Today marks the release date for one of the most talked about video games in quite a long time: Batman: Arkham Asylum.
In case you’re like me and you’re not much of a gamer and you haven’t seen much about the game itself, check out the trailer:
That’s pretty damned impressive. It’s almost enough to make one want to buy an X-Box 360.
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I’m picking up my copy this afternoon after work, and I can’t wait. The demo was awesome and the reviews have been strong, so I’m ready for it.
OMG this game is gonna rock! i loved the demo and it’s been getting GREAT reviews! it’s about time we’ve gotten a good batman game! Im trading in my copy of Fable 2 today and picking it up right after work. My girlfriend will get pissed at me because this will DOMINATE my time until i beat it
@Conor If you are seriously thinking about picking up a system to play this game, i recommend getting the PS3 version, it actually lets you play as the Joker!
I want to get this game but I have otehr games to finish first and I still need to buy prototype. I may rent this or wait and buy later. I’ve been playing the hell out of the demo.
@JesTr: Why do you NEED to buy Prototype? Is it a medicine?
Any chance we will be getting an audio show reviewing this? Or perhaps a video show discussing your favorite comic book based video games?
P.S. The youtube embed is showing up twice (stacked) in Chrome and IE8, but is fine in FF3.
Oh, and you can also get this for your PC, so you don’t need to buy an X-Box (or PS3) to play it.
I tried the demo, wasn’t all that impressed. Great voice acting, strong visuals. There’s something missing in the game play. I was really hoping for a Batman themed Assassin’s Creed. Told TNC as much, now he doesn’t talk to me.
@Stuclach: Check the specs before you get this on your PC. Looks like it needs at least 256MB of video memory and reccomends 512MB and 2gb or RAM. You might be able to buy a $200 with the money you’d spend on upgrading your pc.
@ato220 – I would likely need to upgrade my vid card to pull this game off, but these guys likely have some pretty stout machines if they are doing hours of HD video editing every week. What did you think was missing from the gameplay? To simplistic or just clunky?
Suppose to be the best Batman game ever, and trust me I have played them all. Pretty excited for this, in spite of the off-putting character designs.
I’m really torn on whether to buy this for the PS3 or 360. I mean, I LOVE. LOVE achievements on my Xbox. Weird in a way, yes, but I can’t help it. But, with the PS3 version you can play as the Joker, as mentioned, which is also very appealing. Quite the dilema. Going to take the day to mull it over, and pick it up tomorrow after work instead of today. Hopefully it won’t sell out or anything…
@Brian-Doesn’t the PS3 have trophies? I have no idea of they are the same as achievements, but it’s something. Given the choice, I would gladly take extra content in my game over being an achievement whore 😉
Wasn’t going to get it, but when i saw that futureshop was selling it for $38 I had to get it. So far I am loving the game.
It’s gonna be AWESOME
@mattaber HOLY CRAP! 38$! that’s an incredible price! thanks for the heads up
@stulach: Probably run fine, but there’s some differences in graphics cards and video editing and those required for gaming performance.
@drakdangerz: Yes, PS3 has trophies, but I think that since they weren’t available day one, they mean less. I’m willing to bet that the 360 version has the Joker available as DLC at some point.
@odino1: I’ve just want to play Prototype since it was released, it looks fun.
I’m hearing the words:
‘Greatest comic book video game ever’ from a lot of critical reviews. That makes me giddy.
I have played the demo to death and I cannot wait for this. The action was smooth and just picking off thugs quick and quitely was exactely how you play as Batman. I just need $60 and I’m ready to go!
@ato220-Nothing was mentioned about whether the Joker stuff was a timed exclusive to PS3. So yeah, it could at some point be available for the 360, but it’s not a guarantee.
@stuclach: Very little chance of either one happening. We are so far from being gamers.
@conor: But maybe a ‘sister’ site could do the job right? *wink wink*
@conor – That is a shame. I enjoyed listening to you guys review games (and TV and movies) on your old year end pop culture podcasts. Was the last one 2 years ago? I feel old.
Not really a gamer. I’m a casual gamer at best. Like to play games with my son. That said, comic book properties always make me giddy (and often disappoint).
However, I have played the demo for this and I enjoyed it. I’ll probably pick it up.
@daccampo this one has been getting rave reviews. 1up gave it an A- and IGN gave it a 9.0 (i believe)
I played the demo and hated it. Everything, including the rain and Batman’s cape, appeared to be made of plastic and the combat was wonky. Add in a swinging camera and this game gave me instant motion sickness and ennui.
My favorite moment in the demo so far (and I’m sure it’ll be in the full game as well) is the counter system.
Nothing is more badass then standing still with a bunch of thugs around you. Then one suddenly charges you, attempts to punch you, then you counter it by grabbing his fist and kicking him in the face. God that makes me smile so much.
