Review: Batman Arkham Asylum (Videogame)
One of the most iconic fictional characters created in the XX century is without a doubt Batman, a superhero without superpowers who uses his physical strength and intellect to deal with criminals and supercriminals in Gotham City, which resembled New York and Chicago in the 30’s and 40’s. Through the years, Batman grew more and more popular, securing its spot outside comics and entering the realms of television, movies and videogames.
Of course, this article will not be cruising through the whole history of Batman, but is focused on one of the games of the masked superhero that defined a whole genre of videogames, whose influence it’s still felt even at the time of writing of this article; this game is called Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Welcome to the Madhouse!
In 2009, Rocksteady studios published alongside Eidos Batman: Arkham Asylum, a story that follows its homonymous graphic novel “Arkham Asylun”, set in the aforementioned psychiatric institution that treats supervillains who haunt Gotham City’s streets.
For hardcore fans of Batman, Arkham Asylum is a renowed location due to its recurrence and mysteries in the many stories of the caped superhero. But, for the regular audience, the name could become an echo or a faint memory since its mostly even mentioned on the many adaptations of the superhero. However, what neither the fans nor the casual player expected was to become the “world’s greatest detective” at the proportions that this game took it. More on that later.
The story of Arkham Asylum begins somewhat like a classical noir film: a take a the clouds above Gotham City with the Batsignal turned on, slowly panning down to the streets in which Batman will cruise at full speed in his Batmobile, bringing none other than the infamous Joker, his archenemy who escaped Arkham Asylum just a few nights ago. At first glance, everything seems normal, or whatever can be called normal in a city who spawns new supercriminals every night or two, but Batman knows something is wrong and joins the procession who takes the Joker back into the deepest level Intensive Care Treatment.
Of course, Joker sets free towards the end and Harley Quin, Jokers girlfriend, releases hundreds of Blackgate prisoners, who coincidentally were allocated there after the prison was set ablaze in a suspicious event. All goes according to Joker’s plan and now Batman is trapped inside the institution with several supervillains and lowlife thugs, or is he?
From that point onwards, the game allows the full control of Batman to aprehend Joker and stop his plan to destroy Gotham City.
Of course, the game is fully voiced acted as it became a standard for the industry since the previous generation of videogames (Playstation 2, Nintendo Gamecube, Sega Dreamcast and Microsoft’s Xbox), but what really impressed both critics and players alike were the actors themselves: the legends Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamil as the Joker and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quin, who played the same roles in Batman. The Animated Series, which served as the introduction to the superhero to many kids and adults in the 90’s. Of course, other renowned actors made an appearance in the game, like Steve Blum, Tom Kane and Fred Tatasciore.
Stalk your enemies like never before
As stated before, the core gameplay of Batman: Arkham Asylum focuses on Freeflow Combat, a mechanic so groundbreaking at its time that it’s still a reference before the development of videogames, despite being over 10 years old now.
The mechanic consist in keeping the hit score as high as possible without being hit by enemies, who will often surround Batman to make the player become tense and lose their concentration, making mistakes to reset the hit meter and even get hit by Joker’s henchmen. After purchasing upgrades, Batman could boost the power of his punches and even perform special moves, like throwing enemies, performing takedowns and even use Batarangs to knockout enemies like the superhero does in the comics and movies.
While punching and beating henchmen powered by Titan mutations, another key element of the gameplay of Batman: Arkham Asylum is its predator stealth mechanic. Like in the comics and movies, Batman can use his grapple gun to gain the high ground recognize scenarios like none other Batman game has done before. In certain situations, Batman must rescue hostages imprisoned by Joker’s henchmen armed with assault rifles and shotguns as stealthy as possible. From using the classical behind knockdown to the use of gadgets like the Batclaw, Batarangs and even a remote detonator, the player is encouraged to find new clever ways to knockdown enemies; from making them fall to the next level to even making a wall explode right at their side, the choice is up to the player.
Another feature that this game may have introduced its the “detective mode”, an x-ray vision that allows Batman to recognize the area and even follow enemies according to their treat level. This mode even highlights structural weaknesses and vantage points to always have the upper hand against his enemies. In addition, the detective mode allows Batman to set a crime scene and track clues, fluids, spores and fingerprints from suspects and victims alike in order to solve a mystery or stay behind the toes of Joker’s plans.
Regarding bosses, the game has a nice selection of supervillains who also wants to get rid of the masked vigilante, for good. Among the most renowned villains, the game features, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Scarecrow and Bane as the bosses of each area of the game, everyone with their own unique twist. In example, while inside Killer Croc’s lair, running will alert the man-lizard villain of your location and will ambush you from beneath the platform, leading to a game over screen. Poison Ivy on the other hand is reinforced on Titan, making her plants more aggressive and resistant, only allowing a brief weakness located on Ivy’s pod to be exploited by Batman’s Batarangs. Scarecrow on the other hand requires more stealth than the rest of the bosses, requiring you to escape Scarecrow’s world and his gaze, unless you want to become insane.
For its time, these bosses were sublime and were well suited to finish each segment of the asylum, even causing damages to Batman’s suit, even showing a bit a blood on Batman’s face.
The first of a “new” series
The success of Arkham Asylum secured its spot on gamer’s hearts due to its simple, yet elegant gameplay, alongside its memorable story as one of the best games of its generations.
Its freeflow combat promptly became almost a genre of its own in which games encourage players to survive more and more stressing situations against a horde of enemies. Middle Earth: Shadow of War o Spiderman: Miles Morales are one of the many tittles that take inspiration on Batman: Arkham Asylum’s combat and stalking features.
Story wise, Rocksteady would release over the years two games that will follow Arkham Asylum story, while even funding enough hype to create a prequel titled Batman: Arkham Origins, which wasn’t as well acclaimed as the main Arkham tittles.
Stay tuned for the next review of this series: Batman: Arkham City.
