# Batman: Arkham Asylum



## Scar Symmetry (Jul 30, 2009)

Anyone else really stoked for this game?

Looks fucking sick if you ask me 

There's never been a decent Batman game before (although I can't comment on the Lego one as I never played it) but this looks like it could well and truly break tradition.

Batman: Arkham Asylum Video Game, Playing The Game Featurette | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com

Batman: Arkham Asylum Video Game, Villains Trailer | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com


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## goth_fiend (Jul 31, 2009)

im so pulling for this one to be the first good batman game, hell it has kevin conroy and mark hamill in it for gods sake! not only that but the art direction for all the characters looks fucking rad


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## Scar Symmetry (Jul 31, 2009)

yeah man it really does.

it's already been reviewed by Games Master UK:

Batman: Arkham Asylum (xbox360) reviews at Metacritic.com

that's a pretty fuckin good review if you ask me


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## st2012 (Jul 31, 2009)

I heard the ps3 version will have a few levels you can play as the Joker so I'm excited about that. Looks like a blast.


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## vampiregenocide (Jul 31, 2009)

Look god damned epic. Finally a possibly good Batman game.


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## Scar Symmetry (Jul 31, 2009)

it's now the 1st of August which means only 4 weeks til it's release 

yay!


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## solarian (Aug 1, 2009)

^ wo0 wo0!!! Yeah I've really been looking forward to this. The first screens looked amazing, then when I watched the gameplay vid on gametrailers I was sold.


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## ToniS (Aug 5, 2009)

The demo hits PSN and XBL on friday!!!! Can't wait!


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## Stealthdjentstic (Aug 5, 2009)

Im not getting my hopes up


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## JBroll (Aug 5, 2009)

Hey, don't bash Batman: Forever. The cheesy voices and awful graphics are everything that made any Batman outside comic books awesome.

Jeff


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## Scar Symmetry (Aug 5, 2009)

fair enough.


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## JBroll (Aug 5, 2009)

Fuhgeddauhbaouhtidt!

Jeff


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## DDDorian (Aug 7, 2009)

The demo's out for all three platforms. Get it. This rules.


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## Scar Symmetry (Aug 7, 2009)

I'll be downloading it as soon as I get home


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## ToniS (Aug 7, 2009)

So stoked to try it when I get home!


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## st2012 (Aug 8, 2009)

Just played the demo, this is going to be a badass game!


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## Zahs (Aug 8, 2009)

I'm playing the demo too much... there is just so much satisfaction inflicting fear into the enemies minds, dangling enemies from the gargoyles then slicing the rope so they fall on to the enemies who happen to be checking it out and of course gliding with the cape... hopefully this will be the Batman game all fans have been waiting for. Hopefully Two-face will make an appearance too.


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## Scar Symmetry (Aug 8, 2009)

I dunno, I'm digging the stealth gameplay but if you're caught you're pretty much fucked.

that's what I always hated about Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and the same can be said for this.

aside from that, cool demo. I'll definitely be buying it when it is released.


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## DDDorian (Aug 9, 2009)

I thought the combat was way too easy, actually. Fun, definitely, but they really need to throw five or six guys at me at once before I even stand a chance of getting hit. 

Also, you can glitch out the takedown animations if you're close enough to a wall - just before I managed to do one of the ground-based ones but the guy managed to flip around on the ground so I ended up sitting on his face and pounding on his crotch Whatever gets you off, Bruce.


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## Scar Symmetry (Aug 11, 2009)

yeah I agree about that actually, all you do is press X or Y and it does the rest for you.

what I didn't like is how slow it takes to get up on those gargoyles, coz when henchman are firing machine guns at you and it's doing a _lot_ of damage, most of the time I'm dead before I've reached the gargoyle.

I've read good reviews though so I'm going to give this one a chance.


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## ToniS (Aug 11, 2009)

I liked the demo. Gonna buy it for sure.


