LTTP: Batman: Arkham Asylum

F

Forkball

Member
I know there's been a couple of LTTP threads about it... but ah whatever, I want to talk about it again.

Batmanarkhamasylumpromo.jpg

(SPOILERS: The game looks nothing like this.)

So I just finished it. What an amazing game. A lot of people were remarking that it was GOTY 2009, but even with those expectations, I was not disappointed at all. Action, stealth, exploration... this game does it all right. Probably the best thing about this game is that it really makes it feel like you're Batman in his universe. There's a good mix of stealth, action, and detective work. They didn't skimp out on the details, and you can tell the developers were huge Batman fans. Not only is it sprinkled with dozens of interesting easter eggs, but getting Dini to pin the story was one of the best decisions they could have made. It really feels like a darker and more brutal version of the Animated Series. You'd think the Joker coming on the PA in every other area would get annoying, but it never was and always contributed to the game's atmosphere, which this game has to spare. I especially love the Scarecrow hallucination moments and the first person view in that one room (really clever once you find out the importance of that room in the end). Although you trek through rather typical video game locals (sewers, prisons, dilapidated buildings), everything is visually unique and you don't notice that you're going into a room filled with rusty scrap metal for the hundredth time. I also appreciated how the game is open, but is straightfoward enough so you don't get lost or aren't sure what to do next. It can be a Metroidvania if you want, or it could just be a more linear action game.

batman1.jpg


But let's talk about the gameplay. The combat was a lot of fun and Rocksteady did a great job about making Batman extremely badass. His strikes and take downs were brutal and there were a lot of great animations that flowed well. While it was a bit silly, I enjoyed seeing Batman fly halfway across the room to roundhouse kick a guy that was off screen. I was surprised to see how Batman quickly reacted with counters that made logical sense. A guy is about to kick you? Batman grabs his leg from behind and elbows him. Man coming at you with a pipe? Batman grabs the pipe and pummels the baddie. My favorite one is probably where Batman traps a guy with his legs, and then kicks the enemy with his heel. My main problem with combat though is the ground take downs. They take way too long to do with other guys around you. There were so many times where I tried to finish off a guy on the ground, but some other thug comes and hits me before Batman finishes the damn animation. This also was troublesome in the stealth parts of the game, where silent take downs seemed to take forever. By the time he's passed out, some guy with a gun already saw me.

Speaking of stealth, while it was enjoyable, I felt it was a bit too limited. You could totally abuse the gargoyles except for that one room. Also there was only ONE stealth power up in the entire game. Yeah, you could power up the batarang and explosive gel for more advanced take downs, but the game never really forces you to do it. I never get tired of ledge/gargoyle take downs and glide kicks.

I guess if I had to pick the worst thing about the game, it would be the boss fights. Every single one of them was basically "throw batarang at the right time." I was really tired of fighting those Titans as well. The first time I can understand. The boss battle with two of them was kinda boring, except for the rodeo part. But then I had to fight them again. And again. And Bane was more or less a Titan as well. And I expected a lot more from the final boss than just roided up Joker with a mohawk. Although the lead up to that battle with all the Blackgate guys with party hats applauding you was amazing.

fKOHS.jpg

(Detective mode was also awesome, but I can see why they will nerf it)

Now time for nitpicks: Batman totally killed a few people. He ran Bane over with a damn car into the bay. Not to mention some of those take downs would pretty much kill a man. In one area you can batclaw bad guys into a huge bottomless pit. They make a splash, but looking down you could see no water, so even if it's there, it feels like concrete by the time they get there. Also, Batman had so much cool shit that entire time? Oh, so you can use that device that takes down the electric gates? I could have used that thing like eight hours ago. And you could have called the fucking Batwing at any time? Why didn't you call it during the Poison Ivy fight where it could have been really useful?

So in short, awesome game, I can't wait for Arkham City.
 
Yes, this game was just oh so great. You really do feel like your Batman, whether you're messing with the guards and picking them all out one by one in the dark, or beating their collective asses with awesome counters and combos.
The only thing I didn't like were the boss fights, but that was a minor inconvenience for me me.
The graphics were great, and the characters were all full of life. The scarecrow hallucinations sections was also my favorite part of the game.

Here's hoping the sequel is even better!
 
I just finished this game last week. I loved the game, I even watched Batman Begins and Dark Knight right after because it just got me into the Batman mood. If only the titan boss battles weren't repeated over and over again. But the rest of the game made up for it so I was glad.
 
