Hugo GuzmanBatman Returns Better Than Ever.
Genre Action/Adventure. Publisher Eidos Developer Rocksteady Studios ESRB T Multiplayer No
Rating: 9.5
If you're on the fence about picking up Batman's latest adventure I wouldn't blame you. After all the great majority of his games have been less than ideal.. But this game rises way above those games and delivers an experience unlike any other batman gameyou've played. This time Batman delivers the fun and excitement The Dark Knight should.
Developer Rocksteady has done a great job in the graphics department. Every little detail in the game has been meticulously designed and it shows from the start. Batman's suit takes permanent damage as the story progresses, and the assylum itself is beautifully rendered, which shows how much work went into the graphical quality of the game. The Assylum itself is a character in the game. You realize you are trapped in a madhouse with the loonies set loose and if you know anything about Batman you know his one rule. He will not kill any living thing. Talk about a challenge. Arkham Assylum has you feeling that tension you're supposed to feel, as if the building complex was against you. If you've played bioshock you will get the same feeling of the location itself being a character in the game. One of my favorite parts during the game was the game over screens because they showed the villains up close and you could see all the detail that went into the game.
Now, what would a gorgeous-looking game be without good gameplay to go along with it? Well it would be an interactive movie. But that's not why people buy games. Fortunately AA gets the gameplay right as well. Disappearing into the shadows and misteriously taking out Joker's men is hard but satisfying work. The controls are well designed and the mechanincs offer a good variety of ways to knock your enemies. As you progress into the game you unlock bigger and badder gadgets like the batclaw which you can use to pull your enemies closer to you and updgraded cersions of the batarang. Needless to say new unlocks add more variety to the combat. Pro tip: get the inverted takedown as soon as you can, it's awesome to watch and an easy way to take care of Joker's goons silently.
The soundtrack in the game is fairly repetitive but you will be having too much fun to even notice it. Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy from the animated show are back and needless to say they perform excellently. Listening to the dialogue in the game is very entertaining in and of itself. Joker's men have some very interesting conversations. At one point I overheard one of them bragging about murdering his sister with his only excuse being Joker commanding him to. Good thing I did what any superhero dressed like a bat would. I threw a sonic batarang to lure him away from his buddies and glided behind him for a silent takedown.
Now for those of you that like exploring every corner of a game this is the game for you. with 240 Riddler challenges you will be spending a good amount of time looking. The game itself took me about 12 hours to complete, a decent amount of time for an action/adventure game. Every encounter you have with your enemies feels fresh and inovative. Well, except maybe for those pesky Scarecrow levels.
Overall the game is a great experience that should not be missed. This is a must buy game that was very well put together and that you will be playing for a good bit. The few things that need improvement such as a few repetitive levels, overplayed soundtrack, and overall length of the story are minor drawbacks that do not affect the experience too much so I give this game a 9.5 out of 10 and a triple thumbs up.
Rating: 9.5
If you're on the fence about picking up Batman's latest adventure I wouldn't blame you. After all the great majority of his games have been less than ideal.. But this game rises way above those games and delivers an experience unlike any other batman gameyou've played. This time Batman delivers the fun and excitement The Dark Knight should.
Developer Rocksteady has done a great job in the graphics department. Every little detail in the game has been meticulously designed and it shows from the start. Batman's suit takes permanent damage as the story progresses, and the assylum itself is beautifully rendered, which shows how much work went into the graphical quality of the game. The Assylum itself is a character in the game. You realize you are trapped in a madhouse with the loonies set loose and if you know anything about Batman you know his one rule. He will not kill any living thing. Talk about a challenge. Arkham Assylum has you feeling that tension you're supposed to feel, as if the building complex was against you. If you've played bioshock you will get the same feeling of the location itself being a character in the game. One of my favorite parts during the game was the game over screens because they showed the villains up close and you could see all the detail that went into the game.
Now, what would a gorgeous-looking game be without good gameplay to go along with it? Well it would be an interactive movie. But that's not why people buy games. Fortunately AA gets the gameplay right as well. Disappearing into the shadows and misteriously taking out Joker's men is hard but satisfying work. The controls are well designed and the mechanincs offer a good variety of ways to knock your enemies. As you progress into the game you unlock bigger and badder gadgets like the batclaw which you can use to pull your enemies closer to you and updgraded cersions of the batarang. Needless to say new unlocks add more variety to the combat. Pro tip: get the inverted takedown as soon as you can, it's awesome to watch and an easy way to take care of Joker's goons silently.
The soundtrack in the game is fairly repetitive but you will be having too much fun to even notice it. Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy from the animated show are back and needless to say they perform excellently. Listening to the dialogue in the game is very entertaining in and of itself. Joker's men have some very interesting conversations. At one point I overheard one of them bragging about murdering his sister with his only excuse being Joker commanding him to. Good thing I did what any superhero dressed like a bat would. I threw a sonic batarang to lure him away from his buddies and glided behind him for a silent takedown.
Now for those of you that like exploring every corner of a game this is the game for you. with 240 Riddler challenges you will be spending a good amount of time looking. The game itself took me about 12 hours to complete, a decent amount of time for an action/adventure game. Every encounter you have with your enemies feels fresh and inovative. Well, except maybe for those pesky Scarecrow levels.
Overall the game is a great experience that should not be missed. This is a must buy game that was very well put together and that you will be playing for a good bit. The few things that need improvement such as a few repetitive levels, overplayed soundtrack, and overall length of the story are minor drawbacks that do not affect the experience too much so I give this game a 9.5 out of 10 and a triple thumbs up.
