Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman has once again caught the Joker. Although, he thinks things went a little too easy this time. Which is why he has decided to personally deliver him to Arkham Asylum and escort him in to the deepest chambers. Unfortunately, Joker has other plans and Harley Quinn helps him escape from Batman and locks down the Asylum.

And if anyone tries to enter the asylum or tries something else, there are bombs placed around Gotham City set to detonate. Batman, Commissioner Gordon and everyone else inside the asylum are held hostage. And that includes other sociopaths and super villains as well. Batman has no plans to leave it that way, and therefore starts a breakout which also marks the beginning of the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Anyone who expects a straight forward third person action game with lot of fighting will be disappointed. Or at least surprised. Because the developers at Rocksteady Studios actually did their homework and Batman: Arkham Asylum resembles the comics. That means more brain and less muscles. Batman will be killed by bullets, so he has to outsmart his enemies and use all of his cool gadgets.

Batman: Arkham Asylum has more in common with games like Splinter Cell: Double Agent than Ninja Gaiden II. The darkness really is your friend here and it helps you to take out large numbers of enemies and keeps you hidden from well armed thugs. There is also a lot of really clever puzzles that makes me think of Condemned: Criminal Origins. Batman must figure things out from crime scenes in order to make the right decisions.

Running around with Batman is really easy and using his grappling hook is a breeze. Rocksteady Studios have really managed to simplify the controls and make everything appear smooth and effortless. You will never get stuck, wondering what to do next, you will never jump from wrong angle and you will never press the wrong buttons. Even the fighting part is well done and manages to feel advanced yet simple at the same time. Very impressive.

Even though Rocksteady still has quite some development time left, Batman: Arkham Asylum looks gorgeous alreadt. The frame rate is steady and the the work put into the little details is amazing. There are still some glitches that shows that this is still a beta after all, but if Rocksteady get the time they need, this will with no doubt be an amazing looking game.

Even though I had quite some expectations before I got to play this beta code, Batman: Arkham Asylum more than delivered. This will be the ultimate Batman game and a really nice super hero simulator that you just cannot afford to miss out on.