Batman: Arkham Asylum on Xbox 360

BILL19 from Telford [Highly rated reviewer] , 30/08/2009

This game is amazing, I give it 5 Stars. Theres nothing I dont like about it. The graphics, gameplay, fighting system, gadgets, boss battles, detective mode, riddles. I love everything about this game.

You can play this game anyway you want, I prefer the stealth option, I like to take out enemies one by one and cause the other enemies to become nervous when they see a body hanging from the roof. Or you can go all out and just have a huge brawl and generate a huge combo.

I also really like the story line in this game, theres plenty of interesting cut-scenes and you will see alot of familiar and un-familiar bosses! Also apart from following the main story line you can also find things hidden around the island, such as chattering-teeth and riddles hidden in hard to find places. Apart from that there is Challenge Mode which is also great!

I give this 10/10 and its a definite rent, or buy if you can spare the money!

  13 out of 17 people found this review helpful

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* * * This review contains spoilers * * *

KLASHINIKOV from Harrow , 03/09/2009

I got this game on the day of release, after following it for months. All i can say is BUY IT!

The actual story mode is short if you dont find all the 'RIDDLERS' riddles! Fantastic graphics, awesome gameplay and the story fits nicely with the comics!

Past Batman games have been rubbish. This one is amazing!

  3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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* * * This review contains spoilers * * *

JustAFanTC from Leeds [Highly rated reviewer] , 05/09/2009

This game is astounding, I have played it through twice and am now attempting the hardest difficulty setting and it still doesen't bore me.

Thrown in at the deep end, Batman in is the middle of a seige as The Joker and his 'friends' begin to take over Arkham Asylum. The plot is as simple as that!! But when you realise that Arkham is currently home to some notorious villains, suddenly the story begins to weave in and out between Batman and these amzing characters. I do not want to spoil this , as the game keeps throwing out suprises.

What I will say is that the graphics are brilliant, the story, compelling, the gameplay - strategic and action packed and the voice acting fantastic!! The detail in this game is enough to make any fan of the franchise proud. This is true batman, not the 'Nolan' version, here we get characters such as Killer Croc and Poison Ivy which the newest director would struggle with.

Some of the best parts of the game are taking the henchmen out, fighting bosses and solving the Riddles which Edward Nigma challenges Batman with.

I don't want to say anymore, but this is a must!!

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

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JonnyHavoc from St John's Wood , 18/09/2009

If Christopher Nolan wants his movies to be a game, THIS IS WHAT HE WOULD WANT.

With Modern Warfare 2, Dead Rising 2, Left for dead 2 and a whole heap of new games coming soon. Can batman stick it to the big guns.

Frankly YES!!!!! This game is brilliant. A dark and twisted well designed game. With so much to do and so much to see. You enter the role of BATMAN (no surprise) taking the Joker to arkham asylum and it is not long before all hell breaks loose. I won't go into the story to much as that is one of the best things about this game. Half the time you could easily think your watching a new movie but with no Arnie, think more Heath Ledger Joker minus the nurse outfit.

The fighting system has been so well designed I can see many new titles trying to copy the style and all round comfortable feel when slapping Jokers boy toys around. You have 3 standard buttons x being punch, y is counter (when you see an expression above there head) and B which is your cape, this stuns the mob so you get a little break before you throw a folly of punches to your next victim. Include the upgrade system to add extra moves or gadgets to the array and you have yourself a freaky bat day.

So how can batman, swing and glide in style when the game has been designed behind bricks and mortar. Easy! Some nice architect has built the areas with the Bat in mind. Gargoyles and ledge are ever present around the areas, hit the RB button to swing up to a location point. You can then either climb/swing/glide to your next location or dangle from the gargoyle on top of an unlike prey. Hit the X button when your bat symbol is above one the jokers many goons to glide kick them in the face. I won't spoil the other moves and different things you can do, because as they say half the fun is trying it for yourself.

The last thing before I get back to cleaning up Arkham Asylum is the bat detection mode. Click the LB button and your vision will change. This gives you an insight to enemy in the area, hidden walls or objects (some you need to progress through the game to get access to at a later date). This becomes a lot more interesting when you unlock the riddler games. There are lots of riddles hidden throughout the game and it is up to you to figure them out. Once you feel you have understood what Edward Nigma is trying to get at, you will need to focus your bat vision and hold down the LB button to focus on the object or location.

If you use the bat detection on a human it will show you there heart rate. It is a nice little feature which you can use to your advantage, see how panicked goon is, watch his movement pattern change according to your presence. If they know your there they will react to it. Stay in the shadow and there heart rate will drop easing them into a false sense of safety before your swoop down and beat the living pulp out of them.

Two tips

1st Goons with Guns = death. Stay away, hide, run and never go toe to toe with them.

2nd tip check everything with your vision, there is a lot to be found.

Lastly (I know I said the last bit was my last bit but this game just has so much to find and play with). There is a wealth of batman background to be found, some characters which are not even in the game get a nice mention and a little bit of history. Penguin and Dc Freeze to name a few.

Remember Batman never kills anyone, so do not expect a gore blood bath of a game, but this doesn't mean what you can do, it wouldn't just be nicer to end thier lives.

We’ll have to see what turns up in the next few months but so far this game is on my top list of games to play plus I can foresee downloadable content, I see the another game in the pipe line (well they would be stupid not too).

Rocksteady have set the benchmark for comic games, let’s hope other companies can learn from this.

P.S – When you have done and dusted the game or anything your feel like it, you get a nice few options in the menu. One is a combat challenge. Beat up set number of people to gain the highest score. If you have Xbox live (lets face it, if you don’t you’re a fool) There is a list of all the top players and there highest score.

Enjoy!!

Jonny Havoc

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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BILL19 from Telford [Highly rated reviewer] , 30/08/2009

This game is amazing, I give it 5 Stars. Theres nothing I dont like about it. The graphics, gameplay, fighting system, gadgets, boss battles, detective mode, riddles. I love everything about this game.

You can play this game anyway you want, I prefer the stealth option, I like to take out enemies one by one and cause the other enemies to become nervous when they see a body hanging from the roof. Or you can go all out and just have a huge brawl and generate a huge combo.

I also really like the story line in this game, theres plenty of interesting cut-scenes and you will see alot of familiar and un-familiar bosses! Also apart from following the main story line you can also find things hidden around the island, such as chattering-teeth and riddles hidden in hard to find places. Apart from that there is Challenge Mode which is also great!

I give this 10/10 and its a definite rent, or buy if you can spare the money!

  13 out of 17 people found this review helpful

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* * * This review contains spoilers * * *

JustAFanTC from Leeds [Highly rated reviewer] , 05/09/2009

This game is astounding, I have played it through twice and am now attempting the hardest difficulty setting and it still doesen't bore me.

Thrown in at the deep end, Batman in is the middle of a seige as The Joker and his 'friends' begin to take over Arkham Asylum. The plot is as simple as that!! But when you realise that Arkham is currently home to some notorious villains, suddenly the story begins to weave in and out between Batman and these amzing characters. I do not want to spoil this , as the game keeps throwing out suprises.

What I will say is that the graphics are brilliant, the story, compelling, the gameplay - strategic and action packed and the voice acting fantastic!! The detail in this game is enough to make any fan of the franchise proud. This is true batman, not the 'Nolan' version, here we get characters such as Killer Croc and Poison Ivy which the newest director would struggle with.

Some of the best parts of the game are taking the henchmen out, fighting bosses and solving the Riddles which Edward Nigma challenges Batman with.

I don't want to say anymore, but this is a must!!

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Read all highest rated reviews