The Dark Knight is back once again to battle the criminally insane residents of Gotham City. With a dark feel and more classic villains than you can shake a Batarang at; this installment is not to be missed.

Story

Following the comic mythos and written by long running Batman writer Paul Dini; the story follows the Caped Crusader as he is escorting his long time nemesis The Joker back to Arkham Island Asylum. However it all seemed too easy with The Joker not putting up much of a fight.

As The Joker is led back into the maximum security facility he breaks free prompting Batman to take things into his own hands; only to find this was all an elaborate scheme to trap him in the Asylum with the bloodthirsty inmates, many of which were put there by him.

From here on Batman will need to use his keen detective skills and some good all fashioned butt whoopin’ to make his way around the Island and uncover The Joker’s diabolical plan to destroy the city and everyone in it.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Batman: Arkham Asylum is exceptionally well executed; mixing both stealth detective style gameplay and full tilt hand to hand combat. You will find yourself sneaking around the island in hidden ventilation shafts or swinging from Gargoyles in the rafters; to swooping in from above into the middle of a group of thugs and dispatching them with a few well placed punches and kicks.

The combat system itself is a welcome change to the usual button mashers out there; attacks must be timed perfectly with counter moves to chain together impossible combos and bring down large groups of enemies. There is also the option to take out enemies by using stealth; setting traps with explosive gel to crush thugs under piles of rubble or hanging from a rooftop gargoyle and hog tying an enemy below it. The options are almost endless and it’s up to you to choose how you take care of enemies and these decisions will be critical to your survival, especially when enemies start carrying firearms.

Enemies themselves start out as various thugs; wearing painted on clown makeup or Silence of the Lambs style headgear. As you progress further into the game you will encounter new and more challenging enemies from deranged mental patients and shock stick wielding thugs to giant plant pods and genetically enhanced super maniacs!

Boss battles are also quite well done and you will find yourself facing some pretty mean characters from the comics such as Poison Ivy, Killer Croc and Scarecrow; not to mention The Joker himself (with a twist!). The battles are never the same and add real variety. The Scarecrow portions of the game have to be some of the best; getting injected with his hallucinogen create some epic and truly frightening moments as Batman starts to go as crazy as the inmates.

Another great aspect of the game is the detective gadgets you need to use throughout the game to track down your man. These include Batvision which can pick up traces of a certain alcohol in the air or a Chlorophyl tained fingerprint. or cracking a security pad with high frequency sound. Included in Batman’s extensive array of gadgets are also the trusty Batarang which can be used to knock down enemies and eventually through the upgrade system these can be remote controlled and thrown in pairs. To access more difficult areas Batman also has at his disposal grappling hooks, zip lines and a myriad of other cool knick knacks.

Graphics and Sound

Batman: Arkham Asylum is a generally great game to look at. The environments are detailed and dingy, really adding to feel of the Asylum. Characters are highly detailed and look amazing in high definition. There are a few issues with characters lips not syncing with their words however this is a minor qualm. The feel of the game is really due to the visuals. It’s very dark; how we have now come to know Batman since the recent film adaptations and the villains are no longer campy but extremely psychopathic. The sound is also great with punches and kicks having a real weight to them and the atmospheric sound adds to the tension; especially when creeping through Killer Croc’s sewer lair, ready to pounce out of the murky water at any time.

The voice acting is also top notch and most of the voices are taken from the recent cartoon series with Kevin Conway as Batman and of course Mark Hamill as The Joker.

Final Verdict

Overall this is a great game on its own; it’s also one of the best if not the best Batman game I have ever played. The developers have really captured what Batman is all about; being a detective, solving problems and also using martial arts skill to take out the baddies. The variety of enemies and the re imagined and often racy characters are all far beyond expectations.

There is also lot to do in the game apart from the main story with The Riddler having hidden question marks around the Island with clues on how to find them. If you have finished the story you can make your way back and find all of the questions marks for those of you who just need that gamerscore.

For those of you who love the new movies or love the original comics this is a great story and a top notch game. I would recommend to all of those with an Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.