Batman: Arkham Asylum

Have also just played the PC demo, and after oohing and aahing my way through it, i've just come straight on here to pre-order it. Demos are frequently indicitive of the final version, and sometimes they're rough and - let's face it - pretty pants and do the full product no favours. If the demo of Arkham Asylum is anything to go by, we're all in for an absolute treat. I'm super excited about getting my filthy little hands on this.

Regardless of the Batman licence, it's an awesome game and has some great stealthy fighty explorey mystery elements that combine into a dribble-inducing package.

Not that i'm shallow, but it's a very good looking game; the environments are superb and Arkham is very atmospheric. The character voice acting is some of the best i've seen (heard) in a game and Mark Hamill's (yes, Luke Skywalker) Joker is a particular delight.

Can't.

Wait.

Im a fussy gamer. Few games grip me nowdays- Civ IV, Grand Theft Auto series, Company Of Heroes, Total War series, Crysis to name a few. Batman does the same thing, gives me that feeling of joy when playing it like when I was a teenager and games were more important back then (pre drinking days, lol). It plays sweet, fluid, combat is great & evolves throughout the game, storyline/ characters are amazing & its so hard to put down, so addictive. The software itself runs sweet, no crashes (Not to be sniffed at in this era of incomplete beta releases being pushed on us). Eg, I have a tri sli rig & run max out on 32Q AA SLi & it runs so smooth. Brilliant piece of work & the guys/girls who worked on this should be proud. Buy it, best money spent on a game in ages!

One of the best games I played recently. Really worth buying :)

This is as near perfect a Batman experience as you can get playing a game.

A visually stunning graphics engine provides the perfect platform for a wonderfully detailed setting, which provides the perfect backdrop to one of the most immersive stories you will find in any computer game ever made. If thats not enough of an inticement to get this game, then the outstanding gameplay has few rivals in any category you'd care to mention. You just never get bored. Even if most of the gameplay is a derivative of combat or using one of the Batman's gadgets to get past an obstacle to finishing the game. Combat is really implemented well, with end of section bosses bringing a whole new challenge at apt points in the game. When you overcome these baddies, you really know you've achieved something.

The key to this is the excellent game design. Layouts, environment, baddies types, numbers and behaviour are just some of the dynamics that contribute to such unparalleled diversity, as Ive seen in a huge number of games played. It doesnt stop there. A great attention to detail elevates an already immense game to that of must-
play. Sub-games such as the Riddlers hidden riddles, the info cards of the villans and friendly personnel you get to encounter throughout the course of the game, all add to enhance an already tremendous experience. Everything in the design is set out, placed and paced to drive you to want to keep on playing, to get to the next section and beat it.

Music, sounds and voiceovers are all first rate. With the distinctiveness of the main protagonists and antagonists all voiced by believeable actors. Every character sounds as you'd expect them to.
To top it all off, keeping track of progress and objectives is helped by a streamlined, yet well thought out and implemented interface - which doesnt detract in the slightest from playing the game.

Everything is oh so perfect - but there are a few niggles that stop this from being a perfect ten. The action does get repetitive towards the end of the game. Some riddles/puzzles cant be attempted in the order they are encountered and can be easily overlooked and forgotten about. Some of the set-pieces with Scarecrow are very well implemented, but the control method can be hit and miss - especially when the camera angle is fixed.

This is the first console port game that really worked for me on the PC. Its a true virtual adventure. And the ultimate Batman experience. Probably until the sequel comes out.

In a year of lacklustre console ports and tired sequels I was beginning to wonder if anything would be really worth playing. This game was completely unexpected in hitting so many right notes. Superb graphics and voice acting, user definable controls with mouselook, good enemy AI, satisfying but not excessively difficult combat and it even runs well on an ancient socket 939/8800GTS computer. Very enjoyable