If somebody were playing this for me and I could just watch, I might enjoy it. I didn’t think that the grapple mechanics, the combat was essentially button mashing and the stealth bits were particularly unenjoyable. Sorry for the review and the negative outlook. I don’t think that this game is all bad, its about as good as MK vs. DCU.
I played the demo and my only problem was you are defenseless at long range. In this game Bats Vs. guns, guns will probably win. You need to utilize stealth in order to survive. This incoporates the stealthy elimates from Assassins Creed or Metal Gear.
I’ve heard tons of great things about this game. I cant wait to play it. People definitly need to get the PS3 version though, it comes with more missions, that arent included on the 360 version, where you play as the Joker.
Playing as the Joker is a PS3 exclusive and I am extremely excited for this game. After struggling through Hellboy: The Science of Evil (The definition of a button masher), I am excited for the other aspects of this gamet that they are playing up from the hands on that I have read. More to come after I pick it up after work.
Just got the game today. Other than brawling and kicking-a** as Batman, I’m really looking forward to unlocking all the character profiles of all the Batman Villains and solving all of Riddler’s challenges all through out Arkham.
I was going to wait until this went down in price after a few months, but you people are making me question that…
Grrr…
I’m taking a bit of a break right now from the game. Rented it today as I was urged by an unknown voice in my head to do so. Initial thoughts:
This game has incredible atmosphere. The opening cut scenes (which is much longer than the demo’s) sets everything up and Mark Hamill as the Joker is hilarious. Actual combat is pretty smooth for the most part. When I get better upgrades I’ll get better at it.
My only two problem at the moment is Detective Mode. It’s a great use of technology in the game but your gonna be on it a lot. The graphics are incredible but you wouldn’t know it cause your gonna use this a lot.
I’m only an hour or hour and a half into it but I have enjoyed this experience. I’ll be playing more and commenting about it in the next couple of days.
I wasn’t sure if I was definitely going to get this right away…but it’s been getting really good reviews and the demo is a lot of fun. I think I will probably be getting this in September, once I get paid mid-month.
@JesTr – I am playing Prototype right now and I am really enjoying it. If you don’t mind tons of gore you’ll probably think it’s pretty fun. Plus, you can elbow drop a tank.
Picked it up today from Best Buy. I was told they only had 4-non-reserve copies. However, when I asked for the game no one asked if I had reserved it or not. Mind, they had a ton of them falling off the shelves and the girl at the counter looked ever so pleased to be waiting on a geek. (To my credit, I did have Flight of the Conchords as well.) It was funny though, the guy infront of me was buying the game, Smallville and Green Lantern. However, he was rocking out to his headphones so I couldn’t give him a thumbs up. Sadly, I won’t be able to play this until I finish my thesis.
I’ve never played a good Batman video game. I’m just saying…
I’m so pissed off. This game has the worst fucking navigation out of any game I’ve played on PS3. The fighting is fun when you are actually fighting, but when you are stuck in some yard where it keeps telling you to get to the batmobile but the map doesn’t make any fucking sense and leads your further away from where u need 2 b everytime I fucking look at the thing, that isn’t fun.
I’m so pissed off that I can’t even play the damn game now. I was literally walking around in that yard for two hours going in every door I could trying to get to the next part of the game with no avail. This is worse then that part in the Wolverine game where you are falling from the sky on that big robot. You have to keep tapping to fuck up the thing on his chest but he keeps shooting you off with his eyes. There is a glitch in that part of the game that makes you do the same damn thing a thousand times no matter how hard you tap on the controller button. I’m not the only one, check the message boards on IGN.
See, this is the kind of shit that pisses me off about video games. I can understand the map on Call Of Duty. I can understand where to go with absolutely no problem in Infamous. Red Faction practically puts arrows in the middle of the road showing you your next location. Why can’t Batman, a game that I’ve been waiting to play for months and months, have a navigation system that makes so kind of fucking sense. The damn thing doesn’t even have a legend so you know what symbolizes what. No compass either. You don’t know if Batman is going north, south, east, west, or any variation. WHAT THE FUCK!!
I’d rather play Hannah Montana right now.
It would be great to hear your thoughts on the game Conor. It really nails the look and feel of Batman. It has the voices from the animated series and the story was written by Paul Dini. You don’t need to be a "gamer" to enjoy this adventure.
I think this game rocks. I picked it up today. I haven’t been able to put it down. It has some really intense parts in this game. I have only gone 7% through the game and I am really liking it. Controls were a little weird at first but I am already used. There is really not too much I don’t like about this game. It does of a crap load of stuff I do like. The Design is freaken incredible. The asylum does give you the creeps as you walk around. Also, the voice acting with the animated series cast is really good. Although, the best thing about this game for me is the story. Paul Dini really added some very unsettling story lines to the game. I haven’t enjoyed a game this much in a while. I give a 5 star rating.
