Lets take a look at the latest Batman game, Batman Arkham Asylum. I got a chance to play through the demo this weekend here are my first impressions.
Controls:
The targeting system and controls were great. The first time I played the demo I had no problems jumping from ledge to ledge, hanging down and grabbing enemies, locking on for flying glide kicks, and then taking cover for silent sneak attacks.
Swinging and grappling from ledge to ledge was a lot of fun. Unlike some games where the targeting is hard to lock on, this game seemed to always hit exactly what i was aiming for with little effort. the range was great as well. whenever i got into trouble i started looking for a ledge to get my bat butt out of there even if it was on the other side of the room.
Batsense:
The level of detail of the batsense is incredible, it allows you to monitor peoples heart rates, it tells you if they are anxious or nervous, and it tells you if an enemy is dead or just unconcious.. picking up heat signitures through the walls is also another really awesome game mechanic.
The switches could take place no matter what batman was doing which gave me an incredible feeling of control.
Sometimes i would switch out of bat sense mode while in mid air glide kick just for cinematic effect. I really enjoyed the level of control they gave us in the game
Switching in an out of cover mode was the same way, it was as easy to enter cover as it was to exit.
Combat:
combat was pretty straight forward button mashing, but it did have some really great slow motion face smashing cut scenes. This game really lets you beat guys when they are down and I wouldnt have it any other way. There’s nothing more frustrating than waiting for a badguy to get up so you can start figthing him again. In batman arkham asylum you can just keep punching them on the ground till they die, or in some instances you can perform a ground face smash. Think massive bat fist curb stomping.
One thing I noticed is that heads up combat with enemies holding guns is almost impossible. They made it very hard to rush up on them. Straight forward attacks seemed to almost get me killed every time, this makes the player use batmans powers more effectively, sneaking around is much more fun, and dropping from the ceiling is just awesome.
After playing the demo of this game, I was left begging for more. This game is a must play for any batman fans, or anybody who is interested in playing awesome games.
Music and Sound:
The voice acting was great and the soundtrack sounded like it came straight from the movie.
Rating: 9/10
I would have liked to see some kind of multiplayer, but Batman always rolls alone so there aren’t many options in that area. I think the game has lots of replay value, but its still a single player smash em up type game. I’m not sure how often you’ll be getting this one back out after you’ve beaten it twice.
Recommendation
For that reason I’m going to recommend a sliding scale from Rent to Buy depending on how much you love Batman.
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