Product Description

Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum - Gotham's psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City's most notorious villains who have taken over the asylum. Using a wide range of Batman's gadgets and abilities, players will become the invisible predator and attempt to foil The Joker's demented scheme.

Batman: Arkham Asylum features an original story penned exclusively for the game by famous Batman author and five-time Emmy award winner, Paul Dini, whose credits include Lost season one and Batman: The Animated Series. With amazing graphics and a moody, immersive setting, Batman: Arkham Asylum offers diverse gameplay options that push the envelope for all action, adventure and superhero games.

• Utilise the unique FreeFlow combat system to chain together unlimited combos seamlessly and battle with huge groups of The Joker's henchmen in brutal melee brawls
• Investigate as Batman, the world's greatest detective, by solving intricate puzzles with the help of cutting edge forensic tools including x-ray scanning, fingerprint scans, 'Amido Black' spray and a pheromone tracker.
• Face off against Gotham's greatest villains including The Joker, Harley Quinn, Victor Zsasz and Killer Croc.
• Become the Invisible Predator with Batman's fear takedowns and unique vantage point system to move without being seen and hunt enemies.
• Choose multiple takedown methods, including swooping from the sky and smashing through walls, and use the predator camera get a closer look at the action.
• Explore every inch of Arkham Asylum and roam freely on the infamous island, presented for the first time ever in its gritty and realistic entirety.
• Experience what i

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #310 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Eidos
• Released on: 2009-08-28
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Format: Unknown format
• Subtitled in: English
• Dimensions: .55" h x 5.32" w x 7.48" l, .31 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Dark Knight returns in the first game to do him justice in his more than 20 year history in video games. Not based on any specific comic book or movie it takes all the best ideas and visuals from all of Batman's many incarnations to create a unique spin on one of pop culture's greatest icons.

Arkham Asylum becomes the backdrop for Batman's most dangerous challenge

Killer Croc has never looked more imposing or been more dangerous

Batman must discover the deadly secrets behind The Joker's masterplan

Stalk the minor criminals like prey and strike from the dark when they least expect it

The entire game takes place within Arkham Asylum, where The Joker and his allies have overtaken the facility and set a trap for Batman. This is no simplistic beat 'em-up though, with Batman forced to prove his status as the world's greatest detective with a number of complex forensic-style puzzles.

When it does come to combat though you must still use your cunning as much as your fists, as you stalk unaware enemies and distract them with the bodies or screams of their cronies. With believable physics, superb graphics and a serious adult tone this is more than just another superhero tie-in.

Key Features

• Rogue's gallery: Battle all of Batman's greatest foes, including The Joker, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc.
• Final Knight: Gain experience from fights and puzzles to improve and add to Batman's abilities via a role-playing game style skill tree that lets you customise the Dark Knight as you see fit.
• Dynamic duo: Target the most dangerous foes from the shadows with a special takedown move and then move in to stun or attack opponents with the game's intuitive combo system.
• Detective comics: Batman must use his brain as well as his brawn, with CSI-style puzzles solved by an array of bat-gadgets including a multi-use interactive visor.
• Animated avenger: An original story written by comic book and Batman: The Animated Series legend Paul Dini -- plus Kevin Conroy as the voice of Batman and Mark Hamill as The Joker.

About the Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Only found founded in 2004, this London based developer's first game was the well received first person shoot 'em-up Urban Chaos: Riot Response for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Their first game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (and PC) is comic book license Batman: Arkham Asylum.

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Customer Reviews

What a great game....
OK so I got this game yesterday and spent till the early hours this morning playing it. I will be honest I was slightly sceptical when purchasing this title on the sole basis that it is a computer game based on a comic book character (Which never usually works), however this one game could have made up for all of the previous comic book character games shortfalls.
The main part of the game focuses on one particular story, the Joker taking over Arkham asylm, however as you progress through the game you meet other well known super villains such as the Scarecrow and Bane. I have played around 8 hours into the main story mode so far and I know that I still have to meet posion Ivy and Killer Croc, as well as beating Harley Quinn and the Joker so the depth of the main stroyline is immense. Add in the additional challenge of solving and finding all 240 of the Riddlers challenge, which in itself is really hard. I can see me replaying through the main mission to batman quite a few times.
As well as the story mode you are also presented with a challenge mode, which gives you the options of beating other people online through score tables. These challenges vary from beating up a select few thugs to a timed challenge being stealthy and taking out goons with guns. If you are quite into trying to top the tables on line this is a great addition to the game itself.
Graphics and sound in the game are fantastic, and sometimes it does present a distinct eerie feel to it when meeting some villans (I dont wanna spoil too much for you).
The gameply itself is certainly original. The only other game I could really compare this to is Metal Gear solid. You do have to think how you can sneak up on bad guys or formulate a plan to take out several people with guns. This can vary from using a grapple hook to climb high, to hiding in drain pipes. Each boss battle requires a different set of skills to defeat them from staying out of their glare to using the batarang to stun them so you can hit them.
If I was to be hyper critical and point out a flaw in the game it would be the depth of the manual. It just doesnt really go into the game to much, however the game does have ingame teaching in a very subtle way which compensates for this.
Overall I have given Batman a 5 star because it is one of the most original games I have played this year. My only hope is they do a sequel, on the cover it states that Xbox world gave it 95% and Gamesmaster gave it 96% review which I think the game richly deserves.
Thank you for your time reading my review.

