Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) Retrospective/Review

You would be hard pressed to find a superhero or even licensed game that was able to define the seventh generation of consoles than Batman: Arkham Asylum. It was released in 2009 to massive praise from critics and fans alike, along with winning plenty of awards in the process, including Game of the Year from several media outlets. After so many Batman games have come and gone with mixed results, this was the first one that just perfectly capture the distinct feeling of being the Caped Crusader himself. Coming off the year after the release of The Dark Knight which helped set the golden standard for superhero movies, DC and Rocksteady was able to follow the success of that greatly with Batman: Arkham Asylum, the game which helped set the golden standard for superhero games. As the game is set to turn 14 years old this year, time to look back to see how well this game has held up since then. Does it still work strong as it’s own self-contained Bat experience or is it perhaps a bit overlooked when compared to other entries in the series?

Plot:

The Clown Prince of Crime is at it again! Shortly after the Joker attacked Gotham City Hall and held the Mayor hostage, he is captured by Batman and is taken to Arkham Asylum, just as is often the case whenever he is caught. However, this time Batman believes something is not right, feeling that the Joker gave himself up too easily and something more sinister is on the rise. Because of that, Batman accompanies him along with other personal guards into the Asylum.

Despite Batman’s assistance with the escort, a trap is sprung. It’s revealed that the Joker has issued a plan to take over Arkham Asylum, a plan which he has secretly prepared for months now. With many of gang members being transferred from Blackgate prison after the attack on City Hall along with the help of his girlfriend/sidekick Harley Quinn, Joker is free and now has complete control over the Asylum. With the control he has, he release many criminals that were celled along with Batman’s deadly foes that he has encountered over the years. To avoid anyone else in Gotham from getting in the way, Joker threatens to detonate hidden bombs scattered throughout the city if anyone dares to come to Arkham Asylum.

It’s then that we follow Batman being forced to work by myself along with his trustworthy companion Oracle to stop Joker in what may be his biggest and most overly complicated plan yet. Not only with having to put back ever single criminal that he has put away over the years behind bars and rescue any endangered guards/doctors along the way but Batman must also discover the Joker’s true intention in all of this.

As the game goes on, Batman learns more and more about this so-called Titan program. The kind of program that was used to test on the mercenary named Bane. Titan includes a formula that is able to make someone superhuman and give them super strength. With the Joker constantly getting information on the Titan from the doctors in the Asylum, Batman believe that Joker is using it to create his own army of super hence men, an army that can destroy Arkham Asylum and Gotham City once and for all.

On this very night, Batman must discover the secrets to Titan, put away all of his deadly foes, stop Joker’s ludicrous plan, and take back Arkham Asylum before all hell breaks completely loose.

The story to Arkham Asylum was written by long time veteran Batman write Paul Dini, whose most notable work is from Batman: The Animated Series and a handful of well-known Batman animated films and comics, who takes clear inspiration of the long-running comic book mythos to craft a tight, engaging plot. It’s able to hit the right vibes of being serious but not straight up gloom and add to that feeling of being sucked into a superhero world with Batman and his companions. You really feel like you are with Batman the whole way through and stand perfectly in his shoes as you try to complete every single task at a time to save the night.

The game does an overall good job of finding a good mix of villains that fit in the narrative without distracting you from the main objective of trying to take down the Joker. While not every noteworthy villain in Batman’s gallery is presented here, as that would be saved for later games, there’s enough here to leave any die hard fan satisfied. We get to see the presences of Harley Quinn, Bane, Scarecrow, Zsasz, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and the annoying Riddler himself. About every single one of them feel right at home and ripped straight out of a comic book or an episode of an animated series. Batman is always known for his amazing rose gallery of villains and the plot of this game is able to demonstrates that very well.

The main standouts scenes of character development for Batman revolves with the encounters with Scarecrow. We meet him at least three times as he is constantly trying to get inside Batman’s head by reminding him of the dark sins of his part and potential glimpses of the future to get him to crack like an egg. They are arguably the most emotionally engaging sequences in the game, showcasing just how strong Batman is on the inside and out and the ones which you dive into the inner turmoil of Bruce Wayne and not just Batman. This helps show how Bruce’s goal as Batman is to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies and not the other way around.

