Batman Arkham Asylum Demo Review

I will tell you right off the bat that when Lindsey told me before that Batman couldn’t jump I was put off. How are they going to make a Batman game if Batman can’t jump? At first it sounded preposterous. Then I played the demo.

It is very true that you cannot control when Batman jumps, however if you are doing a combo he will do a jump kick, but you cannot stand and just jump up and down, but if you think about it, when making an authentic Batman experience, do you even really want to? Batman is the Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader, he hides in the shadows and fights a stealthy fight, he doesn’t just burste in kicking from one enemy to another, it is too dangerous. He hides in the shadows and waits for his prey, and that is where the beauty of this game comes in, because it makes you truly feel like you are Batman.

You can run, crouch, go into detective mode, use your grappling hook, or bat-a-rang to take down enemies. You can fight enemies head on, which for unarmed ones may be okay, but when they are armed you need to use your stealth, hide in the shadows, knock out enemies one at a time to even the odds, knock one out and then run to a ledge and hop over it to get back into the shadows and hide, play as if you really were Batman.

The game play is pretty simple, but it isn’t a button masher. RB uses your grappling hook, LT pulls up the bat a rang option, and some options that aren’t available in the demo. X is attack, Y is to counter, B is a more powerful attack. A lets you run, and also dodge, climb over railings, and jump over enemies if they are close to you, basically an action button.

Now I realize that I am putting a lot of emphasis on playing as if you are Batman, but that is what this game is about. I am not talking about the Batman with the kevlar armor, I am talking about one where you don’t have much armor and enough bullets will take you down, the kind that is in the comic books, the kind that we all dreamed of being as a kid. He has no powers, he just has his gadgets, and you can use them as he would.

Speaking of being a kid, the voice acting is great, but I think that has to do with the fact that the voices are the same as the cartoons, Batman is voiced by Kevin Conroy and the Joker is voiced by none other than Mark Hamill. It really adds to the game play that such familiar voices are lending to the game, it isn’t like Spiderman where each game, or television show is a different voice actor.

If the demo is any indication of how the game is I am definitely going to pick it up. As for the rating, I am going to give it a 10 out of 10, because the game looks amazing, and it is the first one that gives you a true Batman experience. If the Dark Knight was what comic book movies should be compared to, then Batman Arkham Asylum should be what comic book games should be.