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## Hawkevil (Aug 11, 2009)

At the moment this game seems like it is one of them where it is awesome for the first few hours but then it gets boring and samey for the rest. 

With no multiplayer too it really puts me off buying this game

Hopefully I'm wrong though as its been a while since any good games have come out.


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## DarkKnight369 (Aug 12, 2009)

From what I have seen so far, I think they will add cool Batman tech to keep it interesting. I hope they maybe add fighting styles and combos too. My only fear is that this awesome game will end up being too short. Hopefully its at least a 10+ hour campaign.


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## Scar Symmetry (Aug 14, 2009)

another extremely good review on Metacritic:

Batman: Arkham Asylum (xbox360) reviews at Metacritic.com


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## Hawkevil (Aug 14, 2009)

Wow, I might actually take a bit more notice of this game... 

It was quite a good demo but them reviews are making it out to be a GOTY contender...


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## st2012 (Aug 14, 2009)

The Game Informer I got yesterday gave it a 9.5.


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## Triple-J (Aug 21, 2009)

Well Batman:Arkham Asylum seems to have caused quite a stir as apparently the programmers are being slated to do the next Hitman game!


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## st2012 (Aug 25, 2009)

Picked this up at midnight and played til about 4 this morning. Great stuff but goddamn, I'm tired...


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## Scar Symmetry (Aug 28, 2009)

what's the verdict then?

the reviews stand it above Mass Effect and up there with the likes of Gears of War 2 and Call of Duty 4.


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## DslDwg (Aug 28, 2009)

Playing it now - I probably like Call of Duty 4 Better (although much too short). 
The Graphics are very good - love the look of the game.
The fighting gets harder as you go - and it's not uncommon to have 10+ guys attacking you. A little too much button mashing. 
You pretty much stay in detective mode 100% of the time - so you know where the baddies and the puzzles are located. 
The game is very linear it would be nice if you could make some more choices. 
I'm not bored yet enough to keep it interesting so far.


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## Gilbucci (Aug 29, 2009)

DslDwg said:


> Playing it now - I probably like Call of Duty 4 Better (although much too short).
> The Graphics are very good - love the look of the game.
> The fighting gets harder as you go - and it's not uncommon to have 10+ guys attacking you. A little too much button mashing.
> You pretty much stay in detective mode 100% of the time - so you know where the baddies and the puzzles are located.
> ...


I agree with everything here. I got this for the PS3 because playing Joker is exclusive to it All in all, it's fantastic.


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## DDDorian (Aug 30, 2009)

I'm not gonna compare this to Call Of Duty or Gears Of War (because I'm not really into FPS games anymore and those still aren't my favourites) but this is a genuinely fun game with lots of neat ideas that are executed well. The stealth gameplay is fun, combat is simple but the depth is in the execution, the upgrades are neat, the detective missions and Riddler challenges are cool and most of the boss fights are fun (except the last one, what the hell). I thought we were lucky that the Wolverine game turned out so well but this is something else entirely.


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## sPliNtEr_777 (Sep 4, 2009)

I have to agree with everything said above, its an excellently executed game, innovative and fun, with cool little features like the gadgets and riddles. Admittedly I havent finished it yet, Im about 35% through, but Im loving it unconditionally, and am one step away from skulking round my house with all the lights turned off, wearing a cape and mask, throwing tin-foil batarangs at stuff.

It seems for the first time in video game history we have seen EXTREMELY GOOD games borne from movies. Batman:Arkham Asylum and The Ghostbusters Video Game, both awesome, both with ties to the movie series. (yes I know neither of them are strictly movie based, but who cares when theyre this good?!)


