Batman: Arkham Asylum... Really That Good?

[Ampersand]

There are very few games i've had more fun playing. I don't even normaly like stealth game-play.
Also i don't think it's going to far to say that the combat was a work of art.

 

[Sejvos]

I have played Batman Arkham Asylum and the 3D Game of the year version and I think it's the best Batman game to date.

 

[GeorgW]

I loved it, and only played it because of all the praise (one of very, very few games that I can say that about). I wasn't disappointed.
The fighting system was innovative and brilliant. It required concentration and skill, but was easy and freeflowing.
The collectibles were a hell of a lot of fun, I'm a perfectionist and had to collect all, but this is the only game where I actually enjoyed every minute of it. The riddles in particular are great, and the bios were rewarding.
Great story even though I never liked batman and the very best voice acting I've ever heard (Mark Hamill as the Joker).
The stealth sequences were among the greatest gaming experiences in recent memory.
The graphics were also great, but I've never cared about that stuff, and don't see why people do.
The bosses and platforming weren't the greatest, but otherwise, I have extremely high hopes for Arkham City.
One of my favourite games, if you couldn't tell.

 

[alittlepepper]

The boss fights were a letdown, but other than that I loved the game. I enjoyed the deep and complex story, the voice acting was...beyond superb, the combat was fluid and the stealth sections were excellent.
Plus. Being Batman. Seriously, you can't beat that.
I admit that it could sometimes feel slow and plodding and you didn't always know where you were going, but as I've always loved the dark grittiness and general "noir" feeling to the whole Batman mythos, I thought it all played in beautifully. The patient interview tapes and everything like that really drew me into the world and the Arkham monument things that were scattered all over the place were just the icing on a wonderful cake as far as I'm concerned.
Technically sound, completely functional, and with an awesome storyline. What more could you ask for in a game than that?

 

[ImprovizoR]

It was so immersive and so good. I was amazed! Combat was awesome with fluid animations when Bats punches people around. Stealth was also awesome. It wasn't linear as most games. I loved that it was open-ended without loading screens that break the immersion (like Mass Effect 2). I loved the story, the characters, the atmosphere, music, level design and pretty much everything. Also the game was just long enough. Not too long, and certainly not short. It ended just when it should. The only thing that wasn't perfect were some boss battles. But it doesn't matter because Scarecrow levels were freakin' awesome.

 

[Scabadus]

There were some parts of the main game I loved and some parts I hated, but the challenge levels... oh the challenge levels. Well not the fighting challenge levels because they were shit, but the good challenge levels.

As said in the OP technically AA is a great game; the controls are simple and intuitive and the enviroment can be used in a variety of ways. The challenge levels simply give you this and say "go nuts" without any of tht plot, scavanging hunts or dialouge of the main game. Good times.

 

[teutonicman]

I loved the game's stealth and combat mechanics. In fact I enjoyed most of the game. I did think that most of the bosses/mini bosses were really really pathetic and forgettable.

 

[ENKC]

I'm by no means a Batman fan, but this game did more to convert me than anything involving Christian Bale ever will. Easily one of my favourite single player experiences ever, and I completed every Riddler challenge plus the easter egg at the end. Incidentally, playing through it whilst watching a film called "Oysters at Nam Kee's" was a trippy experience, even without drugs.

 

[cricket chirps]

I played through the whole game and though i saw a few things that may not have been perfect i felt the game was a much like a good comic brought to life. While playing the game i felt like i was reading a really good batman story and I LOVED it. The gameplay was solid, I cant think of much along the lines of saying anything was wrong with it. Maybe a little bit of bad pacing and a not too great ending but not at all a let down. For me it was very fun and has been the only game in the world that ever had collectibles i actually REEEEAALLY wanted to find. I found myself having little moments of random joy everytime i found a new riddler clue that unlocked some character bios from batman villians i had never even heard of. You just dont get something like that in your average game or even the average good game.

 

[Primee133]

It's pretty good, not great though. Game like that was meant to be played with a controller though.
Also: Go to your room! Steam is the enemy of gaming, and by supporting it you're killing gaming!

