Batman Arkham Asylum

These days, no summer is complete without half a dozen Hollywood comic book adaptations, each with its own obligatory rush-job tie-in game.

Batman Arkham Asylum is a little different though. For a start, there’s no movie release on which to cash in. Instead, the game provides a completely original, standalone storyline, which sees the Dark Knight deliver a freshly captured Joker to Gotham City’s favourite correctional facility, only to have his old adversary turn the tables on him as the lunatics literally take over the asylum.

As Batman, you’re tasked with infiltrating various areas of Arkham Island in order to restore order and put a stop to the Joker’s latest insane plot. Gameplay is largely divided between exploration, stealth and combat. Batman doesn’t do guns, so he is forced to rely on his fists for most of the fighting. Combat isn’t difficult, however, and there aren’t any complicated button combinations or keystrokes to learn. It’s satisfying too, with cinematic scenes emphasising bone-crunching takedowns in slow motion.

Along the way, you’ll come up against rooms full of armed thugs, where a silent but deadly approach is required. Again, the stealth tactics aren’t hard to learn and picking off your enemies from the shadows can be great fun. Certain more recognisable Arkham inmates make an appearance too, including Poison Ivy and the Scarecrow. A few of these ‘boss’ battles are a little weak, but others form some of the game’s most memorable moments.

Arkham Asylum pulls off a neat trick; regardless of its titular hero, this is an action game that’s instantly accessible to even the least comic book-literate players. At the same time, it simultaneously offers devout fans everything they could want, with tons of gadgets to play with and hundreds of secrets to uncover.

The visuals are excellent, though you’ll need a fairly recent graphics card to do it justice, and an Nvidia card (rather than an ATI model) to take advantage of the most advanced effects. Audio-wise, atmospheric music and an unusually high standard of voice acting all add to the authenticity.

There’s no multiplayer but, apart from that, Arkham Asylum is something of a happy anomaly; a varied, enjoyable superhero game with high production values and a cracking story to boot.