@SamIAm: But I would need to be a gamer to have a gaming system. 🙂
Maybe Josh will get it/rent it.
Played for quite a few hours today, on and off, on my PS3. Just got past Bane, and decided to call it a night. The game gets better and better the deeper you get into it– if you have only played the Demo, or have only played an hour or two, you ain’t see nuthin’ yet.
It is quite simply the best comic book video game ever made.
I had absolutely no problems with the maps, or with anything else mechanics-wise in the game. I’m far from a hardcore gamer, but was able to pick everything up so far relatively easily.
I’m at the point with trying to find a doctor. I won’t say who cause it might be spoilers.
Still very impressed at the atmosphere, the fighting, and the graphics. The ‘Detective’ mode is still being used to much for my liking. But that’s only because you have enemies to examine; structures to break, clues to find by the Riddler, and a whole lot more.
What I like about this the most is that I have no idea what’s going to happen. As long as the story is spoiled then I will continue to play this just by intrigue.
Love the game, best game I’ve played in a while. Had to pull myself from it.
I’ve been playing this for a few hours and i have to say i am really enjoying it. It seems to have taken something from all of batman’s better incarnations such as the voices from the animated series, the comic book style (even though i think batman’s forearms look way too big), and it even draws from The Dark Knight with the detective vision that allows you to see enemies from far away. Im not an avid gamer but i couldn’t resist picking this up and i get some riddler which is awesome (even though i wish they would have used John Glover)…
@robbydzwonar Uh, it took me like two minutes to find the Batmobile. The little pointy bit on the bat icon on the map is the direction you’re facing. You don’t really need cardinal directions. Particularly since in that part you were supposed to be following Gordon’s tobacco trail anyways.
I’m several hours into the game…been playing it off and on since this morning. I’ve played most, if not all, Batman games, but this is the first time I felt they got it right. I think it was Game Informer who said that this game has the best atmosphere since the game of the year from a couple of years back, Bioshock, and they are right. This game can get a tad creepy and all, like time at Arkham Asylum should, even down to hearing the Riddler talk about dismembered babies. I thought the characters look weird, but in context of this game world it still makes since, even to Batman looking like he’s wearing body armor. I also notice the suit gets wear and tear as you progress. It’s fun getting new Tech, using them to solve problems, or tackle enemies. So far, every "big" villain and your fight with them feels right. On the 360 or PS3 thing, I say just buy the game and enjoy. I’m betting that the Joker stuff will be available eventually, but I want to solve the Riddler stuff, and complete challnges until then. This game gets two sore from playing thumbs up from me.
This game is so very awesome. It’s definitely one of the strongest comic book based games I’ve ever played. I had that moment last night when the wife asked me if I was coming to bed, I said that I would be in a minute, and an hour later I finally turned the game off.
I played it for a good 5 hours yesterday and i couldn’t believe the amount of variety in this game. Usually these sort fo games are very formulaic but in this case it really felt like they switched things up. The combat felt very viceral even though it was pretty simplified. the sotry and voice acting were spot on and you could tell they’ve made it for fans of the source material. The highlight is definitely the detective mode. I love that they’ve finally brought this important element into a batman game. i’ve never seen this type of element in a game. usually i plow through a game but this one i find myself taking my time exploring the environment. which brings me to the riddler challenges. I’ve never enjoyed side quests as much as these. in some cases they’re really puzzling but truly fun to decypher. I would probably have made it a lot further in the game had i not spent so much time hunting for riddler clues.
The fear element is also a highlight. i loved being dropped into a room and trying to figure out how to take all the baddies out one by one. I like scaring them into changing thier routine and i loved how the game offered me a number of option in how i could take them out. Great stuff.
Finally, the boss battles were each unique and spot on. The scarecrow stuff was truly terrifying, especially in surround sound, it was damn creepy
@robbytdzwonar you know there’s an in game map right?
The map didn’t make no damn sense to me. No legend so you know what means what. No north, south, east, west, or any variation. And no matter which way Batman is facing, the little Bat-symbol on the map stays upward. I don’t know what the hell that other dude was talking about. Guess he has the 360 version or something? I didn’t remember hearing anything about Gordon’s tobacco. I thought I was on the trail of somebody’s alcohol breath until I found him dead. I’ll give it another try after I read my books later. No too excited about it anymore.
The voice is so annoying too. I hate how Batman talks to himself! And Kevin Conroy’s voice has changed a little. I played an episode of Batman: The Animated Series on iTunes on my laptop side by side with the game and his voice is definitely more deep now. You can tell he has aged.
yep, i’ll definetly be mooching off my richer friends with this one. they’ll wake up and fnd me in there house playing this. its gonna be sweet.