The only real downside to the overall story mostly comes from the Joker’s plan itself. It feels quite strange, silly, and frankly out of character of him to want to create an army of titans to take over Gotham. While that certainly adds to the comic book-like feel of a game of having a main bad guy with a goofy, over-the-top plan, it doesn’t feel like a plan to come from the Joker himself. This is especially the case with how there are instances where he is trying to get Batman killed, which is something that he deep down doesn’t want to do because as we all know, Joker is literally NOTHING without Batman and has no reason to exist without his presence.

It also doesn’t help with how throughout the game, his motives of wanting to create an army of titans is practically spelt out to the player themselves and Batman with not much mystery thrown in. Even if the ways of achieving his plan is quite unpredictable, the overall goal of the Joker is incredibly straightforward with not much logical reason as to why he wants to achieve it. While the Joker himself is undeniably engaging and a blast to watch whenever he is on screen, his overall plan feels rather superfluous and not something I would imagine would come from the Clown Prince of Crime.

Despite the overcomplicated motives from the main bad guy, the writing in Arkham Asylum is very strong. It’s able to provide that nice blend of the fantastical and whimsical elements of Tim Burton and the more grounded and serious elements of Christopher Nolan without straying too far in either direction. There’s plenty that goes on in the story to keep you engaged and moves at a breakneck pace to where it’s nearly impossible to lose interest with what’s going on because of how the tension always presents itself. The plot of the game is made by someone who has a clear knowledge and love for Batman and it completely shows.

Gameplay:

Batman: Arkham Asylum is an action-adventure game that takes place from a third-person perspective. The player controls Batman as he explores the ins and outs of Arkham Asylum. As Batman, you have the ability to run, jump, climb, crouch, glide using the cape, and use a grapple gun to either climb on lower structures or teleport yourself to higher ledges. You are able to use these abilities to counter every single gameplay element that the game throws at you.

The most Batman-like element that the game introduces is the “Detective Vision” mode. This is a visual mode which provides contextual information where everything is blue and black that appear in x-ray vision except for certain targets and weaponry that are more red and orange. While this is a mode you are free to use willingly throughout the game (so much so that I’m surprised Batman never suffers a brain tumor by the end of the game), there are certain points you are required to use it to solve the latest crime or follow the tracks of a suspect to get to your next destination. It also comes in great use for other things such as highlight interactive objects like destructible walls and removable grates, the number of enemies in an area, the enemies’ health and mental status, show civilians and corpses, investigate odors, located Riddler trophies, and solve puzzles.

This is a feature that comes incredibly handy that you might even find yourself using it at least a quarter of the whole game, if not more than that. I did find myself mostly using it during the stealth sections as those would always give me the perfect indication as to where each enemy is and what would be the right plan of attack without getting myself killed. If you ever wanted to have the feeling of actually being the World Greatest Detective, then Arkham Asylum will give you that exact experience, even more so than any other game in the series.

Another welcome edition that feels completely like Batman are the gadgets you acquire to help aid yourself whenever you explore a location or fight enemies. The Batarang is a throwing weapon that can temporarily stun enemies or trigger certain devices. The remotely controlled Batarang is one that you have complete control to steer until it hits someone or something. The sonic batarang can be used to gain the attention of specific enemies that are wearing monitoring collars and can even be detonated to knock a nearby enemy out. The explosive gel can be used on breakable walls and floors, and be remotely detonated whenever you want. The line launcher can be used to transport yourself in the air from one location to another. The Batclaw is a grappling device that can be used to for remote objects such as covers for vent and even to grab and pull enemies. And there’s the Cryptographic Sequencer that is used to override security panels, open new paths, and disable various asylum functions.

Every single one of these gadgets tends to serve some sort of purpose for any possible enemy counter or progression in the story to get from one location to another. The best times to use them is whenever you are in a stealth section and want to take enemies out one by one or when you need to get to certain areas to either advance in the story or find certain unlockables/riddler trophies. I don’t think there’s a single person that ever thinks of Batman without some acknowledgement of his fancy toys and Rocksteady was certainly well aware of that when developing this game. While there’s other equipment you never get control of such as the Batwing or Batmobile (something which would get introduce MUCH later down the road), you will likely find yourself using a good portion of these gadgets to move along with the game and feel pretty satisfied when using them.

