Batman: Arkham Asylum
Aaron
Photo credit: Wikipedia
It's hard to own a PS3 or Xbox 360 and not have heard of this game, and there's so many great reasons for that. Whether you're a die-hard DC comics fan or just someone who's heard of Batman once or twice, this game appeals to all audiences.
The game takes place on dreary Arkham Island, but specifically its famed asylum complex. Arkham Asylum is a large mental institution that houses most of Gotham's insane, in addition to most of the Batman villains like the Penguin, the Riddler, Mr. Freeze and so on. At the start of the game we take control of Batman as he accompanies the freshly-arrested Joker into the bowels of Arkham Asylum's Intensive Treatment Ward. As we see the Joker led off by some guards, he breaks free and the game is afoot! The Joker's suddenly in charge of the asylum. As his ally, Arkham staff member-turned-villain Harley Quinn sets the prisoners loose to do his bidding. With plot twists, side missions and secret passageways along the way, the game is essentially Batman using an array of fancy gadgets to find the Joker and bring him to justice. The type of game is sort of hard to describe. At times it's all about stealth and sleuthing and other times it's a good old-fashioned beat-em-up as Batman pummels his way through dozens of Joker's thugs.
A large aspect of the game is the Riddler's challenges. Although we never actually see the Riddler, it's established early on that he's determined to prove that he's intellectually superior to Batman.
Scattered around the island are 240 of the Riddler's challenges. They can be well-hidden trophies, concealed verbal riddles that one needs to find physical evidence to solve, or question marks painted on walls that need to be viewed from the right perspective. Now, the game's playable area is massive. The island itself is about the size of Alcatraz island in the San Francisco bay, and on the island are several huge buildings, all necessary to enter during the story mode.
One special thing I'd like to cover: this game's portrayal of the Joker is marvelous. Mark Hamill (a.k.a. Luke Skywalker) plays the voice of the Joker and does a fantastic job with it. But the character itself is a classic Joker. In Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," Heath Ledger's Joker was more evil than funny. But this Joker, although evil, uses an array of strange gadgets, quirky body language and darkly humorous comments to add some humor to the otherwise dark game.
As for content, nothing here is too inapproprate. With a Teen rating, taboo content would include a small amount of language, general dark setting and punching bad guys in the face (although they're never killed, only knocked unconscious). It's not a lot to worry about though, so I'd say ages 11 or 12 and up would be fine playing this.
Overall though, the game is great. Easily my favorite game for the PS3 so far, it combines wonderful beat-em-up sequences, a great story, plenty of iconic Batman villains, challenging riddles and an array of challenge maps to keep a person playing for many enjoyable hours.
The game takes place on dreary Arkham Island, but specifically its famed asylum complex. Arkham Asylum is a large mental institution that houses most of Gotham's insane, in addition to most of the Batman villains like the Penguin, the Riddler, Mr. Freeze and so on. At the start of the game we take control of Batman as he accompanies the freshly-arrested Joker into the bowels of Arkham Asylum's Intensive Treatment Ward. As we see the Joker led off by some guards, he breaks free and the game is afoot! The Joker's suddenly in charge of the asylum. As his ally, Arkham staff member-turned-villain Harley Quinn sets the prisoners loose to do his bidding. With plot twists, side missions and secret passageways along the way, the game is essentially Batman using an array of fancy gadgets to find the Joker and bring him to justice. The type of game is sort of hard to describe. At times it's all about stealth and sleuthing and other times it's a good old-fashioned beat-em-up as Batman pummels his way through dozens of Joker's thugs.
A large aspect of the game is the Riddler's challenges. Although we never actually see the Riddler, it's established early on that he's determined to prove that he's intellectually superior to Batman.
Scattered around the island are 240 of the Riddler's challenges. They can be well-hidden trophies, concealed verbal riddles that one needs to find physical evidence to solve, or question marks painted on walls that need to be viewed from the right perspective. Now, the game's playable area is massive. The island itself is about the size of Alcatraz island in the San Francisco bay, and on the island are several huge buildings, all necessary to enter during the story mode.
One special thing I'd like to cover: this game's portrayal of the Joker is marvelous. Mark Hamill (a.k.a. Luke Skywalker) plays the voice of the Joker and does a fantastic job with it. But the character itself is a classic Joker. In Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," Heath Ledger's Joker was more evil than funny. But this Joker, although evil, uses an array of strange gadgets, quirky body language and darkly humorous comments to add some humor to the otherwise dark game.
As for content, nothing here is too inapproprate. With a Teen rating, taboo content would include a small amount of language, general dark setting and punching bad guys in the face (although they're never killed, only knocked unconscious). It's not a lot to worry about though, so I'd say ages 11 or 12 and up would be fine playing this.
Overall though, the game is great. Easily my favorite game for the PS3 so far, it combines wonderful beat-em-up sequences, a great story, plenty of iconic Batman villains, challenging riddles and an array of challenge maps to keep a person playing for many enjoyable hours.