OP, the only complaint I really agree with is boring boss fights. All your other complaints are addressed in the challenge rooms. They absolutely exemplify every strength (and flaw) of the gameplay.

AA's combat system, despite all the game's accolades, is the one aspect I feel is underappreciated. It's so good. Like, best in any third person action game ever good.
 
Hey if you want harder stealth... play the joker challenges. They're pretty difficult and you can't do all the stuff that Batman can. Have to be more stealthy, less room for error.
 
I agree about the boss fights.

I also thought all the vent crawling was annoying. I think it'll be more fun to run around Gotham so I look forward to AC.
 
My main complaint of AA (and there are few) is that detection mode was a bit too powerful and detecting was just too easy.

I spent too much time not looking at the awesome visuals because I couldn't get myself to turn off the blue x-ray detection mode.

I used it much less in my hard playthrough, but it kind of spoiled my first time through a little bit. My own fault though, I guess.
 
You're right that doing Inverted Takedowns and Silent Takedowns make most of the stealth parts pretty easy, so I tried to set up more interesting things to do. Set up explosive under a gargoyle, then wait for someone to come under it and do it an Inverted on him, then when the others come to investigate blow them up. If you see a breakable wall, put explosive on one side, then put explosive on the floor on the other side (I think there might only be one room where this is possible), then use a Sonic batarang near it; when someone comes to investigate the batarang, blow the wall, when the others come to investigate, blow the floor. Look for opportunities to do Ledge Takedowns.
 
I played this game again on hard before the New Year and fell in love with it again. The combat system really shines on hard. Without the "spider-sense" symbol over the enemies you really have to keep your eyes posted all around Batman and to try to separate out the thugs so they can't get your from behind.

The use of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill is what really brought the experience all together for me. I don't think I would have enjoyed the game half as much if they weren't providing the voices. It's a shame they couldn't get Bob Hastings back as Gordon, I didn't like the gruff nature of the Arkham Asylum Gordon.

I also loved how Rocksteady kept the island interesting. Back tracking is pretty much one of my most hated elements of video games. Whenever I play through Devil May Cry I just bend over and accept I will back track through some boring environment. The use of different enemy locations, new game play mechanics or slight enviromental changes (Poison Ivy parts) really made it feel like a different place.

Forkball said:
Now time for nitpicks: Batman totally killed a few people. He ran Bane over with a damn car into the bay. Not to mention some of those take downs would pretty much kill a man. In one area you can batclaw bad guys into a huge bottomless pit. They make a splash, but looking down you could see no water, so even if it's there, it feels like concrete by the time they get there.
Click to expand...

I noticed that too. I find it hard to believe that Batman couldn't rupture a femoral artery after breaking so many femurs or that a bad guy couldn't get massive bleeding into his meninges after you cut their rope from an inverted take down . . . but of course we are talking about a universe where a guy runs around as a Bat fighting people who turn into super monsters so whatever.

I can't wait for Arkham City. I will accept the ridiculous premise of allowing Quincy Sharp to expand his prison to mainland Gotham after an event that exposed a flaw in his security that lead to the death of dozens of guards, Arkham staff and inmates . . . but once again we are talking about a universe where a guy runs around dressed up as a bat and the death of innocent people is apparently quickly forgotten or stuffed in a fridge, so as long as the game is fun I don't mind.
 
I'm trying decide which game to play next from the Steam Holiday Sale as I just finished Singularity tonight and I'm deciding between this and Mafia II. For those of you who have already finished the game, what difficulty level do you suggest I start with?
 
I agree with you on pretty much every part. The game was great, no doubt. Not only did it nail almost everything you'd want in a Batman game, but it was just plain fun to play. I loved the combat system, especially on hard when it was a little more challenging. Pummeling bitches was cool, but I loved the Predator areas the most, now that was badass. I loved eliminating the guards one by one, I felt like the fucking Batman.

And yes, the boss fights were the weak spot. The Titan fights were a'ight, but they were repeated too often. The Poison Ivy parts (not just the boss fight, but those DAMN SPORES) were the only parts I didn't enjoy, but overall it was an excellent game. I played it to death, I only fell short of a platinum because I didn't want to deal with 3 staring the later combat challenges.

This reminds me that there is a sequel this year. Fuck yes.

I'm trying decide which game to play next from the Steam Holiday Sale as I just finished Singularity tonight and I'm deciding between this and Mafia II. For those of you who have already finished the game, what difficulty level do you suggest I start with?
Click to expand...

