This game is Awesome. I started playing this game around the time Arkham City was coming out, and I was hyped. I'll review Arkham City soon enough, but for now, here's my review of the Batman.
Batman Arkham Asylum. So Batman Arkham Asylum is a Batman game that came out for the Xbox 360, PS3, and the PC. When this was coming out, people weren't sure what to think of it. I mean, it looked cool, but it's a Batman game. DC comics didn't have the best luck with videogames at the time, but they did very well on this one. So, Batman is voiced by Kevin Conroy. If you don't know who Kevin Conroy is, then: Really? Kevin Conroy is the Batman from the Animated series, and from the Justice League shows. He is one of the best Batman voices, because Bale's throat cancer act gets tiresome at some point. And the Joker is voiced by Mark Hamil, who's also the Joker in the Animated series. They're just as perfect in the game as they were in the Animated series.
The story is that Batman is dropping off Joker at Arkham Asylum, which is Gotham's Looney Bin. They toss all of the psychos in there, yet they always manage to escape somehow. Batman believes that Joker was caught to easy, and he was right. Joker breaks free from his chains and takes over Arkham Asylum. An epic setup for a game? Hell yeah. So it's up to Batman to work his way through the Asylum and take Joker down. The game structure is like that of Metroid. It's a third-person perspective, where you see the character your playing as. And you've got your map, and there are areas you can't go to yet. Then you get an ability later in the game so you can get to that place you couldn't get to before. This game keeps you entertained, and there is always something to do, until you beat it 100%, then you're bored out of your mind. I should know: I beat the game 100%, then there weren't even any bad guys left to toss around. But I do like games like that, where you get a chance to explore and try to reach 100%. Back to the story. Harley Quinn takes over the control center and batman has to take her down. He rescues Gordon, and along the way you run into a good number of the Batman villains you know and love. There's a side mission thing, that's still a part of the main objective, where you have to face Scarecrow. You also run into Poison Ivy, Bane, and Killer Croc. In my case, I thought Killer Croc's level was one of the scariest parts of the game. You have to collect plant samples in the sewers, and you have to remain stealthy or Killer croc jumps out of the water and scares you. Croc's level is full of jump-scares. There's another side mission where you have to solve all of the Riddlers' tricks and mind games. He has riddles hidden all over Arkham. You explore the secrets of Amadeus Arkham, character reels, bios, videotapes of their therapy sessions, and of course Riddler trophies. The levels with each villain flows perfectly throughout the gameplay, and it brings you to another part of Arkham Island. You need to head to the Medical center, which leads you to a fight with Bane, which brings you outside, and so on. The main focus is to catch Joker, but the game makes it so you have to work to get their. And you learn that Joker is trying to create a mutant army, and that's where the sample collecting comes in. You eventually get to the last level of the game and you understand what Joker was planning to do. As you play through the story, the game makes you feel like a detective because you're trying to figure out what Joker's up to. The story is a lot of fun, and the gameplay is intense. As you get stronger and the more bad guys you beat up, the more experience you get so that you can level up, and upgrade your arsenal and armor.
Arkham Asylum does a great job of putting you in the role of the Batman. You really feel like you are the Batman as you play this game. The combo system is great too. If you are up against twenty guys and someone runs up and tries to hit you, if you hit the counterattack button, no matter what Batman is doing, he will counter his attack and go right back to work. If someone tries to kick you and you counter, Batman will grab his leg and break it, and even pick the guy up and toss him at the other enemies. You walk away from about twenty guys knocked out, and you're like, "Dude: I am such a badass. I am...the Batman." If you don't see the villains you want in this game, it's most likely that they are in Arkham City. It's solid Batman lore, a great story and plot, and epic fighting system that makes you feel like a badass. If you like Batman, you'll like this game. It's currently about twenty dollars, and Arkham City is around the same price. I am proud to say that I own Batman Arkham Asylum, because Batman Arkham Asylum is...Awesometastic. And don't worry, I'll review Arkham City soon. And I'm looking forward to Arkham Origins.
So have you played Arkham Asylum? Have you played Arkham City? What did you think of it? Are you looking forward to Arkham Origins? Comment below, let me know. And as always, if you like this review and want to read more, check out my other reviews to read more. Bye. "I'm Batman!"