Batman: Arkham Asylum! I surely do need to play this danged game. Especially after reading this article. Maybe someday. Someday when I don’t burn all my free time editing and publishing articles like these, I suppose.
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YES, you should give it a try. My GOTY of 2009. It’s honestly a combo of Metroid, BioShock and Zelda with terrific stealth sequences mixed in. Then Scarecrow shows up and takes the game to Eternal Darkness land.
I know one of your biggest complaints is the Unreal Engine art style. And I think regarding some of the characters they do look odd. But once you get over that it’s just a stunningly amazing game. Also my GOTY 2009.
This isn’t meant to be an underappreciated gem, is it? Because it’s not; a gem, yes, but certainly well-received.
No, the game articles in issue 7 are just… game articles.
Odd timing. I just beat it about a week ago, heh.
Game is pretty damn awesome. Starts out fantastic, gets a bit tedious during the middle, but finishes strong. I really enjoyed how Rocksteady handled the characters., especially the Joker. It was definitely inspired by Bioshock, and the game is better because of it.
Also like Bioshock, it’s a hard game to play if you’re overly anal. I just HAD to flip on detective mode in every room for fear that I might miss something. And those chattering teeth!
Weird coincidence: I just beat Batman: AA and finished collecting all of the Riddler trophies about an hour before visiting the site and seeing this article. It was a great game, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had some Metroidvania-style backtracking and collecting. I can’t wait for the sequel now.
I started playing this game once and instantly disliked it. but I keep hearing that it’s great. I wonder if I gave up too soon.
I can’t stand Batman, at least when he’s dark and gritty. Campy ’60s Batman? Sure. Christopher Nolan Batman? Yuck.
Batman is a rich playboy with no super powers who dresses like a Bat and beats up poor and/or crazy people in the night. That’s a comedy.
So, yeah. I didn’t like what little I played of this game, I don’t like the main character, and I find Mark Hamill’s Joker annoying. But the descriptions I’ve read of Arkham Asylum sound pretty fantastic.
Should I give it another chance, or is this game simply not for me?
It’s not for you. And that’s a shame!
That’s cool. I can play other games and not worry that I’m missing out on something I would have liked.
Thanks!
I agree that the stealth combat is really the meat of the game, but the beat-em-up sections serve an equally important point: catharsis. The stealth can be a real challenge — there’s nothing more satisfying than spying a mob with no “red” (assault weapon carrying) thugs. These sections are essentially the game’s bonus rounds, where you get to feel like a superhero. Ditto for the exploration sections, which allow you to glide and grapple about with ease.
Also, it seems remiss not to elaborate more on the truly excellent atmosphere — not just Joker’s voice acting, but the way the various villains are woven throughout the game, the spot-on writing, and the brilliant character modeling. Regardless of one’s opinions on the unreal engine, the art direction is, with a few exceptions, brilliant. I only point these things out because half the pleasure in this game is living a batman movie, which is where Rocksteady truly excels.
Also, the sequence just before fighting the last boss is my most memorable gaming moment in the past few years .
The article doesn’t seem to mention its Metroidian nature. I think you’d like it, Jeremy.