Batman: Arkham Asylum First Thoughts

[ashley76]

I finally got to play it last night, for about 20 minutes. I couldn't stomach it any longer than that. (Not to say it's a bad game but, read on) :)

As the game opens a police dispatcher warns cops to be aware that the Joker is en route to Arkham Asylum. Batman is racing through the streets of Gotham in his Batmobile to be there. (Apparently he just got through taking Joker down)...

They wheel the Joker in with Batman following behind. Commissioner Gordan is filling out paperwork at the front desk of Arkham as they bring the Joker in.

Bats tells Gordan something isn't quite right because it was too easy to capture Mr. J this time. The guards won't let Batman beyond a certain point because they say "Arkham employees only". Gordan tries to vouch for Batman but, that doesn't fly with the guard (Bet he is re-thinking that plan now)...

Gordan and Batman watch as they wheel the Joker into a "secure" area. Then Joker gets free and kills one of the guards and puts the place on lock down. Now the game starts.

This is probably one of the most accurate visions of Batman and Gotham I have ever seen in video-game, cartoon, TV, or Movie. If they made a movie or cartoon that looked like this all the comic fans would be happy. It looks very slick!

Kevin Conroy is back voicing Batman and I believe that was Mark Hamill doing the Joker. This brings some familiarity to the characters which is cool. The graphics are slick and life like. (Harley was hot).

The gameplay was neat but, it does have some cons to it. When fighting almost evertyime it goes into this slo mo Matrix crap. Now this could only be during the Tutorial part of the game so I can't verify that it keeps happening like this but, I have a feeling it does. I mean slow mo everytime you fight which gets annoying. It is cool the first couple of times but then get aggravating. Their are cool kicks and punches and defends though.

By pressing L2 you go into Detective mode where you can see through walls, check out things you might be able to use to your advantage in the area, etc... Holding down X makes you run. L1 lets you aim your batarang and R1 I think throws it. Also using R1 you can use your grappling hook to swing or pull yourself up onto things. R2 lets you crouch so you can sneak up on somebody like a ninja and hurt them real bad :)

The reason I couldn't stomach it any longer was because it had that First Person Shooter type camera to it. I can't play a FPS longer than 5 minutes without getting queasy. They just do something to my head and make me sick. I am not saying that this is a FPS but, the camera type was FPS quality. You see Bats but, it is like you are right in his butt. Arkham is just to cramped for anything more. That is pretty much the only bad thing I can say about it.

I would give this game a 4 out of 5 and I would love to continue playing but, I just can't because of the queasy factor. Those of you who don't get sick playing FPSs and love Batman will absolutely love this game! Shoot some that don't like or don't really know Batman will love this game.

Very slick and I think will be a big hit...

[TheGameAH]

Not a bad review, but I have to disagree on the 4/5. I'd have to give it a full 5/5. I found the slo-mo only when you used the counter attack and I didn't mind the camera, but I like FPSs. The best part of the demo, is near the end, where you come into an area of Arkham where there are 4 or 5 joker goons with weapons. You have to take out the goons individually and silently, and this is where you get to use your grappler and a neat inverted hanging attack like in Batman Begins. When you attack one of the goons with this method you leave him hanging and screaming from a gargoyle, (not sure why there are gargoyles inside a building, but I can overlook this). This attracts the goons from there areas and terrifies them. Once they start to move back to there specific areas you can surprise attack them. As you go through the game you unlock character info files, the Joker file even includes some recorded interview tapes. There are also hidden Riddler trophies through out. I'm not sure what they do, I only found 3, I think it's just a collectable challenge of some type. Really looking forward to this game and the boss battles.

[bat1987]

OMG! Cant wait to try it myself.

[Dick Grayson]

sounds like a decent game....way better than Dark Tomorrow. what is the rating of the game, is decently violent (wow what an oxy-moron i know haha) or does it have profanity like the Punisher for ps2/xbox?
"You see Bats but, it is like you are right in his butt" hahaha thats hilarious man....i wouldnt mind bein right in the butt of the Huntress's (Bertinelli) instead...hows that for "blood cries for blood" hahaha.
man how i love this website, no other DC Comics fansite compares to DC Collector.

[bat1987]

.i wouldnt mind bein right in the butt of the Huntress's (Bertinelli) instead...

Me too. Wouldnt mind that at all.

[ashley76]

Me too. Wouldnt mind that at all.

LOL, I heard that was going to be DLC later on :)

[bat1987]

Then, I must say I am looking forward to it :)

[Grisle]

The view is more of a third person view...almost over the shoulder, but not quite. I didn't mind it too much, but it was an odd placement...I'm not sure there has been a game with quite this angle. Batman is on the left side, but it's a little different than GoW or RE4. Anyways, I kinda liked it. I agree that the SloMo can get a bit repetitive, but I enjoyed the detective view. Graphics and art direction are really nice. Early on I found myself a little concerned that this might not be a day one purchase, but once I got into the room with all the goons and was about to have a boss fight I wanted to keep playing...of course that's when it ends. I'm still a little concerned that it may be too easy to pass and not necessarily worth the new game price tag, but we're all huge Batman fans so I may just have to cave and keep my pre-order. Just in case you didn't know the demo is available on the PSN.

