Batman: Arkham Asylum

[PodSquad]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Looks cool, but Im still dreaming of an open world Batman game that doesnt totally suck.

[goh]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

More screens here,along with better quality existing ones: http://kotaku.com/5037545/batman-ark...um-in-pictures

[ZB9]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

it has a "Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay" look to it imo...and that is a good thing

[Behindshadows]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Looks absolutely incredible! I will be picking this up day 1, loved the Batman Begins game, and glad its BC on 360 with improved graphics.

These screens look so good.

[Misfit]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

I have a guarded optimism for this game. It looks promising, but Batman doesn't exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to videogames. Still looking forward to the Lego one.

[in mid air]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Hopefully the gameplay will WOW us like the graphics have so far...

[Salhus]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Looks amazing. Just hope it's more "sandbox" then it first seems. It does remind me of a Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay look to it. Hopefully that works for Batman.

[Flawless]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

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[Stroehms]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

I wrote about this game in my blog. Very interesting story line. Hopefully it pans out.

[thaima1shu]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

I am ridiculously excited for this game.

[Flawless]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Villains Teaser

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[Flawless]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

EDGE Preview

There are no great superhero games.

Even those that have stood up to some scrutiny compromise their source, cramming powers and villains into well-worn gaming templates. It’s the result of a rushed licence, a studio ordered to have a game ready to ship alongside the latest summer movie blockbuster. Or it can be the result of a simple act of opportunism, reskinning a standard genre piece in the knowledge that a captive audience will hand over the cash so long as it looks cool.

Batman: Arkham Asylum may yet turn out to be a bad game, but if it does it’ll be for neither of those reasons. And there’s a more than good chance it’ll be an excellent one, because from concept to tone this is a seriously positive case for the genre.

It’s got atmosphere, sure, but it’s also got attitude. That helps visually because, although its prettiness screams Unreal Engine 3, the comically exaggerated features and torsos give a comic-book overtone to otherwise moody hyper-realism. It’s a balancing act that the game as a whole is keen on – as the Batmobile whooshes past the sign to Arkham in the opening, a small notice underneath warns that ‘hitchhikers may be inmates’.

Wandering through the levels, there are a few rats lying in a duct (Ratcatcher), an umbrella in a glass case (Penguin), some henchmen talk fearfully about what Zsasz might be up to, and a few ‘Vote Dent’ posters hang on the walls. This may not be the high-camp Batman, but there’s a self-referentiality that takes it beyond being mere grim’n’gritty fare.

The flipside of your close-combat abilities is the need to silently and efficiently get close to enemies before you use them. Rocksteady has been keen to avoid the stealth label for these moments, preferring to be lexically rapacious with ‘predatory’. There is a distinction, though, in the way Batman moves around an environment compared to Solid Snake.

Rather than creeping and peeking, he swings across roof beams, lands silently on outcrops, and shoots grapples to move almost instantly from one location to another. Rather than observing enemy positions for a gap, he’s watching for when they’re spread out and isolated. You’re still looking for weaknesses and exploiting them, however, so regardless of how you want to describe these sections they retain the quiet thrill of using patterns to your advantage.

This is shown as Sefton Hill, the game’s director, takes on six henchmen. He sticks to the shadows and the roof, waiting for an opening. When Batman strikes at one of the group, quickly incapacitating him and returning to the shadows in a single fluid move, Arkham Asylum shows one of its most greatest flourishes. The others are alarmed. “Is it Batman?” “Is he here?” Only the most humourless observer won’t grin.

The thugs, armed with handguns, regain their composure, and over the next few minutes Batman moves silently around the room, waiting for each of the five remaining thugs to make a mistake. When they do, they’re down. When there are only three left, they panic further, but move in a tight triangular formation that makes attacking difficult. One separates away and goes down. The last two really panic, firing blindly, fearfully glancing at each other, but becoming wilder in their movements. It’s almost too easy.

Well, for Batman it is, anyway. Easy doesn’t necessarily mean simple: the opportunity has to be created before the biff-bam action. It’s about making a Batman game feel like you’re controlling Batman, using the licence to inform the core of the game rather than wrapping it around common mechanics. Rocksteady handles all of this convincingly.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

When does this come out again?

[Beantown]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

I want this game...now.

[Flawless]

Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman: Arkham Asylum Voice Talent Announced

Eidos and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today that Batman: The Animated Series veterans Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprise their roles as Batman and The Joker in the new videogame based on the blockbuster franchise.