Review of Batman: Arkham Asylum

I posted this same review on my other blog, but I wanted to post it here, too. After playing the demo numerous times and now after finishing the game itself, I feel strongly that the game benefitted from a lot of undue praise. The graphics and audio are absolutely stunning. But in my opinion they do not make up for some major shortfalls in gameplay. Just my two cents.

-Book

Overall score (not an average): 7.5 out of 10

Batman: Arkham Asylum has received much critical acclaim since its release in August. Reviewers from around the world have cited the game’s high quality of art design, faithful representation of source material, enduring replay value, and innovative gameplay as reasons for the high review scores that have even resulted in a Guinness World Record. But is this action-stealth title from Rocksteady and Eidos deserving of these accolades, or have its creators managed to dazzle reviewers and players alike into awarding the game more praise than it deserves? And more importantly, is Batman: Arkham Asylum a “must-own” title?

Yes and no.

What’s The Deal?

In Batman: Arkham Asylum, players take over as the Dark Knight, who has been trapped inside the asylum by Joker, along with pretty much every other villain to ever go up against the Caped Crusader. Batman must use a combination of brawling and stealth to eliminate and evade Joker’s thugs, while also relying on his detective’s savvy to solve the Asylum’s mystery. Along the way there are unlockables to be earned and lots of secret goodies to be found courtesy of the Riddler. As well as the single-player story mode, there are a series of “challenge rooms” in which players use brawling or stealth to overcome obstacles and post their best times to the game’s leaderboards.

Gameplay - 7

Arkham Asylum consists of both traditional brawling and stealth-based gameplay, and it’s usually up to the player to choose which method to use in the average room-full-of-thugs scenario. But to defeat bigger enemies and most bosses, the focus has to be on fisticuffs. Unfortunately, the fighting mechanic in Arkham Asylum is overly simplified and excruciatingly repetitive. A single button is used to attack, and when surrounded by multiple enemies, combos are strung together by attacking, pointing at the next target with the left stick, and attacking again…over and over and over. And over. Not only is this method used for run-of-the-mill encounters with Joker’s goons, but it also has to be applied against some mini-bosses. While the brawling is tight and precise, it also gets very old, very quickly.

There are options—and enticements, such as Achievements—for keeping a combo going by countering incoming attacks and stunning knife- or taser-wileding enemies. This is fine if your goal is racking up high scores or leaderboard positioning. But as for progressing through the game, it is far more effective to attack, evade, attack, evade, attack…

If the boss battles aren’t cliché, they’re terribly boring. On the one hand there’s the big, dumb brute who stuns himself by running into things, allowing you to get a few punches in. On the other hand there’s the boss whose projectiles you have to dodge until they totally open themselves, like a moron, for your attacks. And if that’s not enough, there’s the boss encounter where you have to walk very, very slowly in order not to make any noise… Hundreds and hundreds of meters of tiptoeing… Exciting, huh? That one alone takes a good twenty minutes…

The saving grace of Batman: Arkham Asylum’s gameplay is stealth. This is where the game really feels like stepping into Batman’s shoes. Players can use Batman’s grapnel to reach high places, hang down, and silently snatch enemies into the shadows. Or they can sneak along the floor and take down a gun-toting bad guy who is standing just feet from his partners. Stealth is an absolute requirement against gun-toting bad guys because, let’s face it, this is not Superman we’re talking about. Batman can die, and pretty easily, with just a few bullets. The icing on the stealth cake is when thugs begin to shoot wildly into the shadows or scream into the night for Batman to show himself. The AI perfectly complements the stealth mechanic to make it seem like you really are the Caped Crusader. Rocksteady could have easily failed at this crucial element of Batman’s character, but instead they nailed it perfectly.

The same cannot be said of “Detective Mode,” the sleuthing tool used to identify clues and process evidence. Rather than encouraging players to search for clues or objectives themselves, Detective Mode blatantly highlights the answers to any mystery that needs to be solved, denying us of one of the potentially great elements of a “Batman simulator:” actual detective work. In certain instances, players must find and “process” a particular piece of evidence. By entering Detective Mode, the evidence’s location is plainly highlighted, completely removing the need for detection. What’s more, Detective Mode highlights all bad guys—whether there are three feet of concrete between them and Batman or not—and reveals whether they’re armed and what their current temperament is. It’s basically X-ray vision and a game walkthrough all in one. Batman, in my opinion, would not approve.

Batman does have some of his trademark cool gadgets, including batarangs of various types, a line launcher for crossing chasms, and more. Of course, these gadgets must be found and unlocked. It wouldn’t be a video game otherwise. But the system begs the question: Why didn’t Batman come to Arkham prepared?

The same question can be posed of the level-up system that grants Batman different abilities. He is, after all, Batman. Why does he need leveling up? Isn’t he already a badass? Apparently not, or at least not badass enough for this game…

Narrative - 9

The presentation of Batman: Arkham Asylum is absolutely stunning. The graphic quality is as good as or better than any game I have ever seen. And with the voice talents of Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Mark Hamill (Joker) from the animated series, it is made almost perfect. During the game’s introductory movie, I found myself zooming in on Joker’s face as he delivered dialogue, absolutely giddy at the fact that the character’s facial animations matched perfectly with the dialogue. And they always do. The game is absolutely beautiful.

The story of Arkham Asylum is mundane and average. While seeing the various characters from the Bat-verse in all their demented glory is a lot of fun, their plans and actions are predictable. The overall plot, too, is typical video game fodder and doesn’t really use the source material to its fullest potential.

The storytelling falters some due to the boring boss battles mentioned above. And it absolutely fails, in my opinion, with the game’s final battle. I will not say anything further for fear of spoilers, except that the final boss scenario seemed wholly uncharacteristic of the character and contrived specifically for a video game, rather than keeping consistent with the Batman universe. For a game that stuck so well to the source material all the way through, the final battle was a huge letdown.

Replay Value – 8

Arkham Asylum has some enticing replay features built in. For one thing, there are hundreds of Riddler’s trophies lying around the island for players to find, as well as very interesting audiotape interviews with Batman’s rogue’s gallery—five for each villain—that are a real joy to listen to. Unfortunately, this requires spending a lot more time running through some of the gameplay experiences listed above. But if you really want to squeeze some value out of the game, it’s worth it.

The challenge rooms are the real draw for replay, as they can be repeated and every performance posts to the game’s leaderboards. The graphic quality in the challenge rooms seems much higher than in the game’s story mode, making it a not-so-bad experience. But I prefer the stealth-based rooms over the brawling rooms. My thumb and X button just couldn’t take any more mashing.


Family Appeal – 5

Batman: Arkham Asylum is an adult game. While there is not much gore, there is a lot of violence. Perhaps more important, the game is downright scary. The environment of Arkham Asylum—particularly the morgue, for crying out loud—is enough to give me nightmares. So there’s no way I’m showing it to my children. This is not Lego Batman. It is a grown-up Batman game for a grown-up Batman fanbase. No kids allowed.

Who should…

…buy it? – This is a must-own for any Batman fan and most comic book fans in general. The quality of graphic design and voice acting, as well as the game’s commitment to the Batman universe, is perhaps unparalleled by any other comic book game out there.

…try it? – Fans of stealth games will definitely enjoy the stealth aspects, which are some of the best I’ve played. And survival horror fans will appreciate Arkham’s frightening designs. And if you enjoy action/adventure games at all, you should at least give the demo a try.

…pass by it? – If you get easily frustrated at repetitive gameplay, this probably isn’t the title for you. Also, parents looking at Batman games for their kids, stay away. It’s an adult title, people.