Surrounded by mannequins depicting a selection of gaming’s greatest characters, not to mention some preposterously breasted Lara Croft models, I started wondering if Batman has what it takes to join them in gaming’s pantheon. On the evidence I’ve seen it definitely has what it takes to impress Batman fanboys, thanks to endless visual and dialogue references to all parts of the Batman canon and a selection of script and voice talent from the popular animated series. So, as a massive comic geek I can say that I’m deliriously happy with the game. But the question is, what’s it like when you pick up the controller?
I’ve now had about two hours of hands-on time with a copy of Batman: Arkham Asylum that’s so close to being finished that there’s little more than a bit of sound balancing to be done, and from what I’ve seen so far, it’s really very good…but perhaps not perfect. I won’t review on the basis of two hours, but I’m guessing the finished game is heading for a very positive three stars or perhaps even four.
For starters, it’s beautifully presented, with everything from the strangely tinted lighting effects through to the rippling of Batman’s cape clearly showing the benefit of some painstaking work. Huge amounts of motion capture have been used, with the actor playing Killer Croc wearing weights on his legs to get a suitably lumbering, musclebound gait.
Combat is split between three buttons: Y for counters, X for strikes and B for ape sweeps that brush aside knives and batons. Dealing with hand-to-hand weapons is one thing, but Bat’s really doesn’t like guns, and if armed opponents are around you’ll need to use stealth to get above, below or behind them unnoticed, and then use the stealth takedowns you’ve unlocked to take them out. It’s a nice mixture of smooth, combo-based brawling and clever stealth that looks a lot smoother and less scripted in play than it does in the trailers.
You can see if opponents are armed using the game’s detective mode, a visor that scans opponents, walls, hostages and weapons to identify their conditions, weak points and grapple points. It can also be used to follow scent and chemical trails and to spot the question marks left around the asylum by the Riddler.
This mixture of scanning and swinging, combined with the need to re-traverse certain areas, gives Batman: Arkham Asylum the feel of Metroid Prime at times, albeit a Metroid Prime with added stealth and hand-to-hand combat sequences.
The script is excellent, and while there are a few dud moments in the delivery, the important lines from the important voice actors are delivered perfectly.
I have got a few reservations, mind you. The Detective mode is almost too useful to turn off, yet having it on all the time gets in the way of the gorgeous graphics. In two hours of play, I never came across a reason to come out of detective mode apart from my own desire to see the game properly. Without a cost, or a need to recharge it, Detective mode feels like it might become one of those game mechanics so ever-present that it becomes a distraction.
On top of that, the game seemed strangely room-based, having you progress along corridors towards open areas in which large brawls take place, in a fashion that feels more like an old-school beat-em-up rather than a modern action-adventure game.
Small complaints like that don’t mean its not one of the best games I’ve played for a long time, or that I won’t be buying it come August 28th, but they are enough to make me think that it might not get a full five stars.
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