User Reviews

The Dark Knight Returns in Spectacular Fashion

blaze6106 — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:41:00 GMT

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive, Eidos Interactive

Developer: Rocksteady

System: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Gameinformer Score: 9.50- Review by Andrew Reiner

The Caped Crusader hasn't had the most success when it comes to Video Games. Most of the Batman games are lucky to get any praise at all. They have never been as popular as the Spider-man games, and never quite as good as the other superhero games as well. They always tended to be disregarded.

When Rocksteady said they were taking on Batman, people were doubtful. How was a no name studio going to take control of one of the worst franchises in video games, and make it good. It seemed impossible. Somehow, Rocksteady did the unthinkable. They created one of the best Batman games ever created, if not the best at the time it released.

Rocksteady took its time and crafted a wonderful world. Arkham Island really is a world in and of itself. It has its own characters, features, stories, and feels alive at all times. The love and care that went towards the Batman world is truly astounding. It really isn't a wonder why they won Game of the Year that year.

Presentation

The visuals in the game are fantastic. The game is given an overall dark color scheme, but Rocksteady makes that work. It seems very fitting of the dark knight to be moving around a dark, shadowy world. The level of detail really is incredible. The world is accented just right and really comes alive with all the minor details.

Watching as lights flicker off, or sparks fly from an electrical cord, or watching as the water ripples and the rain falls from the sky really complete the feeling of living in a world. You aren't just playing inside a building that looks the same all the time, you are really living on this island, trying to stop a madman.

The characters are all really well made. Kevin Conroy voices the Batman perfectly. He doesn't have the hoarse Christian Bale voice, but actually sounds intimidating. The Joker, voiced by Mark Hamill, is played wonderfully. Just as physcotic as you would think. You really get that feeling that he is running the show, and you can't do much about it. The rest of the voice cast is wonderful as well.

Joker's Reign

The story itself is pretty simple. There aren't many twist and turns, and the outcome and progression are pretty predictable. Still it is a well crafted, interesting tale. Sure it involves the cliched use of chemical formulas and creating an army of super soldiers, but the way it is written, and Joker leading the way in story telling, it is a great tale.

Batman rides into Arkham Asylum, with the Joker locked up, ready to be readmitted into the Asylum.Batman watches, and all seems good. Too good. Joker is making this too easy. Soon Joker breaks free, and Batman is forced to attack his guards. From there the story takes off, and never really lets up.

Rocksteady manages to craft a wonderful story from beginning to end, with the end being the most exciting part. The battle itself may be easy, but the epic scale is a sight to behold. You really see how crazy the Joker is.

The supporting cast does its part for the story as well. Scarecrow will send Batman into hallucinogenic frenzies that will frighten little kids. (Trust me, I know, I had a neighbor who freaked out over the scenes with Scarecrow.) Killer Croc adds a lot of suspense to his level. Poison Ivy provides for one of the harder fights as well as a little more emotion from the story. Harley Quinn adds to the crazy, but she really shows her fanatical side before she gets captured. There are more, but this is where the game gets a lot of the good scenes from.

The World's Greatest Detective

You really feel like the "Demon of the Knight" in a lot of these cases. The thing about Batman: Arkham Asylum is the emphasis on the detective aspect of Batman. Very few times can you expect to charge in there and fight a battle without being sneaky. Gargoyles, as shown in the picture above, litter most rooms. These are great vantage points. Armed enemies must be taken down stealthily, which Batman easily does by dropping down and silently killing his target.

Batman has a wide array of gadgets to help him in this case though. The most famous being the batarang. It is used to stun enemies, and is used repeatedly in boss fights (like with Bane.) It can also kill minor enemies on occasion. Explosive Gel will destroy walls, which can kill enemies on the other side and open up new paths. The Batclaw can drag enemies off a ledge, or grab an item or other objects in the environment. The Cryptographic Sequencer can open doors and shut down laser gates.

All these things would be practically useless if it weren't for the Detective mode, which is in the image above. This allows you to see the location of gargoyle's, enemies, armed or unarmed, key people, structural weaknesses, and many other things. One of the best uses is to track people using forensic science.

You really do get to feel like Batman. With all the sneaking, running, jumping, grappeling, and excitement, you can't help but feel like Batman.