Even with how claustrophobic the game can be when exploring each Asylum, the game does have it’s own open world with Arkham island. This is the island you will explore to get from Point A to Point B to advance in the story along with finding certain items, solving puzzle, and collecting Riddler trophies in order to unlock bonus art and content involving maps for the optional challenge mode that the game provides. While this is certainly not the most wide open world that the series would have and those who were wanting more time spent just gliding with Batman’s wings might be a tad underwhelmed, it does function as giving players a bit of space to free roam around in until they have to get to the next area to either make through way through the plot or collect a certain Riddle trophy.

And speaking of riddles, the one side mission that the game present that you will likely have to wait until beating the main campaign to beat involves collecting the green question mark and solving every riddle that The Riddler himself is able to throw at you. There are a total of 240 collectable items scattered throughout. These include Riddler trophies, chattering Joker teeth that you can simply batarang in half, interview tapes with the Arkham inmates, and cryptic messages left in the asylum by it’s founder Amadeus Arkham that discuss the history of the Asylum itself. The player is rewarded for solving riddles and finding collectibles with experience points that can help upgrade whatever you need and additional game content, including maps for the challenge mode. You must collect all 240 items to defeat the Riddler himself and unlock every single bonus content that the game provides. While it’s not something that’s require to beat the main game, you will likely find yourself collecting whatever trophy or item you are able to get along the way as it’s nearly impossible to ignore them. Especially since they are everywhere, EVERYWHERE!

And of course, who would I be if I review Arkham Asylum and I don’t bring up the the game’s combat system. As Batman is clearly an experienced hand-to-hand combat fighter as he trained with the League of Shadows, you get to experienced that first hand in this game. During the game, you will encounter a lot of thugs and bad guys at once. When doing so, you are able to perform several moves to be able to take them down. You are able to punch and kick enemies head on, stun them with your cape, and be able to counter certain attacks to prevent damage to yourself. The more you are able to do so without breaking a sweat, the higher you will achieve your combos. The higher the combo, the more XP points you will reward yourself that can help upgrade any kind of combo, gadget, and suit that you need.

While it may not necessarily be the most skilled combo set ever and rarely ever goes past the simple button mashing mechanics that gamers have grown accustom to with fighting games, there is never a moment when fighting bad guys that isn’t satisfying or doesn’t feel like Batman at all. There’s too many different combos, moves, and skill sets that is introduces that is always able to keep the experience fresh without losing any steam. It also helps that there are certain enemies introduced throughout the game that requires different methods to beat such as using the stun attack or attacking them from behind.

It’s not quite perfect and wouldn’t be until later games which the combat would be provided with more polish. There are times where I would lose my combat meter due to the game not responding to my counter attack when it should have, an enemy that just wasn’t in the right position for me to attack for some reason, and not being able to block an upcoming enemy’s attack when performing a ground takedown because the game itself won’t let me. It’s not a deal breaker or something that will make you want to rage quit the game but every once in a while, you might experience some minor frustration when building up certain combos during an enemy encounter or challenge because of one of the three things I just mentioned.

One other notable aspect that I’ve already mention a few times are the areas of stealth. These are usually doing certain areas of the game where you are required to take enemies out (most of which are armed) one by one without being detected in order to either save a hostage or move onto the next area. The player can use predatory tactics through stealth which include silent takedowns, where Batman drops from overhead perches and is able to snatch enemies away, or even using the explosive gel to knock enemies off their feet. There are certain section where you are required to use certain tactics instead of choosing your own way to take enemies out such as needing to avoid Joker’s henchmen or else you will fail your objective.