Straight to hard. It's kinda easy on normal, but hard feels just right. There isn't much of a learning curve so blood, sweat and tears are not required to get it. I would have liked an 'extreme' mode, though, where just a fit hits would be game over.
 
I'd recommend starting on Normal. I'm on Hard for my second playthrough and it's pretty unforgiving even after I'm already familiar with the combat system (which I don't think the game does a great job of teaching; I read a FAQ to understand it better). You die in only 3 or 4 hits and the Titan and boss fights just become aggravating.
 
faceless007 said:
I'd recommend starting on Normal. I'm on Hard for my second playthrough and it's pretty unforgiving even after I'm already familiar with the combat system (which I don't think the game does a great job of teaching; I read a FAQ to understand it better). You die in only 3 or 4 hits and the Titan and boss fights just become aggravating.
Click to expand...

I personally started on Hard and wouldn't have it any other way. From the AA demo I REALLY was turned off by the context above the enemy heads basically telling you what to do, you needed to be more observant and makes you feel more badass. And even THAT doesn't compare to how you need to absolutely master the combat for the actual combat challenges, getting the requirements on all of those was quite satisfying.

I really loved the game, but Arkham City really needs to improve on the bosses. They are so damn weak in AA, it's a shame. Bane was cool at first but quickly becomes a semi-common enemy type, Ivy was annoying, and the Joker was an abysmal fight. The way you actually injure him is pretty much the most I've ever face palmed at a game. They all relied way too much on calling in tons of henchmen too.
 
If it weren't for Uncharted 2, this definitely would've been my GoTY for 2009. I'd heard good things, and I aligned my expectations accordingly, but it still exceeded them. I had an absolute blast playing through this game.

My 5-year-old nephew loves Batman and when he stayed over one night, all we did was play through Arkham Asylum. Well, I played the game and he just sat there telling me what to do every time I turned a corner.
 
Great game except for Joker monster and I wish there was a instance you controlled either the Batmobile or Batwing. Also a very tiny detail but I loved how bad ass bane walked in the continue screen if you loss the fight.
 
Just played through myself and finished it last night. Rocksteady really managed to nail the atmosphere, I loved how the Scarecrow freakout moments were sprung on you without any warning other than slight changes in the camera. I swear I almost turned off the console on the last Scarecrow section as I thought my PS3 had died when things froze and the coloured blobs appeared.

They absolutely nailed the way Joker should be portrayed as well, silly and whimsical one moment and then ruthless psychopath the next - I can't have been the only person who hung around in new areas to hear all of Joker's PA announcements or the henchman chattering about him.

The only part I will say that spoilt a near perfect Batman game was the Killer Croc section, it was completely unnecessary padding and seemed to contain multiple videogame clichés that Rocksteady had managed to avoid up to that point.
 
One of the best games I've played in a really long time. I bought the collector's edition for my brother last Christmas. He was raving about how good it was after 2 weeks and beating the game twice. He made sure I played it and I got around to it last summer.

The atmosphere, music, gameplay and graphics are all superb. The collectibles could have been a little cooler but I still had a great time exploring the island. Playing this game on a cold Autumn night is really enjoyable. Cannot wait for the sequel. :D
 
I actually liked the collectibles. In most games, it seems like you just collect them for the sake of collecting them, but the voice recordings and the character profiles were really interesting. I liked that it wasn't like Assassin's Creed or whatever where you're collecting flags or feathers that have no value whatsoever.
 
I finished this the other day and was really impressed. They nailed feeling like Batman really well, which is doubly impressive to me because it's not something you usually see in great detail in comics, cartoons or films.

One complaint I did have with it was that the checkpointing was really spotty. Several times I did an 'event' (such as freed the two guards Harley tied up before the room filled with gas, or beat the goons in the Wardens office after the bomb goes off) and quit to come back to it later, only to start the game up again to find it hadn't saved and I had to do those sections over again. That was annoying.
 
A very good, atmospheric game that does a good job at capturing the 'feel' of Batman. Even the repetitious titan fights can't sour it.

The best part, for me, was getting to hear Mark Hamill reprise his role as The Joker.
 
mm04 said:
I'm trying decide which game to play next from the Steam Holiday Sale as I just finished Singularity tonight and I'm deciding between this and Mafia II. For those of you who have already finished the game, what difficulty level do you suggest I start with?
Click to expand...

