“Holy 2 million sold Batman!” and the love of simplicity
Batman Arkham Asylum sold 2 million in its first month, if sources are to be believed. I’ve played the game and it done well deserve to sell. Batman Arkham Asylum, or BAA for short (snicker) is awesome.
It manages to appeal to so many simply because it does not try to be too complicated. Rocksteady took apart what makes Batman the Dark Knight awesome, which basically consists of a detective with cool gadgets, arse kicking with cool gadgets, scaring the living crap out of bad guys while silently kicking their arse and more arse kicking, and letting players experience the thrill of being able to do what only Batman can do.
Getting around the semi-open world was simple, the freeflow combat was simple to understand, gadgets did not feel tacked on nor unnecessary, boss fights weren’t over the top and fit very nicely into the Bat-universe (Harley Quinn kicking Batman’s arse in hand to hand? Come on.)
The stealth mechanics were simple to understand yet hard to master or take full advantage of. In addition to the gadgets which could be utilised in both non combat and combat situations. It was so much fun to be able to use the Ultra Batclaw to pull down 3 bad guys over a railing simultaneously or seeing the entire lot of baddies being strung upside down, unconcious. There were no restrictions in how you could overcome a situation, only the limits of your imagination.
Combat was fun and Batman’s moves felt very real and slick. There were tons of animations for each type of counter, attack, takedown, evasion etc. Not once did combat feel repetiive. Enemies were varied enough to keep even the Bats on his toes and seeing 20 of these thugs splayed on the floor at the end of a fight while Batman calmly readjusts his gauntlets is so satisfying.
Rocksteady even created challenge rooms where you can hone your combat and predator (stealth segments akin to Assasins Creed only better) skills. Each room you unlock in singleplayer (by collecting Riddler trophies) increasing in diffilculty. Topped of with an online leaderboard.
In short Batman Arkham Asylum is a must have even i you do not know who the heck Batman is (really?). It IS that good. Well polished, rarely repetitive and most importantly FUN.
Cheerio,
Ihsan aka dingo_d
FUN FACTS
Batman Arkham Asylum was developed by Rocksteady studios and published by Eidos.
Uses Unreal Engine 3.5
Story penned by Paul Dini, writer for the original Batman: The Animated Series.
