50 Years of Video Games: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360)
By the year 2009 most gamers knew not to trust games based on licensed properties. There were a few good ones to be found for sure, but if a game was based on a movie, television show, or book, there was a pretty high chance that it was a rushed product aiming to cash in on a recognizable name rather than a game developed by a devoted and talented team. As video games evolved and pushed into the HD era, the cost of creating games began to grow and cheap tie-ins most people knew to be wary of became less and less common. Around this time though Warner Bros. was looking to push their properties in the gaming space more, the owner of DC Comics wisely allowing experienced publisher Eidos Interactive assist in the creation of a Batman game. Developer Rocksteady Studios was given almost two years to work on the project, plenty of talent with experience working on the Batman comics and media were recruited to help, and the budget was set well above the usual amount a tie-in typically gets, but Batman: Arkham Asylum was also not to be a tie-in to anything in particular. It would be an original story building off the Batman lore and world, and by giving the team freedom to make their own experience and the resources needed to ensure its quality, Warner Bros. not only began its ascent to being a big name in the gaming space, but it showed the gaming world licensed games could be excellent if given the same love and care as other games, a lesson other developers would follow more and more in the coming years.
Batman: Arkham Asylum itself is a combination of ideas tied to various incarnation of the Dark Knight, but the story itself is a wholly new one that begins in a rather familiar way. Batman has just captured his long time nemesis the Joker, the villainous clown oddly giving himself up with hardly a fight this time around. Batman is naturally suspicious and accompanies the captured criminal as he is processed at the gothic island estate turned sanitarium for the criminally insane, Arkham Asylum. Recently a fire at Blackgate Prison had forced many regular criminals to be temporarily housed at the asylum during reconstruction, and as Batman and the police prepare to put the Joker in his cell, he puts his true plan into action. Arkham Asylum is locked down and its inmates, both the transferred street level thugs and the supercriminals Batman has dealt with before, are unleashed by the Joker in a bid not to just take down Batman and the police force once and for all, but to also begin his tests with an unusual new formula that can mutate people into monstrously strong fighters. Batman is essentially trapped on the island until he can recapture the inmates, save the many doctors and guards held hostage, and stop the Joker’s plans before they can reach fruition.
Batman, voiced by Kevin Conroy, and the Joker, voiced by Mark Hamill, reprise their roles from Batman: The Animated Series in a dynamic the pair of voice actors are already familiar with and able to slip into incredibly naturally. Batman is a stoic and serious force throughout the adventure, unerring confidence even in the face of failures he couldn’t have prevented driving him forward and preventing him from bending under the constant taunts of the Joker. The clown prince of crime is in top form as well, having gained control of the asylum’s PA system to jeer at his long time foe in ways that are both sinister and comedic. Walking the line between disturbed and delightful, the Joker is given moments to indulge the campier side of his persona as part of this grand plan is specifically to toy with Batman’s mind, but at other moments like when you see him interact with underlings or even his girlfriend/second-in-command Harley Quinn you are reminded that this is a man who kills without guilt and will be as cruel as he needs to in order to get the results he wants. By having Joker routinely communicating with Batman or berating the other criminals on the loose he remains a constant presence throughout, a foe you are always working to defeat and one always working against you. Batman can be trying to hide in the shadows trying to pick off escaped inmates one by one only for the Joker to use his control of the security system to alert his underlings to your actions, but the unflappable Batman is always ready to keep fighting for those in danger even though you can see the toll on him as the game goes on as his costume gets more and more damaged from fight after fight.
