Font ResizeFor: Xbox 360 and Playstation 3
From: Rocksteady Studios/Eidos
Rating: Teen
Good licensed videogames find a way to mold their subject matter so it conforms to whatever established gameplay genre it's trying to imitate.
The bold ones, meanwhile, do the opposite, bending and melting popular gameplay conventions until they do justice to the license rather than the other way around.
"Batman: Arkham Asylum," to both its benefit and detriment, is one of the boldest licensed games around. Presentationally speaking, it's the best game of the year thus far.
"Asylum" toes a line between the animated series and the recent, darker films, but it never displays anything less than a spotless understanding of the Batman universe.
A good storyline works in tandem with some incredible voice acting (much of it employing the same actors from the animated series), and the game is stuffed with audio and visual storytelling nuggets that overlay the action (a la "Bioshock") rather than interfere with it.
Everything from the character designs to the speedy and stylish map/inventory/menu interface benefits from a superlative level of care.
The rush is similarly pronounced during "Asylum's" more exciting gameplay moments. The game pulls triple duty as a hand-to-hand brawler (Batman versus unarmed thugs), a stealth game (armed thugs), and a platformer that emphasizes exploration and
In each case, developer Rocksteady has tweaked with well-worn formulas to best accommodate Batman's particular methods and means.
When these bets pay off, they do so magnificently. The brawling segments, which punish mindless button mashing in favor of nuanced, rhythmic attacks, absolutely sing under the right conditions.
And when the game gives players room to freely employ both Batman's toys and his Detective Vision -- a breakthrough on-the-fly interface shift that overlays the screen with a wealth of information but never feels excessively gamey in doing so -- the exploration and stealth missions are a treat.
Without spoiling anything, "Asylum" also cleverly incorporates some of Batman's familiar arch nemeses in a handful of one-of-a-kind encounters that further diversify its gameplay offerings.
But between these moments, "Asylum" has a tendency to lose its way. Fights turn into logjams when the screen fills with too many thugs and contrived fight conditions get in the way.
Stealth missions fall prey to contrivances of their own, with inconsistent enemy intelligence and the occasional forced story mechanic changing established rules of engagement from one encounter to the next.
And while it makes sense within the context of that awesome storyline, all the backtracking through old environments can be a considerable drag late in the game.
"Asylum's" good moments nonetheless outnumber its bad ones, and with the exception of a few truly aggravating fights and backtracking expeditions, the weak stuff gets a lift from all that other stuff the game continually does right from start to finish.
Totaled up, "Asylum" easily stands alone as the best Batman video game ever made, and its best ideas should influence numerous games that appear in the years ahead.