Many of these areas include stone gargoyles that are placed very high and near roof-level, helping Batman to remain concealed and out of enemies’ sight. You are are able to use the grapnel gun to get to the gargoyles very quickly, giving yourself a high vantage point by gaining a good spot to observe the area you are in and spot where each enemy is at. From these gargoyles, Batman can chose either to glide down and attack enemies head on (which I only recommend doing if it’s far away from other enemies scattered throughout the room) or hang upside down and be able to grapple a nearby enemy and leave him tethered there (which again only due when it’s only one enemy close by). Other options to to take out enemies in stealth include using floor gates to attack from below, hide around or behind corners to catch them by surprise, use batarangs to stun them, and use the grapnel gun to pull them over ledges which will knock them completely out. These are the areas where you are usually required to do more than just punch and kick enemies whenever you can and more have to take more careful and smarter measure to take out your opponents.

I can’t tell you how satisfying these sections can be most of the times, even more so than the other games in the series. It’s just so much fun to always screw around with the bad guys and scare the living piss out of them as you take out each opponent one at a time. Especially when you and even the enemies know that the Batman will take them down at some point, it’s only a matter of when.

As nearly every single aspect of the game feels exactly like Batman, these sections are arguably the most important one. These sections are a reminder of what Batman himself stands for, striking fear into the hearts of his criminals. If that’s not what Batman is suppose to stand for, then I don’t know what does.

The one final big aspect to the gameplay are the boss fights. Unfortunately, these are easily the worst part of the game and arguably the only real weak element about the gameplay. They aren’t exactly unplayable by any means and those who enjoy mindless combat might get enjoyment out of it but they don’t feel satisfying to play through. Most of the bosses feels very repetitive and redundant. They aren’t any different than fighting the other bad guys in the game and most of them required the exact same strategy to beat every single time. It’s mostly just the fight you have with Bane earlier in the game and repeated several times over for the rest of the game with two exceptions.

The first exception is Poison Ivy, whose fight is actually quite decent. While there are still henchmen you have to fight, you do have to find different ways to beat her than previous battles and always have to be on your toes as she will always find a way to attack you. It’s not a great boss fight but it does at least feel like one in the game which feels different than fighting a random titan thug or a big fella.

The second exception is Killer Croc, whose “fight” is an absolute joke. I put fight in quotes because it’s not really a fight. Even saying encounter is a stretch. All you do throughout this section is collect spores around Croc’s lair and whenever he approaches you, you just throw a batarang at him and that’s it! For a main bad guy whose set up at the very beginning of the game, you would expect their encounter to feel more important than it actually is.

As much as most folks referred to the final showdown with Joker as the worst boss fight in the game (which was also rather underwhelming), the one with Killer Croc is one that stood out for me as the lamest one and the perfect example of how weak the boss fights are in this game.

Even with the lackluster bosses, the gameplay throughout Batman: Arkham Asylum is about as polished and well-done as one could hope for with a Batman license game. Despite many different gameplay styles and elements the game introduces, it all feels cohesive and comes together as a satisfying whole. It rarely felt like a chore to play through and even the things I didn’t need at one moment, I would always go out of my way to get because of how nearly impossible it is to avoid. Whether I was beating the crap out of bad guys, gliding through the Arkham island, investigating a certain crime scene, finding stealth ways to take out my opponents, or going out of my way to collect a simple green question mark, there was always something to keep me interested in the game and made it hard to find a stopping point with each playthrough because of how much fun it is. Back in 2009, there wasn’t many licensed games that earned the title of it’s successful IP that it was adapting but no doubt, Batman: Arkham Asylum was and still to this very day is one of those exceptions.

Graphics:

At the game of it’s release in 2009, Arkham Asylum looked absolutely great with the right textures and visual imagery throughout the whole experience. However, there were some minor issues when it came to some of the animation of the cutscenes and the CGI stuff had a bit of pixelization. While the newer Return to Arkham edition (which is the version I played recently) does look much clearer with more light and texture to it along with updated character models, it still does feel like the same skeleton throughout with not much effort to fix those minor errors. I’m not sure why it’s so hard for companies to patch a couple of bugs that should only take a short amount of time to do but whatever.

Even so, I’d love the way the game looked graphically back in 2009 and I still love it now. The islands of the Asylum have the perfect mix of a creepy and cool factor to them, the locations you explore fit right in the overall mood of the game, the characters designs fit them and match the art style, and it’s also refreshing in a video game to see the main protagonist shown taking more damaging and even bleeding in certain areas to show how much of a messed up time he has had in the game. It’s exactly the kind of look you would expect for a DC Batman adventure that I don’t think you could replicate any better.