That Martial Arts Comes in Handy

Sometimes fighting with fist is the only way to get things done. Good thing Rocksteady crafted one of the best action fighting mechanics ever known to video games. The concept is very simple. "X" to punch, "Y" to counter, "B" to stun attack, and "A" to roll. This ends up escalating into some of the best fighting ever. It starts out as you just punching on people, but soon they start attacking, so you counter them, break an arm and throw them to the ground. Then two other guys attack, you counter them, and then wail on the third guy. In a really cool slow motion clip, you kick/punch the last guy and knock him out to end the fight.

The fighting feels very visceral. You hear every hit, almost feel the slow motion hit to the face. You can hear the grunts and swings the enemies make. You can hear bones breaking. Watching as Batman backhands a guy in the face, grabs his arm, then proceeds to snap it and throw him, never gets old.

Once you begin to combo and learn takedown moves, the combat gets even more intense. Eventually your fighting two super soldiers and a slew of minions. You end up jumping over them, dodging barreling super soldiers, and then defeating them all in awesome fashion.

Enemies later on in the game will carry knives and stun batons. You need special ways to defeat these enemies, adding a whole different element to combat. The best part is that it never gets repetitive. You never stop feeling the rush of fighting these enemies.

Conclusion

I cannot recommend this game enough. It is truly incredible. From beginning to end, you always feel like Batman. Whether it be in combat, being a detective, or fighting some of the most memorable villains of all time, you always feel incredible. If you are a fan of Batman buy this now, if you are a fan of Video Games buy this now! The combat, story, and characters are near flawless.

Pros:

- Intense combat that never feels old

- Great Story, though cliched

- Awesome Stealth Segments

- Remarkable character and world presentation

Cons:

- Areas repeat and some environments look the same

- Final Fight is pretty easy, but still epic

Final Score: 9.00

My Arkham Asylum Review

Josh — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:36:00 GMT

Having heard great things about this game, I was excited to start Arkham Asylum. I enjoyed this game far more than what I expected. They did such an amazing job on this game! The freeflow gameplay was great, it made me feel powerfull as a knocked out enemies in hand-to-hand combat. The stealth takeout style also in the game was fun, reminding me of Splinter Cell just with different gadgets. The extra Riddler missions were actual fun rather than tedious like most games, they didn't make them impossible to find but they did make you think a little bit, even if you did have the map. The storyline was enjoyable- a night locked in an asylum filled with the most dangerous supervillains and with the Joker in command! The gadgets were so much fun, blowing stuff up, throwing a quick batarang in the middle of my combo to knock over my enemies, and pulling apart a concrete wall by hand with the ultra batclaw. The campiagn was a perfect length: not too short, but certainly not too long. The setting was well-done: the island was a breand new addition to the Batman world, and it's impressive in its detail. [I know I might be compromising the formality of my review but I am currently enjoying a very tasty double-quarter pounder X) ] Anyways, the gameplay is simple enough for people of any age to pick up, it never loses its fun adventurous nature. I must admit that my favorite parts of the game were the scarecrow bits. It was very thrilling, and it told you something about Batman's fears and his past. Also, a noticed but easily forgotten detail, the voice actors for the characters were just mind-blowing, especially Batman and Joker. I didn't really play the challenge mode much, but I did go through them and they were pretty fun; if your favorite part of the game was snooping around and killing people, then this is definitely for you, it even gives you some more challenging objectives to hunt for if simply beating the challenge was too easy for you. I would definitely recommend this game to anyonne I know who enjoys playing games. I gave this game a 10 because 1) I couldn't think of any ways to improve the game, there weren't any bugs that I found while playing through(I was able to find all the Riddler puzzle solutions) 2) the game had a good balance of everything- campaign length, hand-to-hand v.s stealth combat situations, Riddler puzzles were not too numerous or challenging- and 3) this game could be played by gamers of any type, age, and has an extremely high replay value. I look forward to playing Arkham City (as soon as the price drops).

Batman Arkham Asylum Review (rswithandrew)

Rswithandrew — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 01:51:00 GMT

One of the best batman games of all time!

The Story of a life time!

In the world of comic book videogames there is always one factor that will make or break the title in question; letting the player feel like their favorite hero. Each game should feature some sort of game mechanic that provides players with a means to endless satisfaction through either web-swinging, smashing and lunging or something of that sort. If you don’t have the mechanics you are bound to fail which is why games like Superman Returns, Ironman and the majority of Batman games to date have died on their collective areas. Putting the player in control of a much-loved hero is all good, but the second the in-game character does something that brings them out of character and into the realms of ‘video game protagonist X’, the magic is lost and we’re left with a generic slog that fails to provide any sort of insight into the character at hand. That is why a Superman game will never work – because there’s almost no visible way to provide players with the true power of Superman in a game world. Batman, however, is just a man.