[TheGameAH]

WOW! I am completely blown away by the full game. Mark Hamil does an amazing job with the Joker, not like the animated series, I find he brings a darker edge to Mr. J. Nothing needs to be said about Kevin Conroy he is perfect. I've only been playing this game for about an hour, but ... just WOW! I got the collectors edition as well, and I'm really impressed by the packaging and all the little extras. I've gotta get back to it, if you don't see me on here for a little bit you know what I'm doing.

[Dick Grayson]

I've gotta get back to it, if you don't see me on here for a little bit you know what I'm doing.

hahahah yea we know, we know, youre goin to be busy watchin the Seagal Movie Marathon....

damn man, this game does sound good if Conroy and Hamill are in the game. i saw the graphics on tv and it does look well made.

[TheGameAH]

Ok supposedly there is 3 different endings for the game, which one did you get?
I got Killer Croc..... don't want to give away anymore then that for those that haven't finished yet.

[Grisle]

You mean the very end? I got Croc as well.

SPOILER - Highlight to view.
You fight the Titan Joker and then at the end Croc reaches his hand up for the Titan formula. Is that what you got? END SPOILER.

[TheGameAH]

yep, supposedly there's Croc, Scarecrow & Bane. I believe it depends on the difficulty you played on. Man, they have got to make a sequel to this.

[Grisle]

It was awesome! I was feeling like the game was very lengthy until I realized I was moving through it pretty fast. I'm on my second playthrough now trying to get through on the hard difficulty. I really like the battle challenges...especially Sewer Rat (extreme)...it is Rat right? I just forgot if it's Rat or Bat. Anyway playing with The Joker is fun too. I'm looking forward to DLC. How was Dem Bones challenge by the way? I ended up ordering on Amazon since it was $51.99 shipped. I kinda wish I got the collectors edition, but I didn't like the fact that the discs were in a digipak...I really couldn't get over that.

[TheGameAH]

I had a spare game case so I just put the game and instruction manual in it. Now I'm just trying to find some place I can get a scan of the packaging so I can print it out.
"Dem Bones is fun, don't worry though I'm sure it will be DLC. According to the website there's some free DLC coming. There's also a Crime Alley challenge map included with the collector's edition. I'm having a hard time linking together combos, it's pissing me off a little cause it should be fairly simple.

[Dick Grayson]

besides the the characters listed, are there any other heroes besides Bruce, and are they playable? also ill just go ahead and throw in what you guys know i will ask hahaha, is Dick Grayson in the game, or do they even mention him even in the game even if its just once?

hahaha "Dem Bones" huh, it wouldve been awesome if the Alice In Chains "Them Bones" wouldve been in there. hahaha imagine "Joker" instead of "Rooster":

Here they come to snuff the Jo-keeeeerr

Oh Yeaa-ahhhh! here come the Jokeeeerrrrrr, Yeaaaaaah!

You know he aint gonna diiiiieee!

No, no, no ya know he aint gonna diiiieee

[Grisle]

If only Batman would snuff the Joker! Of course then we would be left without his awesomeness, but seriously how can Batman justify letting him live while he keeps killing. I don't recall them ever saying anything about you Dick...what did you do to piss off Bruce so much. No other heroes come into play either. I really hope this team does more stuff like this in the future. I'll be looking out for the DLC of course, but I'm interested in a franchise!!!

[TheGameAH]

Yeah, no mention of DG. It would be completely awesome to be able to do the challenge maps as Nightwing though. When you finish the game you unlock an armored version of Batman. Oracle appears in the game, well she provides Bruce with his info. It would have been cool if Clayface morphed into Nightwing or Robin. Hey Nick, do you have any idea who the inmate is that's left locked in his cell in the same area as Clayface?

[Dick Grayson]

hahahah Nick, if Bruce were to snuff him, then the Joker would be the "Man In the Box" hahah. i think Bruce is still mad...at the fact that i left the nest back in my teens....you know how over-protective some parents can be. i agree with you guys Grayson never really gets thrown in the games (unless you count Batman and Robin for snes/genesis, Batman Forever for ps/saturn and Rise of Sin Tzu) and it pisses me off...

that gimp Oracle always seems to be there...she was in that p.o.s. Dark Tomorrow and they even mention Robin in that, but Grayson doesnt even seem to exist most of the time. they should give Grayson his own videogame, im sure everyone here agrees that hes proven himself as his own man, and can rival Bruce in many ways as a hero.

[Dick Grayson]

heres another example of "Dick Grayson doesnt exist" they seem to have stuck it to Peter Parker too in this case. those two characters are major comic book characters and they are absent here. one can argue that maybe the Batman in the picture, could be Grayson but i highly doubt it, if he was he would atleast have a smile.


so in this picture, where's Dick Grayson? where's Peter Parker? haha screw it man, Where's Waldo?

[TheGameAH]

Dick isn't there cause he wasn't a member of JLA, Peter's there right behind the Hulk.

[Grisle]

Hey Nick, do you have any idea who the inmate is that's left locked in his cell in the same area as Clayface?

I just noticed Clayface...I didn't notice anyone else. I need to get to that part again and check it out.