Critics say Batman: Arkham Asylum is insanely good

by Stevie Smith - Aug 26 2009, 15:15

Given that dark-hearted comic book hero Batman and Gotham City’s plethora of criminal characters are so beautifully befitting of the videogame world, you’d perhaps be forgiven for thinking plenty of impressive Batman-branded software titles were already in existence. You’d be wrong.

In fact, although licensed Batman games have been around since the mid 1980s – as original games or movie tie-ins – it has taken more than two decades for a truly standout Batman adventure to emerge, which is where Batman: Arkham Asylum comes in.

A freestanding Batman game unconnected to any of the recent Christopher Nolan movie adaptations, Arkham Asylum sees Batman trapped inside Gotham’s notorious home for the criminally insane, all of whom are on the loose within thanks to the actions of Batman’s arch nemesis The Joker.

Tasked with tackling almost all of Gotham’s most dangerous criminals (including Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow and more), the game provides Batman fans with access to the caped crusader’s brutal skills as a close-quarters martial artist while also delivering plenty of the intriguing utility belt gadgetry the dark protector is famed for.

However, beyond Arkham Asylum’s more obvious strengths in terms of hard-hitting action and unique free-flowing physical combat, it’s the game’s faithful character reproduction (through voice talent plucked from the Animated Series) and its gameplay focus on creating fear through stealth alongside studied and tactical execution that’s garnering top marks from reviewers. 

For example, leading game review publications such as IGN and Eurogamer have awarded Arkham Asylum respective scores of 9.3/10 and 9.0/10, with IGN hailing it as “the greatest comic book videogame of all time,” while Eurogamer said the game “isn’t just the best grown-up Batman game, it’s the best superhero game, bar none.”

And the positive feedback isn’t just limited to the likes of IGN and Eurogamer, with review aggregation service Metacritic presently showing an average score of 91/100 for Arkham Asylum over some 27 collated reviews (Xbox 360 version).

Developed by Rocksteady Games and published through Eidos Interactive and Warner Brothers, Arkham Asylum is presently fighting off ‘Game of the Year’ chatter whilst revelling in considerable critical acclaim ahead of its full retail release on Friday for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

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