Lives up to the hype
"I set a trap, and you sprung it gloriously"...And with these words, spoken by a maniacal (and superbly voiced) Joker, begins one of the first ever superhero videogames that actually FEELS like a superhero game.

I won't go too much into the storyline; much of that is everywhere on the internet, and also in these Amazon reader reviews. Rather, I will talk about the many things the game does right, and also the one or two small things it doesn't quite nail.

First and foremost, it must be said that the Batman portrayed in Batman: Arkham Asylum is perhaps one of the best renderings of the iconic hero outside of the comics and graphic novels. Strong-willed, resourceful, forward-thinking, brooding, supercool...everything that makes a good Batman is there, brought to the fore and exploited by the game designers with amazing results. Add to that Kevin Conroy's tone-perfect voice acting, and you have a Batman that stands out in his own right as one of the franchise's finest embodiments of the character.

The same can be said about the lead villain, The Joker. There is something so charismatic, so appealing about this Joker that his cut scenes are an absolute joy to watch...you can't help but be mesmerized at his movements and his crazy laughter. And although the plot is pretty flat and standard madman-hatches-a-crazy-plan fare, this Joker takes the scenario to a new level simply because you believe that this character is, in fact, completely insane in a chillingly calculating way.

Other villains that make their appearances are treated with similar respect. Even the more recent addition to the Batverse, Harley Quinn, is portrayed well here, despite being in a completely reworked costume (do not believe the comic book geeks on the forums - the changes made to her outfit are for the better).

For true Batman fans, the game features plenty of nods to many of the series characters in the form of artefacts to be found around Arkham Asylum. Finding these unlocks character biographies and fact sheets. Some of the more important villains featured in the game are fleshed out even further with interview tapes detailing some back stories and scenarios not really pertinent to the game - but which add to the entire experience.

The combat is relatively simple and easy to execute, and yet surprisingly deep. Once you have mastered the controls, you can't help but try string together combos to get a freeflow bonus. The animations for Batman's fighting style, incorporating various types of martial arts moves, is expertly implemented. Not only that, but some really cool gadgets (and of course the old faithful Batarang) are added into the mix. The result is a fluid and ridiculously addictive gameplay mechanic that carries over into the non-storyline challenges. Be warned though - these combat and stealth challenges are nefariously tweaked to result in a "just-one-more-try" effect at 2 in the morning...

The two distinct types of combat also help to keep things fresh. The combat against unarmed foes relies on your reactions and ability to string together combos. The combat against armed gunmen, however, requires a completely different, stealth-based approach. Very few things come close to making you feel like the Batman quite like picking off your enemies silently, one by one.

Although Batman: AA very definitely lives up to the hype surrounding it, there are some small issues here and there. The most disappointing of these are the boss fights. Most of them are relatively samey, relying heavily on Batman's Batarang and his ability to dodge attacks. Don't get me wrong: the bosses are fun to fight. However, a little more inspiration and variety would have gone a long way, especially with the anticlimactic final battle.

Also, every now and then the controls are just not precise enough - on a handful of occasions I tried to drop in silently behind an armed enemy so that I could perform a silent takedown, only to find myself landing directly in front of aforementioned enemy with an assault rifle pointed at my cowl. Holy unexpected death, Batman.

So then, a quick summary of my feelings:

+ Batman! Joker! Brilliantly and lovingly depicted.
+ Almost like a walk through a museum of the Batman universe.
+ Gameplay is solid.
+ Incredible (and I mean that) graphics, audio, and soundtrack.

- Disappointing and samey boss fights
- Controls not always precise enough (but not REALLY problematic)
- Sometimes the camera gets itself into really awkward and unhelpful positions.

