Batman: Arkham Asylum may share its title from a number of Batman graphic novels, but the story you get in the game is not from any of them.

The game starts with Batman bringing Joker to Arkham Asylum, but something doesn't seem right; the Joker seems to be giving in way too easily. The Joker breaks free from the guards the moment he's brought in, and unleashes his master plan of taking control of Arkham Asylum. No doubt, the plot is quite predictable, but what makes the story brilliant is its pacing and narration.

There are a lot of references to some of the past Batman experiences in comics and even a slight homage every now and then to some epic scenes in the Batman films. But not once does the game seem like the type that only a Batman fan will understand. You could have any other bad-ass vigilante replacing Batman and any other psychotic bad guy play Joker and the game's narration would be just as good.

While the plot may seem simple, every supervillain and recognizable character from the comic books is spot-on. Joker relies on elaborate plots to drive Batman insane, Poison Ivy couldn't care less about anything but her plants and Bane is a venom-poisoned rampaging brute whose only drive is to break the Batman. Some other supervillains (and some not so super) make their appearances in the game, but I wouldn't want to accidentally let out a spoiler... just remember, there's nothing wrong with your game disc.




Game-play

As I mentioned earlier, Batman has the rep of being the World's Greatest Detective, and that's exactly what the focus here is. To achieve this, Arkham Asylum gives you a good mix of action, exploration, puzzles, stealth and even platforming; without any one of these aspects overpowering the other.
In detective mode Batman gets an x-ray view of his surroundings with which he can spot clues, locate destructible objects and hidden openings, and even see through walls to get a headcount of the bad-guys waiting around the next turn. The detective mode also plays a major part in knowing where the bad guys are looking for you when playing in stealth mode. At first it seems like the detective mode makes the game a bit too easy, but you have to keep in mind that it's the only possible way of getting the same level of surrounding analysis done, that would do justice to a character like Batman.



In-game fighting too fits the Batman bill. There are no elaborate moves and fancy jump maneuvers here. Batman is quick and precise with his hits, and gets the job done with minimum effort. Of course, a lot of that changes with different types of mutated baddies and supervillains, but the thing is, not once does Batman come across as flashy or overtly heroic, which I much appreciate.
Batman will avoid getting into direct conflicts as far as possible and prefer to take the bad guys out one by one from the darkness. The silent predator mode in Arkham Asylum allows you to do just that. Batman can perch on gargoyles, wait in floor grates, or even stay behind walls and strike when the moment is right. My favorite move of the lot was the inverted takedown. Nothing feels more like Batman than hanging upside down from a gargoyle and swooping down on an unsuspecting punk.
This game has its fair share of over-the-top boss battles that may seem overwhelming but are in no way frustratingly impossible.
You start off the game with only your faithful batarangs, and as you progress you get better equipment to help you get past some upcoming challenges. As you keep leveling up, you can power-up your gear to perform gratifyingly better.
The only negative aspect of the game is that once you finish the game you cannot play through it again with all your power-ups.