Batman: Arkham Asylum

Regular readers will be aware from a large number of previous pieces, that I am very fond of the pointy-eared protector of Gotham City, so when I first heard about his new videogame outing I was keen to grab myself a copy. I’d played a Batman game before (the cartoon-inspired “Batman Vengeance”) and it was bad. Really bad. So bad I gave up half way through and started playing solitaire instead. Now, “Arkham Asylum” does have several things in common with “Vengeance”: it has some of the same vocal cast (Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamil and Arleen Sorkin all reprise their roles from the animated series); both use Batman’s characteristic arsenal of gadgets; and both are third person action games. With this in mind, I wasn’t expecting an awful lot from “Arkham”.

However, I am very pleased to report that my expectations were entirely wrong: “Batman: Arkham Asylum” is one of the best games I’ve played. The story, which to be fair is standard Bat-fare, is interesting and well-paced, covering some novel ground. The hand-to-hand combat is exhilarating, and though it’s possible to slog through by simply mashing buttons at random, the game rewards you for a more minimal, accurate approach. However it’s the stealth segments that really surprised me. I’d not played a stealth-based game before and was more than a little dubious, but there’s a great thrill when carefully picking off assorted goons from the shadows and watching their moods change from calm to terrified (having a few go crazy through fear is a nice touch) as their friends are bumped off! It even persuaded me to play through the challenge levels, trying out despatching them in different ways, while the nifty AI ensures that the hostiles never act the same way twice allowing for plenty of fun variation. Playing through the story mode, there’s plenty more variation to break up the action: from fiendishly tricky puzzles and a whole 240 riddles and things to find on the request of the Riddler, to boss battles and platform-like levels facing the Scarecrow in some spooky-looking dream sequences. Admittedly most of the boss battles are a bit weak, involving various different things to dodge and throw things at, but they break up the action nicely.

But that’s not all. Thanks to some beautiful designs, creepy locations (more than one reviewer has compared the use of atmosphere and setting to “Bioshock”) and exquisite vocals, it’s atmospheric and enticing; I refused to leave any area without searching it top to bottom or hanging around to catch every last bit of dialogue. I’ve long been a fan of Hamil, Conroy and Sorkin and they don’t disappoint. Hamil in particular, chewing up scenery as the Joker, is absolutely magnificent: he’s funny, he’s scary, and, since he spends most of the game yammering away over the loudspeakers, he’s a constant malignant presence; gloating, cruel and anarchic. Even dying becomes a bit of a treat as we get some fun little sequences of the villains gloating, and no matter how many times I see Joker blow a raspberry and fall over backwards, it never gets old. The rest of the cast are similarly fun, I was particularly struck by Wally Wingert as the Riddler, keeping just the right balance between sinister and smug (and seriously, when has the Riddler ever been seemed this much like a serious threat?).  

Some of the character designs are less impressive than others: Scarecrow is clearly inspired by “Batman Begins” and Harley Quinn’s “sexy” new look (was the skin-tight catsuit not sexy?) just seems impractical. How on earth can she do gymnastics in a leather corset and platform thigh-high boots? Why ditch the cute jester hat for pigtails when hair is one of the few things badly animated? And more importantly, why do women in games HAVE to have their boobs on show? I mean, feminist ranting aside, there’s no need for Harley to be scantily clad. Poison Ivy’s lack of clothing is vaguely understandable, she’s a seductress afterall, but Harley? Has the Joker suddenly acquired a libido from somewhere? Because if he has he does a remarkable job of hiding it. The fact that she’s wearing a shirt with somebody else’s badge pinned to it suggests she’s been using that to gain access around Arkham, but that still doesn’t explain where she found the leather and fishnets. Somebody call the Dark Knight Dectective, we have a mystery on our hands!

There are other minor flaws too. Not being able to access certain things without the right gizmo meant I wasted hours running around in circles trying to get at them. The boss battles, as already mentioned, are irritatingly ordinary. There are also sequences that just don’t make sense, particularly those involving Scarecrow. Batman clearly knows all the villains beforehand, so why does he not notice the effects of the fear gas? Why wonder around in amazement falling for every illusion in front of him? He could at least say “this sensation is familiar” or something! Most of the time Batman would acknowledge that he was walking into a trap, but apparently the fear gas causes memory loss. Actually, the Scarecrow levels annoyed me. Not just because of Batman’s memory lapses, or because of Scarecrow’s irritating laugh, but because several times I had to wait for hints when I died before I knew how to continue but thankfully these sections were short enough not to be too much of an annoyance. The lip-synching could use some work too, and hair tends to look like it’s had enough spray put through it to keep a New Romantic band supplied for a year, but again, these are minor foibles.

There’s plenty of fun to distract from such irritations, especially if, like me, you’re a fan of the comics. Finding certain things unlocks character biographies which cover everyone from Batman himself to obscure villains like Calendar Man, Prometheus and Maxie Zeus. Plus there are a series of wonderful “patient interviews” to be found, brilliantly performed dialogues between the crazies and their doctors, adding a few new narratives to the game (and the Harley Quinn ones are taken directly from the “Mad Love” graphic novel, to my delight). If that wasn’t enough there’s one last creepy mystery involving the “spirit” of the asylum’s founder, which reminded me a little of the seminal graphic novel also entitled “Arkham Asylum”. If you’re not an avid Bat-fan you may find some of the riddles a little obscure, but if you are you’ll be smirking with glee with every lovingly recreated cell.

So, despite a few little problems that can start to grate after a while, this is a really enjoyable game. It’s full of nice little details, clever gameplay and even cleverer performances. It really is a must for anyone who likes Batman and for anyone who likes exploring well-crafted environments… and for anyone who likes stealth games, or action games or… hell, it’s a must for pretty much anybody!