A Quick Tip by SolidusSnake
I'm pretty late on this one. Arkham Asylum is one of the rare games that is universally praised by everyone, and for damn good reason. I stayed away from it cuz, well, superheroes are kinda lame, but finally Doomrider talked me into playing it, and I'm glad he did. It's damn sweet, and even if you think superheroes are completely lame and for dorks, you should still play it.
It's got some of the best beat-em up gameplay I've seen this gen, jumping into a crowd of thugs and beating the crap out of them never failed to put a smile on my face. It's got amazing stealth missions. You sneak up on guards, swing from gargoyles with your grappling hook, glide down towards unsuspecting mooks, and jump out from floor grates to kick ass in these segments. All the while your enemies are freaking out and Joker is mercilessly taunting his own henchmen. It's got exploration. There are tons of secrets on Arkham Island, and Batman has all the tools he needs to find them. The grappling hook, in particular, is a great feature and adds so much flexibility to your movement and to your offensive and defensive strategies.
But the best thing about the game is that it captures everything that's entertaining about the Batman mythos. The story knows when to be serious, and it knows when to invoke the comic book campyness that Batman is famous for. Joker's trollishness is hilarious, and how can you not laugh when a thug asks Batman why he isn't busy getting a cat down from a tree? Several of the big supervillains from the Batman universe show up as enemies, but even if a villain doesn't show up in the flesh, you can count on them appearing at least as a character bios. It gives you the impression that, while the game is great and full of surprises, there is still a vast world and a huge number of colorful characters left untapped. Best of all, you get Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker. These guys played the same role in the fantastic Batman animated series from the early 90s, and they are PERFECT for their respective roles. Mark Hamill in particular completely owns the character of the Joker. Anyway, this was a great game, and now I'm so fired up for Arkham City I can't even believe it.
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One thing I really loved about the game is how Rocksteady completely nailed Batman's badassery. I mean, COMPLETELY. Allow me to list some of the moments I remember:
(Next stop: Spoilerville. Read at your own risk bla bla bla.)
Okay? Okay.
- When escorting the Joker, the lights go out on the elevator. Everyone panics. Lights back on and the Batman is grabbing Joker by the neck. Before releasing him, he approaches to look him in the eye in the most fearless and badass way possible. Beautiful.
- Before meeting Bane, the Joker is talking some nonsense and Batman just responds to him: "Be quiet." PERFECT line delivery, seriously. Just... <3
- When him and Gordon meet Bane, as soon as he notices Bane is coming to his senses, he says to Gordon: "Get behind me. Now.".
- Entering the Batcave. Flawless moment. You're approaching the limit of the platform and he just says "On." and then you glide that little bit to get to the central platform. HNNG, SO GOOD.
- The Batwing delivering the line launcher. Unnecessarily flashy, yes, but at the same time, so, SO cool.
- Entering Croc's lair. Batman's in complete control of the situation and he knows it. Best of all, he lets the player know it too with his comment: " Croc's just an animal, and animals just need traps and the right bait." Thank you, Rocksteady ;_;
- Grabbing Ivy's plant when she tries to attack him, etc. etc. I think I could go on, but that's enough =P
Man, I feel like a shameless fanboy. Oh well. At least AA is a good game to fanboy over!
And I also loved how, RIGHT after you get it, those goons are taunting you from the other side of the room "NYAA we turned the electricity on you can't get across now Batman!" and you fly across with the line launcher and knock them on their asses. The game did such a good job of giving you a sense of power and badassery.
If there's any game that could turn you into a fanboy, it's this one. I need to watch some episodes from the old animated series for more bat snacks. :p
And thanks to YOU, my friend, for finally talking me into getting it. Ahh, it was way too much fun. I think I might have to do my best Tsuna impersonation and get Arkham City on DAY 1 BABY!!!