The Joker isn’t the only major villain to worry about in the asylum, and Batman: Arkham Asylum does a wonderful job of building up each major villain before you get your main confrontation with them. Killer Croc is a hulking beast of a man who looks much like his namesake, introduced at the very beginning of the game even though he’s one of the last villains you’ll face directly. Batman often has some form of run-in with a criminal before he gets to face them in combat, Harley Quinn joining Joker in berating and confounding Batman for example while you find Poison Ivy still in her special cell only for her to be released to cause havoc later. As you explore the asylum you’ll often find audio logs of patient interviews with these supercriminals, some showing formative moments like how Harley Quinn could go from a psychiatrist to the love interest of a madman and others like the Killer Croc tapes helping to cement how fearsome he is. These are often placed to help build up the villains as well, the climb towards the confrontation peppered with interesting insights about who you will face and how they’re wrapped up in the intricate plans the Joker has enacted or how they’ve made their own opportunities out of the situation.
Two of the more compelling villains aren’t even ones faced in traditional combat. Batman: Arkham Asylum is primarily an action game, but Batman’s detective side isn’t forgotten as The Riddler’s need for attention has lead to him leaving constant trials and puzzles across the estate for Batman to try and solve. Little trophies will be hidden in out of place spots where you’ll need to use the right gadgets to reach them and almost every area on the island has some sort of small quote from The Riddler associated with them to give you something to look for. Many of these riddles have some pretty clear clues inside them so you have a good lead on what to search for, and with many of the solutions also easter eggs referencing other long time Batman characters they add a neat way to flesh out this world despite all the action being confined to the island. These riddles can sometimes pay off with little bonuses but are often just interesting for the small challenges they inject alongside the main journey through Arkham, the story taking you over familiar ground somewhat frequently but having the Riddler challenges gives you something to do while in transit as your abilities start to expand and you can start to reach solutions you couldn’t before.
The other villain that is definitely a stand out is the Scarecrow, his fear toxin able to draw out huge breaks from the main form of play as the game starts getting more experimental and focused on interesting and strange sights. When Batman gets infected with this dangerous gas the world begins to warp around him, and with the Scarecrow taking more than one encounter to take down, you never know when suddenly you open a door and things can suddenly become twisted. Batman’s many fears are put on display, ideas about his own mental state, the old trauma of losing his parents that shifted him from simply Bruce Wayne into a costumed vigilante, and the idea of losing out to the villains he face all covered in some creative ways. The game isn’t afraid to screw with how you even view it as a game, mechanics adjusting and interfaces messed with to make for situations that immerse you in the same confusion and worry Batman would be experiencing. These surreal moments of personal horror are punctuated with a bit of a sneaking section that isn’t as compelling as the warped reality segments that preface the actual gameplay of the situation, but they are decently designed and forgiving enough to ensure that encountering the Scarecrow is still a conceptual delight.
Batman: Arkham Asylum actually has you playing in a few different ways that the game weaves through fluidly and continuously to keep the adventure fresh and engaging. The basic combat you’ll rely on to take down the many standard prisoners starts off fairly simple, a single button press needed to punch any goon nearby, but if you can start building up your combo without getting hurt or breaking the rhythm you gain more options. The first and most satisfying is that your attacks can now better link between multiple assailants, Batman’s acrobatics shown off wonderfully as he can lunge across a room to smash a criminal with his next attack with the kind of professional flair you’d expect of a man who has been doing this for years. The game isn’t afraid to crowd Batman because this fluid attack system gives you the means to respond to such a group, and if you are about to be attacked an indicator over the attacker’s head warns you that you need to press the counter button. Counters can fit right into the combo system as another attack, but time it wrong and you can lose your combo or get hurt. Building up combos can also let you execute special moves like throws once you unlock them, and later in the game you start getting more enemy types like more defensive knife wielders you need to disable first before actually hurting them. This battle system is able to be quick and gratifying rather than demanding too much time and attention, working up to high combos almost more of the thrill than repelling dangerous threats, although there are some mutated characters that work like minibosses and are fairly basic battles when they reappear a little too often. The simplicity and smooth feel of the basic fights works well, but the slow take down of the big brutes shows how things can be a little less exciting when the enemy requires a slower approach.
