either perform Strikes, where Batman will run up to an enemy and do a combo, Counter, which lets Batman block certain attacks and deliver a punishing counterattack, and Stun, where the Caped Crusader will use his trademark cape to briefly blind and/or stun an enemy, letting you follow up with more Strikes or focus on someone else. It's easy to learn, makes you feel unstoppable when you get a combo going just right, and the only real complaints I have is Batman just takes a little bit too long to react if you try mixing and matching these options for my liking. Not deal breakingly long, but long enough to notice some definite input lag. That, and the game never tells you that successfully stringing combos together makes Batman stronger (by the time he reaches a x5 combo, he can knock down most enemies in one hit). And I played through the entire game not realizing that.
Killer Croc is another villain that this game made
me like more due to his nerve-wracking, but still
entertaining boss battle.
As for the presentation, I have to mention that the version I played was Batman: Return to Arkham, which is a HD remake of both Batman: Arkham Asylum and it's first sequel, Batman: Arkham City that also includes some goodies that weren't in the original version of the game(s). Why doesn't include the second sequel, Batman: Arkham Knight? The answer is simple! Batman: Arkham Knight is rated M for Mature. And thus, it couldn't be included in the remake because the first two games are rated T for Teen. That and Arkham Knight is already in HD so making a HD remake of a game already available in HD is a little redundant. But anyway, the main thing about this game is it's dark in tone and the area designs reflect that. I appreciate the fact they try to keep it realistic, or rather, as realistic as a adventure/horror game about a bat themed vigilante trapped in an asylum built on an abandoned island and trying to apprehend two homicidal clowns and their henchmen, a Freddy Kruger-esque mad scientist powered by literal nightmare fuel, an anthropomorphic crocodile with a love of both human flesh and Peter Pan jokes, a plant worshipping temptress and a lame serial killer can be. Although everything does look nice, there are some points in the game where I got lost because all the locales look very similar to one another. Then again, it may just be me. On a more positive note, I do like the character designs, as they keep the characters recognizable when compared to previous iterations but with a darker, almost *Lovecraftian take. Like how Scarecrow has that glove with the needle-tipped fingers, or how Killer Croc has multiple rows of teeth protruding awkwardly out of his lower jaw, or how Poison Ivy has actual vines merging with her skin, when combined with her glowing eyes and ability to amplify the sound of her voice (somehow?), makes her look slightly demonic compared to most incarnations of Poison Ivy, where's she's just a regular woman covered in plant-life.
As for the soundtrack, again, no particular song sticks out, though I don't remember there being a bad song. Well, actually, there is one song that comes to mind, that being Scarecrow's theme but I like that song more because it's surprisingly creepy (yeah, a villain whose main form of attack is causing fear and disruption has creepy theme music. #SpencerLogic2017) rather than it being good to listening to. But the thing I HAVE to praise this game for is the voice acting. Because of Arkham Asylum, I've officially decided that Mark Hamill is the best actor who ever played the Joker. He captures the flamboyant charm I've come to expect from the character, and his occasional rants and tantrums are very entertaining. The fact that Joker nonchalantly changes from being comical and dead serious (sometimes literally, given how often Joker kills for the sake of it) combined with Mr. Hamill's excellent voice work make this incarnation of the self-proclaimed Clown Prince of Crime a great villain. Kevin Conroy also does a great job as Batman. He doesn't have the rather infamous gravelly tone that most people associate with Batman, but Mr. Conroy manages to capture Batman's stoic loner tendencies perfectly. Plus, the fact that he manages to make the line "I eat punks like these for breakfast" sound awesome is incredible, because believe me, if it was anyone else saying that I would have face-palmed at how cheesy that sounds. The only character voice I don't like is Harley Quinn, but that's because I died way too many times on one of her puzzles and every time you die in this game, the Game Over screen changes so it shows the villain responsible for killing you emerging from the darkness and taunting you, and Harley Quinn's Game Over taunt is the most annoying sound ever ("Loser! LOSER! LOSER!!!!"). But even if I had done better at said puzzle, I still am not too fond of her voice due to how ridiculously squeaky it is. Seriously, she sounds more like Minnie Mouse than the right hand (wo)man of the Joker. Keep in mind this is all subjective. Also, if you listen closely, Joker's henchmen say some really humorous things if you wait long enough. The henchmen banter ranges from some goons questioning Joker's leadership skills, to sharing holiday horror stories, to complaining about their current situation. Just a nice touch that makes me like this game more.
After playing the game myself, I see why it gets so much praise. Granted, I did rage frequently during my playthrough and had to resort to looking up a guide because I honestly couldn't figure out a lot of stuff. So my advice? Don't do what I did and raise the difficulty simply because you have had experience playing other action/adventure games. It will lead to frustration and headaches. Play on Easy for the first playthrough, But aside from my self-punishing blunder, I had a great time. I would have to give the game an 8/10. It's fun, engaging, and is a super hero game done right. I only had a few gripes with it, but don't let those gripes stop you from buying this game. If you can't find the original version, there's the HD remake that also comes with the first sequel, available on the PS4.
*Lovecraftian. A subgenre of horror that emphasizes on the cosmic fear of the unknown and the unknowable. Unlike psychological horror, it doesn't have jump-scares or shocking moments. And unlike slasher horror, it rarely has any gore. It's named after the legendary author, H.P. Lovecraft, who was famous for this particular storytelling style, and much later works were heavily inspired by Lovecraft.
Sequels or remakes aren't always better then original in my opinion. I agree Superman and Batman play different roles as "good versus evil" theme is timeless regardless of audio or graphics quality. Good comparisons you've pointed out.
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