Play on hard, but consider trying out the challenge rooms early on so that you can REALLY learn and understand the combat system. It's possible to play through the whole game without properly understanding how the system is meant to work, and you really miss out on one of the sweetest pleasures in the game.
 
stupei said:
Play on hard, but consider trying out the challenge rooms early on so that you can REALLY learn and understand the combat system. It's possible to play through the whole game without properly understanding how the system is meant to work, and you really miss out on one of the sweetest pleasures in the game.
Click to expand...

Yeah, even though the combat rooms are optional content, it's only there that you learn how to fight for real. You can pretty much bash your way through the main game, but in the challenges not only do you discover how satisfying it is to chain combos together, but also how useful some moves are you wouldn't even bother with in story mode. You feel like a god when you pull off a 40+ combo that includes every single move.

This game didn't exactly require a deep combat system, since it focused on exploration and stealth as well, but Rocksteady still delivered. They really went all out here, I can't imagine what the sequel'll be like.

AA is probably still one of the biggest surprises for me this gen. Judging from the screens I thought/hoped it'd be good, but it turns out RS wasn't that interested in merely churning out a decent Batman game.
 
Just finished playing it like 3 days ago. There's something that really feels off to me for some reason and makes it a mediocre game to me. But I just can't wrap my finger around what it is.
 
It's a really good game but the way some people talked about it you'd think it was like one of the best things ever created. Still really good though.
 
I replayed it in the last week on PC. Other than that the extra effects that added to the atmosphere, compared to the PS3 version I played before, I played it on hard now. I like the way they handled difficulty by removing the counter/attack identifiers in combat. At first I was looking closely at enemy movement, but towards the end, I would hit a groove where I could predict how they would react based on their relative location; it made the combat more engaging.

The game is still great. I think the only problem is that it can be a bit formulaic. Sometimes it feels like 'brawler moment -> stealth moment -> detective moment' like it is cycling between different types of gameplay instead of having it all feel natural. Then there are the titan/bane fights that are essentially the same fight repeated several times throughout. I wonder how or if they will change it for Arkham City.
 
I've heard that the PS3 version is better than the X360 version. What about the PS3 version makes it better than the X360 version?
 
desh said:
I've heard that the PS3 version is better than the X360 version. What about the PS3 version makes it better than the X360 version?
Click to expand...


The PS3 version has the Joker challenge rooms, other than that they look identical.

lawblob said:
How was the 3D in the GOTY version?
Click to expand...

Terrible, it uses of course the blue/red glasses for the effects and for whatever reason things that don't need to be in 3D were in 3D.
 
Square Triangle said:
The PS3 version has the Joker challenge rooms, other than that they look identical.



Terrible, it uses of course the blue/red glasses for the effects and for whatever reason things that don't need to be in 3D were in 3D.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Free download or you have to pay for them? I assume you get them on PSN.
 
Boney said:
Just finished playing it like 3 days ago. There's something that really feels off to me for some reason and makes it a mediocre game to me. But I just can't wrap my finger around what it is.
Click to expand...

It's ridiculously polished, but I didn't feel like I was doing much. Very mindless combat on Hard, simple environmental challenges... Just going through the really pretty motions and watching the cutscenes, I guess. It was okay.
 
Square Triangle said:
The PS3 version has the Joker challenge rooms, other than that they look identical..
Click to expand...

Actually, graphically, the 360 version has a few more effects, but since it is such a dark game, you cannot really see the difference. PS3 has better self shadowing.

Also, one other difference is that in the PS3 version, the camera is pulled back a little farther than the 360 version. Gives you a little more screen real estate to work with versus the 360 version.
 
TheOddOne said:
Even shorter?
Click to expand...

Exactly.

I beat the game so freaking fast on my hard playthrough... the dumb croc fight was the only monotonous part I can recall (mostly cause the fight is boring and I got lost in his lair hahaha).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

LTTP: Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) PS3
15
1K
Physiognomonics replied
Arkham Asylum to be remastered with Origins voice cast (Batman also being added to Suicide Squad)
Rumor  2
96
6K
SCB3 replied
Batman Arkham Shadow on Quest 3 is the best batman game ever made!
2 3
126
7K
Romulus replied
Over 1 Million People Have Now Played Batman: Arkham Shadow
News 
33
1K
BlackTron replied
Batman: Arkham Shadow | Review Thread
Analysis Review  2
56
4K
Romulus replied
Top Bottom