Boss battles thankfully try to avoid this, very few actually about directly attacking your target. In fact, some like Killer Croc aren’t even battles so much as a devoted gameplay segment with its own gimmicks and dangers. Slinking around the sewer and trying to avoid making enough noise to trigger Croc appearing out the of water to drag you down into it makes for a tense segment that plays unlike any other, Batman’s nemeses fought in mostly unique ways. Some ideas aren’t as strong as others, the final battle actually not as compelling as some before it, but overall it keeps the more involved interactions with your main adversaries fresh and diverse rather than recycling the main combat system for foes who would risk slowing it down in the same way the big brutes do.
One interesting thing about Batman in this game is his vulnerability. He can take a few blows from regular goons of course, but any time they come armed with guns, they can chew through him rather quickly with sustained fire. In some rooms multiple gunmen are on patrol as well, meaning that if you are spotted by the enemy you will be gunned down with no real hope of retaliating. During these segments you need to play into the Dark Knight’s more sneaky and clever side, these areas often filled with little ways to slink around and get the drop on the gunmen. Batman can swing from decorative gargoyles high above, sneak through vents or floor grates, lurk around corners with a gadget ready to stun the foe, and take down guards who don’t detect him quietly. Gradually knocking out the thugs in secret and watching them begin to panic as they realize their ranks are thinning makes for a satisfying loop that values skillful maneuvering and good identification of available opportunities, and even this part of the game can gradually evolve over the course of the game. Canny guards begin to place explosives on the gargoyles to discourage your use of them and some begin to stick together so you have to find ways to split them up to avoid detection. Luckily for you, you have a special ability known as Detective Vision, something many games that would copy after this game’s release.
Detective Vision is actually used for what its names implies at parts, Batman investigating a scene to find clues to help guide his journey through Arkham Asylum. It’s also used to give clues on how systems work like highlighting important objects and can help show you where certain gadgets like your explosive gel can alter the environment. However, its biggest use is definitely giving you an idea of where your enemies lurk in the sneaking sections, Batman able to detect them through walls and even see small details like if they’re holding weapons. This vision is important in making these sections feasible instead of frustrating, the game able to give them more intelligent and reactive behavior to their changing numbers and where guards have been knocked out before and not just lingering in a line where setups for taking them down would be too obvious. However, Detective Vision also doesn’t have many downsides, the player often able to leave it up and getting helpful information at all times for doing so. This vision comes with a color tint and different levels of detail that can sometimes lessen the moody atmosphere of the island, but its reliability isn’t really a detriment to the game and it can be a touch distracting in moments like fist fights where you’ll likely switch to normal view for better readability.
Getting around Arkham Asylum even when not in a fight is made into an interesting challenge at times as well. Many of Batman’s gadgets are actually there to help them explore the island better, his kit gradually expanding in usually plausible ways save for when the Batplane drops by in a scene probably meant more as a spectacle than a reasonable way of giving him the newest gizmo. Leveling up through skillful fighting also gives your gadgets and basic abilities more options that benefit both regular play and combat, and over the course of the adventure you definitely feel yourself getting more capable and navigation opens up more and more to make backtracking not only rewarding for Riddler related content but simple thanks to your new abilities. A grappling hook gives you a way out of a lot of trouble, either by helping you escape to a high place if some gunmen spot you or pulling you up just in time when you almost fell down a deadly pit. The explosive gel blasts away certain walls to reveal new routes or riddles inside while also giving you way to really surprise criminals if you use it right. Arkham Asylum is thankfully a varied place despite its purpose as a correctional facility, its history as an old mansion helping it expand beyond relevant facilities that it explains well through the discoverable musings of its founder Amadeus Arkham. This asylum not only has places for its prisoners but a botanical gardens and old mansion as well as areas that fit its purpose more reasonably like a medical area and more locked down intensive care areas for more dangerous patients. Even places you need to revisit might have a new section open up or have some meaningful alteration to how they look or what dangers are found there to prevent the adventure from growing stale, a forward-moving plot and approach to action making you want to even retread old ground since you know something interesting will be waiting for you when you arrive.