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## darbdavys (Sep 5, 2009)

DDDorian said:


> I'm not gonna compare this to Call Of Duty or Gears Of War (because I'm not really into FPS games anymore and those still aren't my favourites) but this is a genuinely fun game with lots of neat ideas that are executed well. The stealth gameplay is fun, combat is simple but the depth is in the execution, the upgrades are neat, the detective missions and Riddler challenges are cool and most of the boss fights are fun (except the last one, what the hell). I thought we were lucky that the Wolverine game turned out so well but this is something else entirely.


gears of war isn't an fps. neither is wolverine and nor is batman


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## heavy7-665 (Sep 19, 2009)

loved the scarecrow encounters


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## sPliNtEr_777 (Sep 19, 2009)

i don't mean to thread hijack but i have a B:AA question:

I have completed all the story mode, got 80% of the PSN trophies, done 240/240 riddles, all bios and character trophies, and yet my "chronicles of arkham" bio isnt complete. I have found 23 out of 24 chronicles, and the 24th is not counted as an E-Nigma riddle and is not shown on any of the riddle maps. Does anyone know where I can find it?????

I only completed it on normal mode, is the final chronicle only available on hard mode?


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## st2012 (Sep 19, 2009)

Spoiler



The last Chronicle is in the security office in the penitentiary. Remember the room where you saved the warden earlier? Scan the floor where the word "batman" is scratched over and over again in a circle.


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## sPliNtEr_777 (Sep 19, 2009)

awesome, thanks dude, ill do that. btw i like the whole mini riddle hiding the answer, very swish


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## darbdavys (Sep 19, 2009)

didn't you think of the fact that only one person could have all those chronicles hidden?


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## synrgy (Oct 2, 2009)

So I just beat this game yesterday.

I thought I was enjoying it, until I got to the end. Now, honestly, I feel totally jipped.



Spoiler



Okay, for starters, that ending fucking SUCKED. Super Joker? Really? That's the best we could come up with? And you don't even really fight him, you just fight more of the same fucking no-name henchman you've been fighting the whole fucking time, while he watches? LAME.


 


Spoiler



Really, in hindsight having completed the story mode, I feel like the whole thing was just stupid. You just run around and knock out henchmen and open the same grate or 'hidden' walls over and over again, until once in a while you get to either get annoyed by the Scarecrow (sorry, I really didn't like those parts) or do a 'boss battle' against what are more or less the same boss over and over again. Seriously, how many times did they make us fight the venom injected henchmen that you had to fight exactly like you fought Bane or the injected henchmen in the opening sequence? The only exception was the boss battle for poison ivy, which I'm sorry to say I just thought was a big bucket of stupid, conceptually.. Didn't even get to fight Killer Croc, just got to run away from him like a pussy. Apparently that qualifies as a boss battle.


 
I hate to trash this, but I'm seriously wishing I'd just rented it, since it was only really good for about 3 days. I'm probably gonna trade it in while it still has some value left tomorrow.

It has redeeming qualities, but I'm right sick of games being half assed. Just because you're borrowing the Unreal engine (Jesus Christ Monkey Balls, doesn't ANYONE other than Valve make their own game engines any more??) doesn't mean you can slack off on the actual game play and/or story. This slacked on both. It looks pretty great, and I enjoyed the demo a lot so I bought it. Now I'm kicking my self.

I'm ranking this one equal with Ghostbusters. It's really great for the first few days, and then it just gets samey and boring, and that's before you even beat it that it feels repetetive. At least the story in Ghostbusters was acceptable. The story in this game is not up to par, particularly with the high standard of the recent films and the animated series that Mark Hamill first made the iconic voice of this Joker for. Just not up to par.

I'm SO ready for Mass Effect 2.


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## darbdavys (Oct 3, 2009)

I really liked it, actually. found all riddler's trophies, but cba doing the challenges for 100%


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## CrushingAnvil (Oct 3, 2009)

I played the demo...It was kind of too easy.

It plays itself.


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## Bungle (Oct 17, 2009)

DDDorian said:


> the guy managed to flip around on the ground so I ended up sitting on his face and pounding on his crotch Whatever gets you off, Bruce.


