I bought Batman: Arkham Asylum when it shipped, Tuesday morning. It was actually, by happenstance, the day that my new Xbox arrived from Amazon and so I was excited to play on my Xbox, but I had heard really good things about Batman and had enjoyed the demo.
I got my copy from Toys ‘R Us, which was running a promotion where I got a $30 gift card when buying it, making it only “cost” $30. It also meant that we could use the gift card later that day to get the new Professor Layton.
I haven’t been as immediately captured by one game in a long time. I think about the game several times a day and have played it thoroughly the past two nights, staying up against my own better judgment until past 2 in the morning.
What makes Batman so good? Why do I enjoy so much?
Feeling of Power
The biggest thing that Batman brings to the table is giving the player a great sense of a feeling of power – of actually being a superhero – without making combat a walk in the park. The combo combat system (and Batman’s extreme weakness to firearms) makes every encounter interesting and challenging, without ever making it feel like a single goon could legitimately take down Batman in hand-to-hand combat.
Combat, sparingly
At the same time, the level design has it such that moments of combat are used sparingly and thus retain maximum effect and enjoyment when they do occur. Most of the time, Batman is crawling through vents, using his detective skills to look for a way in or a way out, or a way to get the upper hand in an upcoming fight before the enemies even know he’s there. It makes being Batman feel like being Batman; after all, it’s not about beating up guys all the time. It also makes me hold future combat encounters with extreme anticipation.
Open (enough) world
The story is directed enough that you can follow it through new location after new location, with some small revisiting of the open grounds of Arkham Island. But if you take your time and try to get a good number of collectibles (cleverly masked as Riddler Challenges), the grounds are large enough to feel like you’ve room to explore without being so large that you lose your bearings. Many of the events are scripted so the world isn’t truly an open and living one, but the story flows quickly enough that there’s always something new to discover, even in places you’ve already explored.
Polish
The game looks great. The voice acting is solid. The writing is decent. All of the gadgets feel powerful and useful, and playing as Batman feels badass. The entire experience feels very polished, so you spend less time finding small gripes and more time being Batman.
You’re Batman
And the game delivers on this feeling in spades. What else would you want?