Arkham Asylum has the kind of graphics, aesthetics, and art style that I miss in games nowadays. Where most games that come out today try to look as bleak and realistic as possible, Asylum is able to still feel like it belongs in it’s own fictional superhero universe despite telling a rather dark story. It’s okay to modernize your graphics to have it look more realistic but you still need to remember that it’s a video game overall and not a live-action movie. This is able to have that functional graphical brain in it’s head that certain games nowadays lack. Because of that and more, Arkham Asylum remains a graphical wonder.

Sound:

The score composed by Nick Arundel and Ron Fish is expertly done. It perfectly captures the mood and tone of the game while giving the impression you are in a true Batman adventure. It’s not the cheesy pop of Neal Hefti, the epic tune of Danny Elfman, or the intense, fist bumping tracks of Han Zimmer. It’s just feel like it’s own thing but also is able to scratch that surface of Batman that had yet to be fully scratched by other composers up to 2009. The whole music fits so well that even the tracks you here on loop such as the ones for the combat or predator challenges and even the little tune you hear before Joker speaks on the intercom never gets tiresome because it always feels right at any given moment.

However, the real achievement when it comes to sound comes from the strong voice work throughout. Those who grew up with or have watched Batman: The Animated Series and the DC Animated Universe are clearly familiar with certain voice actors in this game. The three main ones include Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as Joker, and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn. Not only are all three of them as good as you remember them being in this game, they are arguably even better here. Even if it might feel odd to hear these voice actors more known for voicing these characters in more child-friendly Batman content (imagine how Sonic fans felt having hearing the voice cast from Sonic X saying swear words in Shadow The Hedgehog), these three have clearly not skipped at beat when voicing these iconic characters.

Kevin Conroy (May his lovely soul RIP!) is able to deliver the perfect voice delivery throughout every cutscene as Batman himself. He’s able to find the right brooding voice without it coming off flat, wooden, or as an unintentional parody. Just like with Kevin’s other work as Batman, you are always reminded just how human Batman can be, that there is a real person behind the mask. Whenever it seems like he’s stiff and emotionless, there will always come a few moments scatter throughout that will remind you of that exact fact, especially with the moments with Scarecrow. Even if you are someone that has never watched Batman: The Animated Series or haven’t seen any of Conroy’s previous work as Batman (I would strongly recommend checking out Mask of the Phantasm!), you will likely be engaged with his performance throughout the game without ever questioning it and understand perfectly why he has resonated as a fan-favorite voice for The Dark Knight for so many years.

Arleen Sorkin is an actress that had been the voice of Harley Quinn since the character’s official debut in Batman: The Animated Series (A reminder that Harley Quinn was not a character created from the comics but strictly from that show!). This game along with DC Universe Online would be her final voice performances of the character herself as Sorkin would retire from acting after 2011. With Arkham Asylum being among her final times playing this famous character, it sure is a great note to go out on. She’s able to find the right amount of charisma, craziness, and even vulnerability to make Harley Quinn a blast to watch whenever she’s appears on screen without her coming across as overly loud or obnoxious. For a character that was suppose to be a one-and-done deal in the series which she debuted in and only reappeared due to her popularity, I would imagine Arleen Sorkin played a huge part of that with her stellar voice work throughout her career as Mr. J’s pudding (I promise that’s the only time I will use that word that in this review!).

Of course, the real standout of the game, and perhaps the entire series, is no other than Mark Hamill as the Joker. As perfect as Hamill has been as the character since he first started, he somehow manages to bring something new and even better throughout the entire Arkham series developed by Rocksteady. While other previous performances with the clown prince of crime did have the character be more laid back and subtle with his delivery and actions, this game has him go all out and be more expressive than ever before. He’s sinister, menacing, funny, brutal, unpredictable, and always has the perfect laugh. With each scene, you just never know what you are gonna get with the Joker and whether or not he is being serious, funny, or sarcastic. While the strong writing might have more to do with that (save for the plan with the Titan monsters), it’s also the brilliant voice work from Luke Skywalker himself (I still can’t believe these two characters are played by the same person) that is able to always give that sense of ambiguity and unpredictability to the Joker, the two big elements which the character is most well known for. Hamill has stated recently that he is likely done playing the Joker after the recent passing of Kevin Conroy. Even so, I can’t imagine there being a better Joker voice than him.

