Batman: Arkham Asylum Preview

I can 't decide which of movies with the bat I like the most, Tim Burton or Christopher Nolan, but after a handful of hours in Eidos registrants, I have already a good eye for Batman: Arkham Asylum. Drop all your preconceived ideas about licensing games for just a moment and come with a nice visit to an unpleasant prison.

The game is not based on a film but has its roots in the DC Comics comic books on the law enforcement revenge, therefore so far from the pastel-colored series from the 60's you can get. The design is nice dark and gloomy, which matches our hero temperament perfectly. It's impossible to smile, but there is certainly another gentleman who is very good at this, can you guess who?



The conditions for the story is simple: after a particularly easy battle, you have caught the Joker and tied up in your boat, driving him to the notorious prison Arkham Asylum. The game begins as you escort the wearer joke successor to the isolation section and at the same time can enjoy Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker aka) fantastic voicacting. The atmosphere is really thick and you just waiting for something to happen, which of course also do and not to ruin the experience we leave the events there.

You have a basic attack, performing both kicks and punches, and a counterattack when you are attacked from behind. The signal on the typical comic book way with lightning above the main villain, and you miss the timing you will be hit. The combination of these two giving a fight float that is very satisfactory.


The gameply consists of equal parts of combat, tactical and sneaky hint exploration and the balance there between feels really good, a bit as a Splinter Cell, but with Batman instead of Sam Fisher.

When the bad guys begin arming themselves with firearms, you must start thinking more tactically. As Bruce Wayne has no super powers maens a couple of shots in the chest the same as the game over.

At times, you must search for clues to take you further and it is done by a special vision, which you also can use to see what mood the crooks in.

As I wrote earlier is the balance between the three different moments works very well. If the developers keeps me as engaged during the whole game the ratings looks promising. If we also include the developer Rock Steady Studios has done a fantastic job graphically with Unreal 3 engine, it may well become one of my favorite titles this autumn. The game is released in late August.

Download the demo for 360 here