Steam is -not- killing gaming whatsoever. I don't understand how you would think so =/ It's one of the few Digital Distribution platforms that are actually successful, and puts games on sale much more often than local retail stores, encouraging gamers to buy more games. The fact that it has a built-in IM and web browser to use IN-GAME makes it all the better.


On topic, I loved Batman: Arkham Asylum. I did not, however, enjoy the PS3 getting exclusive levels as the joker.

 

[mikespoff]

Yes, it's really that good.

Personally, I found that a lot of the enjoyment comes from using a diverse range of skills to overcome the challenges. Fist fighting, for instance, is really challenging but also often avoidable: judicious use of gargoyles and toys can reduce the number of enemies you actually have to punch.

It all really drives home the ethos of Batman: although he is physically adept, his real "superpower" is his creativity, ingenuity and gadgets.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

The minibanes and unmemorable nature of the PC controls (I only really do the most basic moves as a result) are quite big disadvantages, as is being advantaged if you spent your time in the colourless detective vision but honestly I just find the game good. The graphics are really good, as is the music and voice acting, the combat feels suprisingly fluid considering I imagine most of the player-to-enemy interactions are canned animation, the "kill" cam is hilariously brutal, outsmarting enemies is satisfying, luring them into traps more so. It all just feels pretty damn good to me.

 

[cricket chirps]

It's pretty good, not great though. Game like that was meant to be played with a controller though.
Also: Go to your room! Steam is the enemy of gaming, and by supporting it you're killing gaming!

how can you say such a thing?!?!?! my god, im astonished. i dont even buy games off of steam often at all. I have an account and see the regular sales and what not they do. Steam is EASILY one of the best ways to encourage people to buy games. Im not a huge computer gamer though i love me an RTS every now and again, but when i see the steam page open up; every time i am drawn to buying something. It helps get games out there not to mention all the indie games that people may have never ended up hearing about if it wern't for steam. please, and i do mean this, what am i apperantly unaware of that makes you think that? Am i missing something huge here???

 

[Altorin]

It's very good. Perhaps a little overrated, but it is very very good.

 

[PeePantz]

I generally like Arkham Asylum. Playing Batman has never felt so satisfying. BUT the game puzzles from the chattering teeth, finding riddler's mark felt like a chore. Although, depending how you are, you can have fun or it could be work if you felt the need to solve all the puzzles. I am the second guy. I ran all over the place many times felt like too much work.

I felt the need to solve all the puzzles and I found the search to be so much fun. It helped that each puzzle usually was accompanied by some sort of interesting reward whether it be character bios or psych evaluations. Usually, I hate tracking down stupid shit i.e. cds in Saints Row 2, but in Arkham Asylum, it felt natural and it really contributed to the story.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Also: Go to your room! Steam is the enemy of gaming, and by supporting it you're killing gaming!

*slap* Any more from you young lad, and you'll be locked in your padded cell. Again.

It wasn't a bad game. Technically it was awesome, the fights really felt like Bats. Atmosphere-wise, awesome again.(Though Harley should be in her leotard, not that Kevlar fetish outfit. Grrrrr.)
The thing was that...it felt like a sequence. The very thing that made it a game, MADE IT A GAME.

And that's where Arkham isn't Arkham anymore.

Sort of hard to explain but Gordon Freeman picks up bits and pieces as he goes, while Bats just goes from Boss to Boss with a bonus just before/after.

It feels like you're being Bat-rail roaded all the time, which would be fine if you're playing Joker, but not if you're playing Bats.

Perhaps it's just, as has been said before, Bats is completely bloody wooden anyway. The real thrill of the Bat-franchise is the villains. For Hero-centric-ness (Yeah, my dictionary hates me), it always was Spidey, until they killed that off as well.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is like Half-Life and Portal. A dream, technically. Great set pieces. Great atmosphere. But afterwards...you feel hungry, and you don't know why.

 

[The Night Shade]

I really enjoyed Batman:AA it has great gameplay,great graphics,great straightforward story .What else can you ask for.

 

[v3n0mat3]

Compare Arkham Asylum to all the other Batman games. Yyyeeeeaaaahhh.... There's just one Batman game I actually enjoyed and that was Batman for the Game Boy.