I think this will explain everything.








So yeah, I'm about 60-something percent complete with the game. I reckon it's quite good. Really like how with detective mode you can see just how high some poor bastards heart rate can go when he realises he's the only person left in the room 

The only part I don't like are the Scarecrow sections, it was ok at first, but got to me after a bit.


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## Azyiu (Oct 20, 2009)

After playing the demo and reading all the reviews here... well, I think I am going to pass on this one.


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## DarkKnight369 (Oct 22, 2009)

CrushingAnvil said:


> I played the demo...It was kind of too easy.
> 
> It plays itself.



The demo is not nearly an accurate representation of the game. I was amazed at how much better and how much more depth there was to the actual game. Its not as easy as you think, at all. The campaign is long and there is so much to do and find. This is seriously one of my favorite games ever. Only thing I have left to do is the unlocked challenges and I will have 100% of the game complete.


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## Scar Symmetry (Oct 22, 2009)

Pete is right, but I would also agree with Dave that demo =/= game quality.

The Resident Evil 5 demo was poor I thought, game was awesome though.

I still need to pick this up, bought Operation Flashpoint and beginning to regret my decision.


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## synrgy (Oct 22, 2009)

Scar Symmetry said:


> Pete is right, but I would also agree with Dave that demo =/= game quality.
> 
> The Resident Evil 5 demo was poor I thought, game was awesome though.
> 
> I still need to pick this up, bought Operation Flashpoint and beginning to regret my decision.



Don't do it. It's a great rental, but not a great purchase. You'll beat it in a week or less and then won't have any more reason to play it. It's not one of those games where you can play it a bunch of different ways.


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## Scar Symmetry (Oct 22, 2009)

synrgy said:


> Don't do it. It's a great rental, but not a great purchase. You'll beat it in a week or less and then won't have any more reason to play it. It's not one of those games where you can play it a bunch of different ways.



Really? I haven't heard a bad word about it so far.

I don't doubt I'd beat it in a week, but if it's solid gameplay then I wouldn't mind, I'm a quality not quantity guy 

So what you're saying basically is: it's a great game, but not worth the £40/$60 admission?

If I did get it I'd be trading Operation Flashpoint in for it anyhow, so I could possibly get it for free


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## synrgy (Oct 22, 2009)

Scar Symmetry said:


> So what you're saying basically is: it's a great game, but not worth the £40/$60 admission?



More or less, yeah.

You know those games that start to feel really repetitive before you're even 3/4 of the way through? It's one of those.

Find 'secret' entrance to room, enter room, knock out nameless henchmen, rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat.

I wouldn't have felt so bad about it if I'd only paid $30 for it, but I paid about $60 something, and that just stung when I realized I was completely done with the game in 3 days.

Is it better than most (if not all) games based on comics? Yeah, maybe.. But that's like saying a solid turd is better than a liquid turd.


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## Scar Symmetry (Oct 22, 2009)

Solids turds are better than liquid turds! 

Ok cool, I'll bear that in mind 

Still, I bet it's more enjoyable than OF


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## Scar Symmetry (Oct 28, 2009)

Got.

Now to test it out...

Oh yes, opinions will be posted, whether you want them or not.


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## Esp Griffyn (Oct 28, 2009)

Game is totally awesome. Couldnt be arsed with getting gold medals on all of the combat and stealth challenges, and if anything its too easy. Even on hard mode it holds almost no challenge at all, but I suppose its cool to play a nice easy game once in a while. 100%'ing the riddlers challenges (all 255-odd of them!) was ace fun too.


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## Scar Symmetry (Oct 28, 2009)

Yeah this game is pretty sweet. The environments are stunningly realised, gameplay has it's flaws but overall works really well, very impressed.


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## Scar Symmetry (Nov 9, 2009)

Having completed this game I must say the only flaw I could find with it is that it was a little too easy, but I eagerly await it's sequel.


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