All in all, forget the fact that this is a licensed game. Don't consider whether or not you are a Batman fan. Just get the game. It is a superb piece of entertainment that will immerse you, surprise you, and keep you interested. And it will make you feel like a superhero to boot. Result!

Batman, on one too many protein shakes, tramples on the Arkham bugs
What a refreshing experience from all the cheapo movie tie ins that mar the gaming market these days!

STORY
BAA is a standalone story by Paul Dini, who worked on the batman animated features. Arkham asylum, the involuntary home of supercriminals, has had an island wide revolt led by the joker. This leads you to traverse the island hunting him down while helping out allies such as Gordon along the way. The dialogue is witty throughout and its obvious a lot of work went into this. While the main story is linear, it still provides you with enough flexibility in each scene to act as tactfully as you wish.

GAMEPLAY
The basic mechanic is a punch button, a counter button, and a few gadgets to add some spice to your takedown methods and to access new areas. The punch and counter system is surprisingly responsive and not the button bashing session I imagined it to be.

While very solid, I very quickly found something lacking in the gameplay that slightly retracted from the essence of batman, and that was his unity with darkness. This game lacks the lighting depth of say the splinter cell series where your inhabitance of the dark is your primary weapon. It would have been very satisfying to step out of the dark to shock your enemy into submission.

The context sensitive nature of the grapple also felt limited. By this I mean you could only latch on to the surrounding gargoyles or ledges as preordained by the developers. I imagined having a grapple would mean that you could latch yourself to any surface, and cope with a much more realistic level of detection by the enemy. This way you could truly use the environment to take down your enemies as opposed to using a selection of predestined routes. As it stood the gargoyle system just made things a little too easy as you are virtually invisible swinging across these.

I Found the equipment was slightly limited, there were some batarangs that I felt were missed, such as an explosive one, electrical one, and one that signals the bats to come in to pick at the unfortunate victim. Possibly we needed the ability to combine items like the explosive gel and the batarang to add some extra depth to the upgrade system. In fact the upgrades felt slightly underwhelming, I did not get the feeling of being more powerful later on in the game than at the beginning.

Theres a detective mode which you can turn on which highlights key things in your environment and gives you an Xray view of where all the enemies in the room are. While this is very helpful to have, in retrospect this makes the game too easy. The temptation is there to play the whole game in detective mode, which also means you'll miss out on the lush graphics this game has to offer.

CHARACTERS
The general character designs in this game are excellent. Usually when modern media tries to reinvent classic characters it leads to dismay when the designers completely misunderstand the essence of a character. Thankfully here the villains are wonderfully realised. The joker is an outstanding lunatic voiced by Mark Hamil who voices the joker in animated features. He generally talks through the asylum through out the whole game in twisted comical fashion and its great at creating a cohesive atmosphere and sense of direction to your actions.

There are many supervillains to encounter, the first time meeting scarecrow I was very impressed with the atmosphere built up, the sound effects, the way he emerges into view and his awesome facial redesign, the game engines ability to morph the environment for a hallucinatory experience, this whole scene was just spot on and is a repeated standard across the rest of the game.

General henchmen also get a good degree of dialogue, there must be hours of dialogue which you can listen in on before you decide to take them down. The way they get scared and as you pick their colleagues off is a nice touch.

I think though that the weakest imagined character is batman himself. While the voice of Kevin Conroy is really the best batman there is and easily outshines the vocal impressions of the live action film actors, the massive beefed up physique here is what feels out of place and it just comes across as completely unstealthy. He has the image that he just wants to hit everything in sight even though the gameplay does not suggest this approach.

LONGEVEITY
Playing through the story on normal mode there's a game of fair length, maybe around 15 hours, I'm playing it through on hard mode now and finding only the hand to hand henchman combat more difficult. This makes the game a bit more balanced to play but that just means that normal mode was maybe too easy. So I cant suggest that there is much value in replaying this on harder settings. For completionists there are 240 Riddles to solve which mainly involve picking up special items and taking pictures at the right location, this can extend the game time and grants you more experience points, but the limited number of upgrades available makes these extra XP a moot point.

There is challenge mode which provides little set piece snippets for you to replay under a certain style, like trying to take out everyone in the room without being detected. As such they're not really making the game larger but just giving you incentive to play through the same scene again in a more skilful way.

OVERALL
A beautifully rich and atmospheric journey defines this as the best existing comic adaptation game there is. While gameplay is solid as it stands, it could do with a few additions that hopefully would be present in an eagerly awaited sequel.