For once a developer has taken a much loved franchise and made every effort to explore what makes it so special. Taking inspiration from a number of Batman writers and artists, Arkham Asylum is a conclusion of years of Batman stories, merged together with an original plot penned by Paul Dini, creator of Batman: the Animated Series. It begins with Batman capturing the Joker and returning him to Arkham, at which point the Joker springs free, releasing the inmates (not to mention an alarming amount of Batman’s worst enemies), so beginning a night of torment for the Dark Knight. To summarize it in such a short sentence doesn’t do justice to the attention to detail on display. The first ten minutes of the game is spent walking the Joker, straight jacket and all, through the Asylum’s prisoner transfer areas, providing a glimpse of things to come. The care that has gone into recreating the Asylum is second to none, and walking through the gothic architecture, listening to the conversations of guards and cell-bound inmates creates a scarily believable atmosphere.

It’s this atmosphere that carries the game from start to finish. There’s never a moment in which the setting feels like anything other than the Asylum often described in Batman comics. The murky halls of the penitentiary and the disturbingly primitive Victorian medical centre are bursting with character. Each area is unique and serves a purpose, and every room seems to have certain individuality, the developers not falling back on the typical cookie cutter design that’s so often apparent in videogames. Not since Bioshock’s Rapture has there been such an abundantly detailed environment, that enforces the harsh and disturbing narrative simply through its dark aesthetic. It’s a fitting location for a Batman story, and even more so for a Batman game. Having been locked into the Asylum with every loon under the sun, the game becomes an insight into the relationship between the Joker and the Batman, with Joker narrating Batman’s movements about the island, toying with him as he goes.

For the most part Batman has to deal with Joker’s thugs rather than anyone of any real threat. In fact to begin with it can almost seem too easy, until you realize that it’s supposed to be that way. To make the player really feel like Batman, Rocksteady have created a simple but deceitfully deep combat mechanic that utilizes a minimal number of buttons to cause a great deal of damage. When fighting crowds of unarmed henchmen, it only takes a single button tap and a direction from the analogue stick to start dealing out blows. When an enemy attacks, a tap of the counter button reverses the move, and on it goes. At first it seems to be little more than tapping the face buttons until everyone is unconscious. But as the game progresses, new types of enemies armed with knives and shock-rods demand a change in tactic, requiring the use of evade maneuvers, cape swishes and some of Batman’s more interesting toys. Sustaining a combo (the higher of which the more XP Batman will gain to unlock more cool stuff) while fighting twenty men soon becomes an art form. No longer is it simply a case of hitting the buttons in a rhythmical fashion, it’s about looking for the next victim, creating distance, pre-empting strikes and managing the crowd.

The animation on display makes this even more notable. When put into motion, the free flow system is a thing of absolute beauty. Every punch and kick moves from one to the next perfectly. If an enemy comes up behind Batman with a kick, Batman can grab the leg under his arm and sweep the guy to the ground. As Batman moves through crowds of people he does away with them with ease and more importantly with style, creating an natural ballet of sickening blows. It’s the sort of spectacle that makes watching someone play it almost as fun as playing it yourself. The ease with which Batman can take thugs down reinforces the idea that he is a highly trained martial artist. It makes sense that he’d have no trouble dealing with two-bit thugs and so although it remains easy to some extent; it develops Batman as a character, adding to the game experience rather than detracting from it.

Similar to this is the Silent Predator mode. In rooms stuffed full of bad-guys with guns, stealth is the only way Batman can survive. As mentioned previously, he’s just a man – and it only takes a few bursts of gunfire before seeing the game over screen. Firing his grapnel gun up to the rafter-based gargoyles however and Batman can survey his enemies’ movements. From here there are all sorts of possibilities. Gliding down and kicking a guy in the face, finishing him off and then grappling back up out of harm’s way is the type of swift decisive action expected from Batman. As the other thugs discover the bodies, they start to panic, making it easier to catch them out, whether it is with a sneaky batarang from behind a corner, or swooping from above and stringing them upside down from a gargoyle. Although it’s easy to take them out with a prompted silent take down, should Batman get close enough while unseen, making a noisy impact then slipping out of view is more likely to strike fear into the remaining enemies – making them scream in terror, and jump at the slightest noise. It becomes more than simply clearing a room of bad guys, it’s about messing with their heads, and is scarily enjoyable.