While the rest of the cast don’t shine as well as the main three just mention, they all do great work as well with not a single voice feeling out of place or miscast. If I had to nitpick, there are times where Tom Kane’s voice as Commissioner Gordon and Warden Sharp feels interchangeable and the moments of Tasia Valenza’s Poison Ivy screeching out in pain just sounds like her orgasming. Even so, the voice acting remains an absolute strength with this game along with just about every other game in the series.

Downloadable Content:

Arkham Asylum also features a series of it’s own downloadable content. Unlike with the later Arkham games, none of them are related to the story itself and mostly just offers the optional challenge modes the game provides, which test Batman’s abilities in combat and in stealth. This DLC pack consists of challenge maps that are separated from the game’s main campaign. These mostly include maps that aren’t strictly ones you unlock while playing the game but has other maps that weren’t initially included at the time of the game’s release. Just like with the other maps, these largely focus on completing certain tasks, such as fighting your way through a big wave of enemies in combat and taking out patrolling enemy squads while using stealth. When completing these challenges, those who have access to online with Xbox, PlayStation, or PC will be able to have their score ranked along with other players with the game having it’s own online leaderboard for each challenge.

The biggest thing provided with the DLC is making the Joker a playable character in these combat and stealth challenges maps. During these missions, the Joker must confront the guards of the Asylum and even police commissioner James Gordon. The Joker has his own combat abilities and weaponry, such as a handgun, exploding chattering teeth, and x-ray glasses which allows him to see opponents through walls. For the most part, he plays pretty much the same as Batman only feeling a bit lighter and not as willing to throw himself all across the room in combat like Batman does.

Considering I was able to get all of this DLC for free when purchasing the Return to Arkham edition, I can’t really complain about it. For anyone else that wasn’t able to acquire this DLC for free, it didn’t necessarily come across as a must-buy unless you were either incredibly eager to play as Joker or just because you are a trophy/achievement whore (which I admit to be feeling guilty of too). The DLC is what it is and not much more than that. Of all the games in the series, this is certainly the one to have the least variety in terms of DLC.

Conclusion:

Batman: Arkham Asylum is ever bit as awesome as I remember it being in 2009. While the boss fights are still rather weak and I don’t fully buy Joker’s “let’s create an army of Banes” master plan, nearly everything else is done rather flawlessly that it’s hard to let those minor gripes bring down the entire game. The combat is absolutely fun with plenty of inventive ways to beat your opponents, the gadgets always come in handy, the detective aspects add a ton to the experience and character of Batman, the entire Arkham island itself is cool to explore, the unlockables are so eager to collect, the voice acting is incredibly stellar, and there’s never a second which you don’t feel like you are in control of The Dark Knight himself.

Is it the absolute best in the series? Well, you will just have to wait to hear my thoughts on the next two games in the series but no doubt, this is a game that has continued to stand the test time, even 14 years later. For a studio that was relatively unknown before Arkham Asylum came out, there was no better way for Rocksteady to put themselves on the map for gamers all around after crafting this absolute achievement of a video game.

If you are a Batman fan and somehow still have not checked this game out, I highly recommend it. Even if you are not a Batman fan and want a really fun action packed game, then I recommend it too. Perhaps it might even turn you into a Batman fan yourself just like I imagine it did for gamers everywhere back in 2009. If 2008 showed how good superhero films can get with The Dark Knight, then 2009 showed how good superhero games can get with Batman: Arkham Asylum! Even to this day, the Caped Crusader remains the standard!

Next stop, we will take a look at the sequel that Rocksteady already had their eyes on even before completing this game. If you look closely around in Warren Sharp’s room, you were given a clue to where the Arkham series would be headed next. If you didn’t, then you would be able to find out yourself two years later with 2011’s Batman: Arkham City!