Batman: Arkham Asylum

 PC
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3029 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,598 out of 3029
  2. Mixed: 354 out of 3029
  3. Negative: 77 out of 3029
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  1. Matt
    Sep 17, 2009
    10
    This game is AMAZING. I haven't given a 10 to a game and meant it in a loooong time. Everything about this game is great. The story and voice acting is absolutely top-notch. For the first time in a while, I've been playing a game obsessively not because I want to get some dumb achievement or unlock something, but because I actually want to know what's going to happen next! This game is AMAZING. I haven't given a 10 to a game and meant it in a loooong time. Everything about this game is great. The story and voice acting is absolutely top-notch. For the first time in a while, I've been playing a game obsessively not because I want to get some dumb achievement or unlock something, but because I actually want to know what's going to happen next! The combat system in this game is amazing, on many levels. First off, it is simple to master, but still requires some skill. Contrary to the way it might seem in the beginning, it isn't just a matter of blocking and clicking and watching Batman do his stuff. Later on in the game, it shows some pretty hard enemies at you that requires some fairly difficult combat moves, such as guys dual-wielding knives or guys with stun batons. Not only is the usage of the combat system great, the fighting animations in this game are absolutely astounding. I never would have thought it would be possible to make a game with such dynamic and fluid combat animations. When a guy goes to kick you from behind, when you click block, Batman fluidly reaches down and actually grabs the guys leg...not around his leg, not his torso then the engine draws his leg in Batman's arm...it looks for all intents and purposes absolutely REAL. Also, the atmosphere in this game is perfect! It's a perfect blend of comic book lore, the animated series, the Burton films, and the Nolan films. It is dark, but not overly serious like the recent films. The Joker is brightly colored and humorous...yet also grizzly, violent and nasty. Batman's suit does have gray in it, yet it brings nothing to mind from the Adam West days. This is an amazing game. Highly recommended.… Expand
  2. chrisa
    Sep 16, 2009
    9
    By far the best Batman game out there. The PC version is the superior version as it offers two different ways to controle (keyboard/mouse or controller) that both work well and has Physx enhancements to the graphics and higher resolution then the consoles. This is the game to have!!
  3. StevenH
    Sep 15, 2009
    6
    This is probably the most overrated game this year. This Batman game takes the implausibility and inaccuracy of the cartoon and does it up in the "adult" visuals of the new Batman movies. In the most contrived story yet, Joker springs many of the major supervillains from Arkham, forcing Batman to pit himself against the Joker, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Bane (whom he hardly landed a This is probably the most overrated game this year. This Batman game takes the implausibility and inaccuracy of the cartoon and does it up in the "adult" visuals of the new Batman movies. In the most contrived story yet, Joker springs many of the major supervillains from Arkham, forcing Batman to pit himself against the Joker, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Bane (whom he hardly landed a successful punch on in the comic), Zsasz, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and hundreds of muscular armed thugs and men pumped up with super soldier serum all in the same night. Never mind the fact that Bruce Wayne nearly died after putting the same number of petty criminals away over the course of 3 weeks back in 1993 (when his back was broken by Bane, who is more like 6'2" and 250 pounds than the 5'6" 140 pounds the game lists him as). Gameplay consists of Assassin's Creed in a Batman setting with limited God of War upgrades and boss battles. In other words it's like every other beat 'em up/adventure game in the past 5 years. The graphics are okay, not pressing the envelope by any circumstances, since its development was stunted by multi-console development. Lip synching is truly terrible and many of the models look like they stepped out of Doom 3 (2004). Music consists of orchestral hits and people thrumming back and forth on string ensemble constantly. The story is terrible, the gameplay is derivative, the graphics are nothing special, the music is boring, but throughout it all Eidos has managed to put together an actual functional Batman game and let hype and tasteless masses fill in the blanks. There is fun to be had here... For about 12 hours. I got the game this morning and beat it this evening, 75% complete. I could probably spend about 5 or 6 more hours collecting the remaining Riddler trophies and challenges, but micromanagement for "achievements" is not my idea of fun (especially on PC where "gamer point" systems are less visible). Your mileage may vary if you enjoy running around empty landscapes and watching the same animations over and over in an attempt to gain virtual credentials. Overall, the experience was not completely awful, and made today barely more entertaining, but it was nothing groundbreaking, hardly worthy of the hype it's receiving, and I probably won't pick it up again.… Expand
  4. BrianWeegar
    Sep 15, 2009
    10
    Best Batman game to date and will probably remain so for some time, it's like the Dark Knight movie put into a game. The atmosphere and the... maturity I suppose is what really sold it for me, its like The Dark Knight in that it is gritty, real, people are tortured and killed by The Joker, HQ, etc. just as a psychopath should. None of this rated E comic book nonsense.
