The first Arkham game ever made and what an introduction to this series. From the moment you load this game up and pull up on Arkham Asylum ready to kick some ass, you know the developers of this game are big Batman fans.
The atmosphere of Arkham is bang on the money, having that creepiness and uneasiness the whole way through. The colour scheme is dark and bleak, the music is eerie, the structures are all old and worn. I truly feel like I've been thrust into hell itself. Even the small things such as guards being dead when you come back to them after the beginning of the game. They nailed the profile of Arkham on the head.
The characters are written superbly and the voicework quality is exactly what you'd expect of a Batman product (especially Mark Hamill as Joker and Kevin Conroy as Batman). They really kept true to the source material which is something I can really appreciate.
And let's get on to what makes the Arkham games great, the combat. While understandably, Asylum has the worst combat out of the series, it's still very impressive for the time. While simple, its very fun to watch and truly does make you feel like the Bat. For this title, it does feel a little janky at times with you not being able to flow as nicely but again, it's understandable for it's time.
The story of Asylum is in my opinion a mixed bag. It starts really good, involving many different Batman characters and maintaining a tense feeling as you try to take back the asylum but then slumps out at the end with a disappointing end. The final boss fight is very clearly rushed and no effort has been put into it. It’s just ‘hit a couple of buttons and then defeat some thugs’. Very underwhelming ending for an otherwise great game.
These things in my opinion stop the game from getting that 5/5 mark. However, despite this, I do believe the game is definitely worth trying as it is still a top game, especially if you’re a fan of Batman
The atmosphere of Arkham is bang on the money, having that creepiness and uneasiness the whole way through. The colour scheme is dark and bleak, the music is eerie, the structures are all old and worn. I truly feel like I've been thrust into hell itself. Even the small things such as guards being dead when you come back to them after the beginning of the game. They nailed the profile of Arkham on the head.
The characters are written superbly and the voicework quality is exactly what you'd expect of a Batman product (especially Mark Hamill as Joker and Kevin Conroy as Batman). They really kept true to the source material which is something I can really appreciate.
And let's get on to what makes the Arkham games great, the combat. While understandably, Asylum has the worst combat out of the series, it's still very impressive for the time. While simple, its very fun to watch and truly does make you feel like the Bat. For this title, it does feel a little janky at times with you not being able to flow as nicely but again, it's understandable for it's time.
The story of Asylum is in my opinion a mixed bag. It starts really good, involving many different Batman characters and maintaining a tense feeling as you try to take back the asylum but then slumps out at the end with a disappointing end. The final boss fight is very clearly rushed and no effort has been put into it. It’s just ‘hit a couple of buttons and then defeat some thugs’. Very underwhelming ending for an otherwise great game.
These things in my opinion stop the game from getting that 5/5 mark. However, despite this, I do believe the game is definitely worth trying as it is still a top game, especially if you’re a fan of Batman