Of course, it wouldn’t be as obvious just how terrified they are if it weren’t for Batman’s detective vision. There is a type of visual effect that shows up points of interest in the world, along with NPCs’ current condition (alive, unconscious, scared etc). Alongside this are actual sections of detective work, Rocksteady not wanting to overlook the fact that Bruce Wayne/Batman is the world’s greatest detective. These consist of little more than scanning a room for a clue (for example, a hip flask) waiting for the computer to identify the alcohol particles in the air, and following them in detective vision. It’s simplistic, and in videogame terms little more than a ‘go to’ line, but due to the nature of the story and the events at hand it comes across as much more than that. You are Batman, and you are on the trail of something big. The fact that it makes what would in most other games be little other than an objective marker into an interactive part of the game is simply icing on the cake.

The thing with Batman: Arkham Asylum is that there’s so much icing on the cake that it’s hard to know what to eat first. Every nook and cranny oozes class; it’s been a long time since there’s been a game polished to such an extraordinarily high degree. Every little detail has been carefully designed to fit within this living breathing world, and around every corner is another opportunity to discover something new about the Batman world. The island is littered with challenges left by The Riddler which can be attempted at any time. Each one encourages further investigation into the next, often resulting in extended periods of time hunting down clues rather than trying to foil the Joker’s plans. There are numerous interview tapes scattered about, each one scripted and voice acted with such high production values, that finding one is enough to cause great excitement. On the subject of voice acting, the two lead roles of Batman and Joker – performed by Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill – are absolutely superb. Hamill especially steals the show with his performance as the psychotic, yet hilarious Joker in what could actually be his greatest performance of all time.

Amongst all of these superbly executed elements there are constant references to Batman villains past and present, brilliant little nods to certain novels and characters that will constantly surprise diehard fans, as well as acting as a sort of ‘education in Batman’ for newcomers. Then there are the numerous references to Batman’s past, the clever way the developer delves into what makes Bruce Wayne who he is, and why he does what he does. The theme of fear runs throughout the game and acts as a sort of fundamental element to which everything grows from, further emphasized by certain characters that bring about the notion of terror in a breathtaking manner. It seems impolite to dwell on the few instances of what aren’t bad, but simply average game mechanics that slip in to the game later on, and while the final fight may well be a bit of an anti-climax, it’s only for the rest of the game being so undeniably excellent.

Rocksteady have proven that they’re a company that really cares. They actually ‘get’ Batman; they’ve looked at the character from every conceivable angle and strived to make this everything anybody could possibly want from a Batman game. It’s an adult presentation of an adult character, and not once does it fail to make the player feel anything other than the Dark Knight himself. At one point last year Ian Livingstone, head of Eidos, made the bold statement that Arkham Asylum was the closest thing to a perfect game they’ve ever made. After multiple play-throughs and constant replaying of challenge rooms (that encompass free flow and silent predator challenges outside of the main game) I can honestly say that while it isn’t the perfect game, it’s the closest you’ll ever get to being Batman.

Kyle's Batman Arkham Asylum Review

Kyle — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:11:00 GMT

Storyline: awesome, nough said

Graphics: One of the Best!

Voice Acting: Magnificent!

Sound: Really good music

Controls: Can sometimes feel awkward, although could use improvement

Entertainment: Kept me enthralled the majority of the time

Play Time: Logged 6 hours on Hard

Other: The moments are amazing, except for the fact that Croc was built up so well, yet was never faught. You cannot continue once you are finished, which is a bummer. The map feels small and linear, which is not good because it gives the impression it was bigger.

Kyle's Review

Kyle — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:11:00 GMT

Storyline: awesome, nough said

Graphics: One of the Best!

Voice Acting: Magnificent!

Sound: Really good music

Controls: Can sometimes feel awkward, although could use improvement

Entertainment: Kept me enthralled the majority of the time

Play Time: Logged 6 hours on Hard

Will undoubtedly make you feel like a BAMF

go4bacon — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:31:00 GMT

I recently borrowed this game from a friend, expecting an mediocre action experience despite the overwhelmingly positive critical response. Clearly, I was pleasantly surprised.

The single most impressive aspect of this game is the experience. The plot is not profound, and the climax bordered on generic, but running around the asylum crushing skulls will make you feel like the Dark Knight himself.