THE VERDICT: From the smallest of fights to the confrontations with supercriminals, from simply crossing the asylum grounds to dealing with deadly traps, Batman: Arkham Asylum provides a variety of satisfying and exciting ways to engage with it that make for a more robust adventure than simple superheroics. While a few boss battles aren’t as exciting, the build up the characters receive and more creative encounters more than make up for it while basic baddies are handled with a smooth battle system that doesn’t demand too much attention but rewards rhythm and reactiveness. The asylum is made compelling to explore with its references to other Batman works, the many forms Riddler’s challenges take, and your expanding ability to navigate the area, and when you need to hide from your enemies you are also given the tools to be a silent predator against opposition that actually tries to counter your efforts over time. With some top talent on hand to give life to complex characters like the Joker as well, Batman: Arkham Asylum ends up a superb game even for those not normally drawn in by the idea of playing as the dark knight.
And so, I give Batman: Arkham Asylum for Xbox 360…
A FANTASTIC rating. Batman is a multifaceted character who needs to be both clever in how he approaches things, capable in combat, and a good foil to a set of villains who are often over the top both in theme and behavior. He has to pull off stealth while not breaking away from the idea that he’s a human who doesn’t kill the criminals he fights, and Batman: Arkham Asylum has found a way to blend these many concepts into one beautifully executed whole. Sure the Detective Vision is a bit more powerful than maybe it should be, but it’s presence allows for more dynamic play during the segments where you need to sneak around and take down incredibly lethal targets. Areas can become more involved and complex since you are given the tools you need to navigate them and use them your advantage, and by sprinkling the Riddler’s trophies and clues throughout the world there are often little diversions to find that ask you to think even when you’re otherwise just heading to the next plot-relevant area. The game does do a superb job finding a balance in how Batman should be able to handle common thugs without it being too brainless or too difficult, the rhythmic timing needed to succeed not too demanding but also present enough and rewarding enough to make for a fighting system that proves satisfying even when your enemies aren’t the most capable. Having the confrontations that are deeper than fighting a bunch of goons are important to ensuring things aren’t too shallow though, and while the mutated inmates miss this mark through unaltered repetition, their impact isn’t felt as much as more involved encounters with foes like Scarecrow who bring something wonderfully creative to the experience. There are plenty of small yet crucial touches to the adventure that give it more depth as well, Batman having a few recurring allies like his technical expert Oracle to speak to so he isn’t always posturing to villains while others trapped in the same situation as him like Police Commissioner Gordon give you a hostage with more substance and stakes than some of the guards who meet unfortunate ends. The asylum itself is packed with extras to find and do, and while there is a combat challenge mode to unlock it doesn’t feel all too necessary when the main adventure already provides so much.
Batman: Arkham Asylum is its own take on Batman but also a condensed version of the many things that make the Batman franchise so great. Not every element is realized to its fullest, but the intersection of the various aspects of handling regular criminals, insane supervillains, and setting up strategic takedowns in difficult situations all come through as playable parts of the adventure while the scenes embrace the potential of characters like the Joker and Scarecrow. The player is the one who solves Riddler’s riddles and avoids Croc’s teeth and they’re the one finding the best route through a room full of deadly men to save a hostage. It’s a game that remembers to make the interactive sides as compelling as the narrative elements, and in doing so it tosses aside the stigma towards licensed games. This game isn’t counting on you to fill in the blanks based on experience with the media it is adapting, partly because it is not a straight adaptation but instead an original story set in a world it makes sure to acquaint you with either with strong build-up to its major antagonists or helpful information provided in quick chunks that won’t bog down people familiar with the world. Having its own story gives it a plot thread you gradually uncover as well rather than simply following the footsteps of old material, the wonder of finding out what’s next a great driving force to move you forward. It’s little wonder this particular Batman story would continue in many more games that would usually be given the same level of care that games without a license depend on, but it also helped to show that games about recognizable brands could be truly excellent when approached as video games rather than a piece of merchandise.