Picked up the game today on my lunch break, and have since played a couple hours of it. Man, really glad I decided to give this a shot, and I found it for $38 which makes it all the sweeter. LOVE this game so far. LOVE. I FEEL like Batman the way Spider-Man 2 made me FEEL like Spidey, and at the end of the day that’s really what I’m looking for from one of these games.
Best Batman game ever? Absolutely…best comic book game ever? Probably.
I ended up getting the game for the 360, because I’m an achievement whore. I am curious what playing as the Joker would’ve been like though…
I was up until 3am playing this game. The combat is great. I love swooping down into combat. I can already tell that I am going to be meticulously collecting thsoe riddles.
People who say there hasn’t been a good Batman game up until now obviously have never played Lego Batman!
🙂
@conor
Lego Batman isn’t a good Batman game.
Anyway saw this at Fry’s for $50 (and I have a $100 gift card there) but I didn’t bite. I owe too many people cash and I could probably get $90 for the gift card.
I disagree!
The Scarecrow moments are the best parts of the game.
When you confront him for the second time it’s the best moment of the game. When you play it you’ll see why it’s the greatest moment ever. I love this game so much.
@robbydzwonar I have the ps3 version and it is not that hard to find the batmobile. In the mini map the little point on the bat symbol tells you which way your facing. For me it took about 1 minute to find it…
you should really get the pc version conor.
heres a link to custom costumes fans are making for the game.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Gd8NBIma-zo/SbqV_X6ZeOI/AAAAAAAAHyU/t–FELhIKB4/s400/BattleForTheCowl1+-+robinisbatman.jpg
if you like the show, then you will like the game…. gamer or not
I suppose no one has love for Batman Begins… this is why there should have been a Dark Knight License (still only has a PS2 & Wii =/)
Not much of a gamer myself. Mostly because I really don’t want to shell out those bones for a system. Also, I have too much to write and draw to get distracted by that whole thing.
Having said that, this game looks good. I always liked the Batman and Robin game that came out for, I think the 64, and was based off the animated show. It was pretty cool.
I just realized that I dated myself a bit. Whoo-boy.
I’m about four hours into the game and I’m enjoying it. Happy to see a licensed game that’s not horribly unpolished. Smart of the developers to acquire the voice talent from the animated series.
This game gave me a Bat boner.
I’m going to do a review for this on the sister site eventually. But I did finish the game and I wanna make a couple of quick (non-spoiler) points.
A) The Scarecrow seqences are the best in the game without a doubt. Especially the last two encounters which are very imaginative and fun to play.
B) Navigating the sewers with Killer Croc sniffing around is the scariest part I’ve played in a game.
C) What a disappointing and bad final encounter. I won’t state what happens when fighting The Joker but….god it feels like the developers didn’t have much time thinking of this. Ending is very blah storywise as well. If they wanted to make this like the Morrison ‘Arkham Asylum’ type of plot then they failed miserably.
Overall I would give this game a 9/10. If it wasn’t for the terrible ending portions then I would rate it much higher. (Maybe even a perfect score)
@TheNextChampion have you beaten it? i didn’t know there was a second scarecrow encounter
what sister site?
@vadamowens – I assume he is referring to murmur.com. It is also owned by Great Northern Media.
Best Batman game. One of the top 5 superhero game.
@mikegraham: I don’t wanna give too much away, until I guess it’s okay to do so. But you do fight Scarecrow about 3 times in the course of the game.
Yes I was also referring to murmur.com 🙂
@TheNextChampion Yeah i just got through the first second yesterday night, the set up was pretty epic. I alway love when they revisit that particular aspect of Batman (if you know what i mean – i don’t want to give it away)
I just beat Harley Quinn last night, I’ve really extended my play time with this game. I usually plow through a game’s main story and then shelf it, but this one im taking my time and enjoying. i love exploring the lush environments, they’ve done a great job setting it up. Plus i tend to spend a lot of time doing the riddler challenges as i go. If there’s a riddle associated with the room, i won’t move on until i’ve solved it (sometimes it can get pretty frustrating when you realize you need an upgraded weapon to reach the clue and you haven’t gotten the weapon yet, basically wasting your time)
@brattyben: AMEN TO THAT BROTHA. Who wants to find the moola for a system simply to play for a few hours one day only to put it away and let it pick up dust. I’d rather spend that amount of cash on the next month’s worth of comics (in my case it’s 2 due to my cutbacks). The demo was fun in the EA Game store, that’s as much as I really need, plus I can always youtube and have a nice few minutes of viewing should I have the urge to view the gameplay.
Bottom line: it was fun for a few minutes, now it’s time to get back to finishing my script.