Video Game Review with James Paradie: Batman - Arkham Asylum

 

Back in August of 2009, a game would come out that would mark the beginning of one of the greatest game franchises ever. That game is Batman Arkham Asylum.

You play as the World's Greatest Detective himself, Batman. You've just picked up notorious, arch-nemesis, the Joker, and bring him to Arkham Asylum. This is the place where Gotham's most heinous, grotesque, sociopath psychopaths are incarcerated for their crimes against the innocent. Batman thinks something is odd about how Joker was simply too easy to capture, so he decides to escort him to his cell. It doesn't happen. Joker ends up killing one of the guards by straggling the life out of him, while Batman can't do anything, but watch. Finally, after breaking through the bullet proof glass, he is too late. Someone has hacked into the security system and the Joker escapes. Who was this that helped him? 

 

It is, of course, the very sexy Harley Quinn, Joker's female equal of madness. But she just has to help her Mr. J! Her puddin'! And kids, if you don't know what that means, look up Batman: The Animated Series and you will throw your Spongebob collection out the window and realize us 90's kids had it way too good. Gloating aside, Batman must save the day. It is what he does. He is Gotham's protector. But even he admits that this time he doesn't think he can stop the Joker. There could be a couple of reasons for that. 

1. 

 

BANE! Before Christopher Nolan gave him the ... oh, hell, even I have to admit it ... the sexy, Sean Connery like voice in the Dark Knight Rises, he was a Latino with a massive build due to a drug known as Venom. But Batman eats guys like Bane for breakfast and asks for seconds! Why ... he's the goddamn Batman that's why! 

2. 

 

Then there's this mother-f*cker! Sorry, hey, at least I bleeped it. No, I shouldn't have bleeped it. This guy pisses me off. His boss fight isn't hard ... he just scares the shit out of me. There! I admitted it! That and you just don't know where he is coming from. You'll have to play the game to find out or Youtube his boss fight. But Killer Croc is an admiral foe, though not used in the comics as much as Bane, Joker, or hell even the Mad Hatter. His presence is due to a form of atavism which gives him a reptilian look. Could Bruce Wayne use pair of crocodile skin boots?  

3. 

"At the end of fear ... oblivion!" I have this game to thank for my love of Scarecrow. I did really like him in Batman Begins, but this game sealed the deal.  Scarecrow, formerly known as Dr. Johnathan Crane, was a former psychiatrist turned psychopath who uses fear to his advantage. His boss battle(s) in this game are now gaming legend. You face him three times in a horrifying game of hide and seek. Scarecrow will be back later in this review. 

These are just three of the boss battles in this game. There are more. 

My Review: 

As you can see even by me describing the game, I love this game. It started a gaming series that I hold near and dear to my heart. The Arkham series wouldn't come to tuition without this game. Though not better than it's successor Arkham City, this game is still very fun to play and seems to never get old. The voice acting is terrific and spot on for what you should expect in Batman. Mark Hamill, as Joker, is fantastic. Us Batman fans miss him terribly as the Joker. One more game! One more game! One more game!

Anyways, this game is actually very atmospheric. Not as scary as say Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but it is far darker and grittier than Arkham City, in my opinion. My favorite moment has to be ... you guessed it ... anything to do with Scarecrow. Like I said, his boss battles are now legend amongst gamers, which is probably why fans beg game developers like Rocksteady and WB Montreal to bring the fear back to the Arkham series. Our pleas have gone unanswered, but they did leave an Easter Egg in Arkham City depicting that Scarecrow could be back in Arkham 3 (rumored to be titled Arkham Knight.) If you need to know what I mean by his boss battles, I have you covered, just watch this. 

I love how there is a big assemble of Batman bad guys too. You not only have the main cast, such as Joker, Harley, Croc, Bane, Scarecrow, etc. But you have others too, like Poison Ivy and the Riddler (though he doesn't make a visual appearance). It makes for a great gaming experience. The free flow combat system is a plus too. Just imagine if you had to focus on an enemy before you can attack them. I would've have thrown my PS3 controller at my TV if that was the case. This is also where I found my love for stealth games. I could spend hours just screwing with the dumb bad guys and they have no idea where I am. It's awesome!

Rating: 

Masterpiece

Yes, it is true that Asylum is not as great as Arkham City, but still, you need to thank the stepping stone of this incredible gaming experience. Without Asylum, we wouldn't get City and to a lesser extent Arkham Origins (don't get me wrong, I loved it, but ... nevermind, I'll do a review on that later). Even with its sequels with new gadgets and mechanics, I still can't find any flaws in this game, so that's why it gets that rating. Pick it up and enjoy!