There's really not that much else to say. One of my favorite moments was silently taking down a thug, luring the other three armed henchmen in with a batarang, and dispatching them one by one before finally taking down the last one, who at this point is practically soiling himself.

Dam

Cole — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:19:00 GMT

Holy Crap

love it

KING GAMER101 — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 00:37:00 GMT

dis is the best superhero game i've played in a while waiting for the new one

Just read the review

Arkhammoved — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:28:00 GMT

I hate cliches, and even though I believe that this is becoming one, I'll say it anyways. Arkham Asylum is not just the best Batman game ever, its the best super-hero game ever. The story is great, and shows off almost every aspect of the Dark Knight. At times he is conflicted, desperate, and even scared, but he is always strong throughout these situations, giving the player the feeling that they ARE Batman. Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Mark Hamill (Joker), go above and beyond good voice acting, and have a great supporting cast.

Now all these things are great, but what is a game without gameplay? I am thrilled to say that Arkham Asylum has gameplay that is second to none. Not only are the mechanics flawless and easy to use, the game also has a perfect blend of stealth and just outright brawls. About 60% of the fights are fistfghts, and in these you beat the thugs with ease. Even so they never feel like typical game fodder. You always feel powerful, but the fights never feel easy, which is great.

While this is all good fun, real satisfaction comes from gun fights. Basically you enter a room full of gunmen (usually 6) and have take them all out. Only problem is, they have guns, which on Normal difficulty will kill you in about 3 or 4 seconds, and on hard 1 or 2. This would be trouble for anyone but Batman, and luckily, that's you. You spend most of your time on gargoyles, doing silent takedowns, glide kicks, and can even break through a glass ceiling on top of a thug, instantly taking him out. The only complaint I have is that evidently no one has peripheral vision, because you can drop right next to a thug, and 9 times out of 10, he won't see you, even on the Hard difficulty.

This game is my favorite of all time, but still it's not quite perfect, its main flaw being boss fights. They aren't bad, it's just that compared to the rest of the game, they are a bit mediocre. Still, I will never complain about the Scarecrow encounters, as they were some of the most thrilling moments in any game, and Poison Ivy was a pretty good encounter. Sadly, even the last boss fight does not break free of this pattern of mundane boss fights; it is actually the games worst. Again I want to stress that it isn't bad, just not on par with the rest of the game. The only other flaw with this game is the lack of replay value. Sure there are trophies you can collect, riddles you can solve, but there are no or very few goons to fight after the credits roll. There are also no side missions whatsoever, so once you beat the game, you can either start over, or hunt for trophies. These minor flaws aside, this is easily one of the best games of the year, and simply cannot be missed. Do yourself a favor, and play this game. You won't regret it.

Dark Night

shao cow kahn — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:41:00 GMT

Best Batman game ever, no best souperhero game ever. You need patince to play this game not my best qulatiy. Also you get stuck in the game alot. On th bright side beating up goons is fun in the story mode and mingames is fun. I think this created some of the best game moments.

A hero's dark nightmare.

GreenHawk99 — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:08:00 GMT

When Batman meets creepy, dark, asylums with the worlds most dangerous criminals, this is what you get. Amazing details combine with a great story and legendary game play to make a spooky thriller in Gotham. Detective Mode is a clever new gaming experience used to find secret trophies and clues. The Riddler's challenges are so enjoyable that you won't want to stop looking for them. The story is dark and wonderful with unforgettable moments in between. Amazing character design creates the most intense criminals. This game is amazing.

A Vast Look into an Insane World.

Brent Johnson — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 23:11:00 GMT

Going into Batman: Arkham Asylum, I would've considered myself a Batman fan. I loved the newer movies, and had seen them multiple times. After getting only a little ways into the game however, I realized how much I didn't know about in the Batman world. This game completely immerses you into the Batman world. You sense fear, as Batman, you get to use all of those amazing gadgets, as Batman, and you get to kick some serious ass, guess what... as Batman!

I get a lot of games, and I always play them at their hardest level, because I love a challenge, or at least I tell myself I do. I played this game the first time through on the hardest level, and died plenty of times on my way to the end, but, unlike a lot of games, I didn't care when I lost. I continued on, and played until I beat the game. Not only did I beat the story mode, but I threw and extra couple of hours into solving all of the Riddler's side puzzles. They're entertaining, and they're a nice change of pace if you feel like getting out of some of the action for a while.

