Just Beat Batman: Arkham Asylum 0
I finished Arkham Asylum (we could just call it AA, but I’ll stick with Batman as I don’t want people to get confused with Anti-aircraft or alcoholics anonymous) last night and really enjoyed the experience it gave me. The reason this will be a ‘Just Beat’ segment rather than review is because everyone knows how this game is, and everyone is throwing out awesome reviews, so I’ll just type out my thoughts for your reading pleasure.
I’ve loved batman since I was a kid. But the Batman & Robin movie, as well as the two Bale movies really just got me bored and disappointed with the caped crusader. I’ll just tell you that this Batman game put the hero back in my heart. It’s really like playing a great Batman movie or reading a great story. The game is linear despite the claims of many (Yes, you can explore a bit but it doesn’t directly affect the flow of gameplay/story), but that purpose is for moving the story along. It works. It reminds me of last year’s Bourne game which I found to be very fun, yet short.
Batman has his plethora of gadgets and crime scene investigating (again, very linear, just use your vision and follow) and has great close-combat moves. This is probably not only the best Batman game ever, but also a great game as a whole. While replay value may not exactly be there, production, art, story, and voice-acting puts this above most games. I only have one complaint with the game and it may be a spoiler, so avoid the next paragraph for your own safety:
The last boss with the Joker. Joker has to use the Titan chemical to make him a large, monstrous opponent which you don’t even really fight, and three different times he turns around to look at a helicopter, allowing Batman to yank him down with the batclaw and kick him in the face. Three times. You just do that three times, fighting thugs in-between. Very anti-climatic.
Play the game. Rent, buy, borrow . . . whatever. It’s worth the price if bought.