  5. Jynx980
    Aug 7, 2011
    10
    An excellent game in all aspects! I'm not a huge Batman fan, but this game was so polished that I could see myself getting into the Batman world. As the name suggests, your Batman at the Arkham Asylum, returning the Joker for the umpteenth time, when he breaks free and all hell breaks loose. The inmates are released and you need to work your way through several notable characters beforeAn excellent game in all aspects! I'm not a huge Batman fan, but this game was so polished that I could see myself getting into the Batman world. As the name suggests, your Batman at the Arkham Asylum, returning the Joker for the umpteenth time, when he breaks free and all hell breaks loose. The inmates are released and you need to work your way through several notable characters before facing the Joker and his intricate plot. Some of the popular characters like the Penguin, Catwoman, Twoface, and Mr. Freeze are not in the game at all, but this was a great decision as to separate the game from the not so great movies. The story flows and is interesting and I never felt like I was doing meaningless tasks just to advance the story. Everything was connected. The graphics look great and run smoothly, I never got any stuttering even when entering a new level. Audio was just what you would expect from a Batman game, everything sounded in place. From the whiz of the grapple gun to the swish of the cape. They even got some great voice actors for the cast. Batman is Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill as the Joker, and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn. These actors were from the animated cartoon series I watched from the early to mid 90's and to recognize and hear their voices just as they sounded almost 20 years ago really took me back. Those are the ones that stand out, but all of the voice acting was done well. The gameplay focuses on mostly taking down inmates but there is also a search and explore aspect. When attacking you chain together combo hits as well as countering incoming attacks. You also have several scenarios where you will have to use stealth to incapacitate thugs with guns. You can sneak up from behind and do a silent takedown as well as hang from a statue and do an inverted takedown. The combo system works well and as you gain experience you gain the abilities of an instant takedown or picking up a prisoner and using him as a projectile after connecting 5 combo hits. The controls are a bit of an issue here. When throwing a enemy you have to use the wasd controls to direct him instead of the mouse. So even if you have a shot lined up you have to direct it and it just gets confusing when your in the heat of battle. I wound up not using the throw for most of the game because of this. For the takedown you press shift and right click but you have a pretty short window of opportunity to do so and the right click is also bound as an aiming mechanism for your gadgets. So I when trying to do a takedown or contering a punch, sometimes I would be aiming my batarang for a second and then getting hit messing up my combos. These problems might be solved by using a controller but I don't have the Xbox360 controller listed in the control config and I didn't want to go through the hassle of setting up one with a PS2 controller with an adapter. The explore and collect part of the game is initiated by The Riddler who has hidden question mark trophies and puzzles across the island. The puzzles come in the form of riddles that you take "pictures" of using the detective mode to have a high tech look at your surroundings Collecting these will unlock character bios and detailed character trophies that you can look at from the main menu. There are also Arkham plaques that tell more of the history of the island and how it came to be an institution. All in all, this was a fantastic game and I highly recommend it. Even at full price you get your monies worth which is not something I felt like I have gotten in a long time.… Collapse
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PC Game of 2009
7
#7 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
9
#9 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. GameDaily
    90
    The result is so good that we're declaring it an easy 'Best of' contender for 2009.
    Read full review
  2. Cheat Code Central
    92
    I can say with confidence and cannot stress enough, Batman: Arkham Asylum is, without a doubt, the best Batman game ever created. It does more than give you the Batman game you want, it gives you a video game that you could play repeatedly, even if it didn't have the caped and cowled Dark Knight in it.
    Read full review
  3. Play Magazine
    90
    There isn’t a single element of Arkham Asylum that isn’t polished to the utmost degree.
See all critic reviews »