I don't want to spoil anything about the game, but I will say that I believe the Scarecrow parts of the game alone make it worth playing. They're well designed, and scary enough to make an 18-year-old guy sitting in his dorm room at five in the afternoon with the lights on start sweating. The detail that also went into explaining the back-stories of tons of the villains you get to fight, and even some you don't get to fight, is absolutely amazing.

I am giving the game a 9.25 overall because while it was a near perfect game in my opinion, after you beat the game on the hardest setting, beat all of the challenges, and solve all of the Riddles, the things that threw you into the game the first time can't exactly do that the second time around. So, while you'll probably get a good thirty to fifty hours of game play, if you've completed everything, you probably won't have any ambition to go back to it... Just keep looking forward to the sequel!

GREATEST...BATMAN GAME.EVER.

papajon555 — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 03:04:00 GMT

I havent played to many Batman games but this one takes the cake.I never played such a smooth combat system and the story is incredible.Plus once u beat the game(stay after credits) you will probobly want to play it at least once more,but there are also challenge modes like survive 3 rounds of increasingly difficult enemies and survive as many rounds without getting hit.And there are a TON of hidden trophies and item,if i remember correcctly there are 200 something of them.The only issue i have with the game is the end of the story...it kind of ends too fast and the final boss is a great idea,but the fight is kinda lame.But overall the game is outstanding the story,gameplay,voice-acting,and graphics are amazing.The game would be perfect except for that ending.plus the ending makes you excited for the sequel.

P.S.-this game is so great im scared how they could make lightning strike twice.

Batman: Arkham Asylum Must Have

Joedy Payne — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:10:00 GMT

This game I feel had a perfect blend of geat graphics, horror, stealth, combat, easy controls, and plot.

After catching Joker way to easily, he finds a way to take contol of the asylum, and it's your job to take it back by any means necessary. The combat was very easy to dominate I loved the multiple target combat system, beign able to work the crowd, but if you do happen to spend a little more time on one enemy beating him unconcious, and someone sneaks up on you, having the ability to counter is awesome.

I have always been a fan of stealth games, sticking to the shadows, striking and getting away without a trace to do it all over again, the thrill of performing the inverted takedown, the immediately grappling to the other side of the room out of site, then smacking the next opponent with your batarang, the taking him down with the glide kick, and then slipping into an open vent just to find a riddler trophy.

I also have a fondness for horror, this game definately keeps you on your toes, anything could happen at any moment although there hasn't been anything as of yet about this game that made me jump or scared me so bad I had to pause the game to gain my composure. With that said I is pretty on the edge of your seat even though it's a bit predictable.

Cool...

geekytechnerd — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 04:15:00 GMT

NOTE: This is more of a review on the Game of the Year Edition (Only primary difference is that there's 3D Display, but I just wanted to say). Batman: Arkham Asylum is amazing, the best Batman game ever made! Mostly everything about the game is amazing! But, let me get into specific details.

First off, the gameplay is great! Basic combat controls are placed into this game, so you don't have to learn most of the basic combos when in combat, but there are a lot of new features that are in this installment to the Batman franchise. This includes the ability for upgrades, Detective Mode (makes it easier to detect hidden items or destroyable walls), and lots more! My favorite part about the gameplay is both the Stealthiness you need in some missions to take down enemies silently, and the old-fashioned "beating the crap" out of prisoners. Whenever you come across one of those types of missions (the mission that require Stealth movements), your blood starts to pump a little bit, and your adrenaline is flowing rapidly through your veins, and you feel like you're in the game (even though you're probably playing the game on your couch while eating chips and being in your underpants), and that's what I love to feel in all types of games! What's even better is the combat! You don't even have to be good at timing when counter-acting opponents. You could be a couple seconds off, and you still get the pleasure of throwing a guy to the ground (not the glitchy way that gets irritating, but the simplistic way that gives a fun experience to all players)! The best part is when you're at your final enemy, and when you take them down, the camera zooms in and gives a perfect "slow-motion" sequence that really gives you a grin on your face!

If you thought the way I described the controls was awesome, the graphic effects and details in this game is...just...great! You'll notice a lot of shadowing in the game to give a darker side of Arkham (even though it already feels pretty evil) which is awesome! Also, the way they design the characters in a new look makes it look like they were born to look like that! Overall, the graphics are the best I've seen in a Batman game..ever!

This is overall a great game, and I can't wait to get Arkham City this year!