cloud

Batman: Arkham Asylum
One cape and cowl to rule them all..we don't think so

Article written by KatanOmega on 4/25/09
Last edited on 4/25/09

With the release of what looks to be the first truely great Batman game right around the corner, I decided to do a little research to find out if this will be the definitive Batman experience. What I came up with did not leave me with much hope.

Published by Eidos and Developed by Rocksteady Studios, Batman: Arkham Asylum certainly looks pretty enough. From the videos and screenshots we have seen Rocksteady has certainly taken advantage of the full power of Unreal Engine 3. I do have a problem with the character design though. Have you ever heard the saying "if it aint broke, don't fix it"? Rocksteady obviously has not, BATMAN IS NOT A FUCKING SPACE MARINE! What the fuck is up with the power gauntlets and boots. Eidos had Wildstorm studios do the character redesigns for the game. Whoever was in charge of redesigning Batman should be fired immediatly. Let me explain something, Batman is a stick to the shadows, rooftop to rooftop, hand to hand, stealth, kinda guy. There is absolutely no way he is sneaking anywhere in that get up. I mean seriously if you take off the cape and cowl he looks like Marcus fucking Fenix. If the rest of this game was developed with the same lack of insight into who Batman is this game is in trouble.

killercroc

Rocksteady Studios is a British-founded independent video game developer based in London. The Studio is best known for its Urban Chaos: Riot Response game of 2006 which garnered average reviews. They are best known for Urban Chaos due to the fact that it is the only other game they have developed, that is not promising. Urban Chaos was praised for having good combat and sheild mechanics, and the majority of reviews said it was "good mindless fun". Some of the negatives about Urban Chaos: Riot Response were bad AI, repetative enemy character design, and horrible low texture backgrounds. Now I don't know about you but I do not want a studio that was praised for "mindless fun" developing a game for the worlds greatest detective. Rocksteady has stated that there will be a detective mode in the game, I'm guessing they lifted the investigation mode from the Condemned series. The fact that they know how to develop quality combat leaves me with a bit of optimism though.

batman-enemy

Voice acting done right can push a game to the next level, voice acting done wrong can take the player out of the experience and really sink a game. Fortunatly Batman: Arkham Asylum does not have a problem in this department. Eidos brought in the voices of Mark Hamill (Joker) and Kevin Connroy (Batman) to do the voice overs. For thos who do not know, these are the actors who did the voices for Batman: The Animated Series which I considered the best representation of the Caped Crusader on the small screen. They also had famed series writer Paul Dini write the story. Knowing all this, I am certain that story and voice acting are not where this game will fall short.

joker

Most of the major players in Batmans rogues gallery do make an apperance in the game. Here is the list.........
1. Joker
2. Harley Quinn
3. Killer Croc
4. Zsars
5. Penguin
6. Riddler
7. Scarecrow
8. Poison Ivy
9. Mr. Freeze
10. Bane
There is no word as of yet if Robin, Nightwing, or Huntress will be making apperances to help the dark knight out. This is a problem for me because Batmans extended family are a huge part of who the character is. While some are fine with a solo Batman story, I'm one of the people that think a Batman is not a Batman without a Robin. Commisioner Gordon is in though so it is not a complete loss.

batman-enemy

In conclusion: While the game does look great (the redesigned Batman costume aside) and they obviosly got the right people doing story and voiceover it still all comes down to how the game plays. I have little hope for a Batman game developed by what could hardly be considered a mid tier developer with one average game under their belt. I hope I am wrong and Batman: Arkham Asylum is Rocksteady Studios break out hit, but I am usually not.

Game Articles