Customer Reviews

Batman: Arkham Asylum

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

Overall, this game is great fun and is definitely the best Batman game released on any console so far, but there are a few issues that keep it from being perfect.

First the negatives:

I didn't have any problem installing the game, and since I had already set up a Windows live account for a previous game, that wasn't a problem (I was somehow automatically logged in whenever this game started). But I use a Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2 instead of a 360 controller, and the game wouldn't work properly with it at first. The y-axis on the left analog stick was reversed, so that pushing the stick forward caused Batman to turn around and walk toward the camera instead of walking forward, and the A and X buttons were swapped with the B and Y buttons. I could have remapped the buttons within the game, but there was no way to invert the y-axis of the left analog stick! The game was unplayable in this state, but by downloading and configuring an xbox 360 controller emulator, I was able to remap all controls to the way it should have been. If you don't use an xbox 360 controller as your PC gamepad, be aware that you may have this issue, but you can find a work-around.

The second problem I had with the game was that the camera follows Batman too closely. When running or fighting, the camera zooms out to give an adequate view, but otherwise, it's so close that Batman takes up about 3/4 of the vertical screen space. I was constantly having to maneuver the camera around Batman whenever I wanted to see what was right in front of me without switching to first person view. This isn't a game-killer, but it is an annoyance that together with the controller issue takes away a star from the review.

But the positive aspects of the game outweigh the negative parts by a large margin.

The graphics are fantastic. I don't know if I've ever seen better, and the game runs smoothly on hardware that isn't state of the art. If your computer meets or exceeds the recommended specs, you are in for some sweet eye candy. The character models are just fantastically good, and the animation is top notch. No complaints whatsoever as far as the visuals go.

The gameplay is also really good. The fighting system is one of the most simple and effective that I've ever played. But despite the simplicity, it is still challenging to rack up large combos, and when done right, the fights look and feel spectacular. They are really reminiscent of the fighting scenes in the two most recent Batman movies, 'Batman Begins' and 'The Dark Knight.'

This isn't a pure action game, however. When facing armed opponents, Batman must keep out of sight, and pick them off one by one without alerting the others. This part of the game requires more patience and strategy, but I found it to be fun, and a good balance is struck between the two parts, so that the game neither becomes too tedious nor degenerates into a button-masher.

The game's atmosphere also perfectly matches the subject material. The plot is engaging, and the cast of characters is amazing. There's the Joker, of course, with Harley Quinn (yay!), Bane, the Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and others.

Also, the voice talent deserves special mention. My first real introduction to the Batman universe was through the excellent 'Batman: The Animated Series' of the early '90s, and many of the great voice actors for the series reprise their roles here, including Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker, Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn, and Diane Pershing as Poison Ivy. Their performance is awesome. The game's plot was also written by Paul Dini, a writer and producer on Batman: TAS, so maybe it's no surprise that I enjoyed the game so much.

As for replay value, I'll probably play through the full game again, but since the plot is linear, I doubt I'll get anything new from it. The Riddler has hidden over a hundred trophies throughout Arkham for you to find if you want, and finding them unlocks new challenges. The challenges themselves are fights for you to engage in to try to maximize your score or stealth sequences where you try to minimize your time to pick off all the enemies. These are a fun diversion, but probably not worth spending too much time on. There may be some downloadable content worth checking out, but I haven't looked at it yet, so I can't say.

Overall, I thought this was a really fun game that respects the Batman source material. It was well worth the money, and comes highly recommended.

I received my copy the day it cam out an am about 4 hours into it and I can say that I am truly enjoying it. The developers did an outstanding job on this game and creating something that should be remembered for years to come.

I was not sure if I was going to get this game or not until the demo came out. After playing through that half a dozen times I knew that it needed to be in my collection. So a note to developers out there, PC demos help.

The graphics are gorgeous. The detailed models for batman and the surroundings keeps you immersed and you honestly do feel like you are there. I love the Physx effects and can say that they are worth turning on (and the FPS hit). The smoke, papers, spider webs, banners, and other things all move realistically and it just adds to that immersion feeling.

The sound seems good. I can tell that a lot of the voice acting is familiar from the old tv series. I have some complaints about some cheesy lines but overall it is quite good. This games works well with my 5.1 speaker system and just as well for my headphones.

The game play is better then I thought it would be. I was afraid from the demo that the fighting was to simplistic and it would get redundant but have changed my opinion about that. The upgrades you get along the way can also open up some new moves and it really isn't button mashing, you really do have to time your hits right and have to be aware of the enemies around you.

It runs well and the installation was easy. I do not have internet at my house so I don't like DRM that requires you to register before you can play and limits your installs. This game does not do that However you do have to set up a Windows Live account online which I did several months back. After you have your Windows Live account set up on your computer you don't need to be connected to the internet after that. It runs great on my 8800GT with all settings maxed and AA at 4 (Yes it has AA unlike a lot of other ports) and physix on high.

I have heard this game can be won in about 10 hours but I think that is without any extra treasure hunting. I think GOW, Jak and Daxter II and III wer about that length and it fit me perfectly. This game has a lot of extra content too like Ridlers Riddles and unlock able character bios and trophies so I don't think I will feel that way.Anyway, I plan on going through this game at least 3 times.

This game is worth buying if you like action, story oriented games, stealth, or fighting games. This game has a good blend of action that will not get boring.

This is not necessarily a review of the game, as I have only played it for a few hours (it is great though). However, for those who are considering purchasing the PC version, be aware of the mandatory Games for Windows Live service. Apparently, there have been issues with this in the past with other games, but this is the first time I have had any direct experience with it--and I have to say, it is an intrusive service that actually hampers what would otherwise be a great game.

At boot up, the game asked me to create a Windows Live account. If I chose not to, the game would be unable to save. However, I went with it and created an account. This when problems started to kick in--the gamer profile would download, but then I got a message informing me that I needed to update the Games for Windows Live client. The first few times that I tried to update, it would get to about 90% before getting stuck.

I tried this several times, and after about an hour, it finally updated. I played the game for about 30 minutes, with the game saving my progress...or so I thought. A few days later, when I loaded up the game, my profile was still in the game, but my saved game had disappeared.

Today, I played the game for about two hours. I exited to the desktop and opened up the game to see if it saved--so far, so good. However, I still have no idea whether my Windows Live account was created successfully, because there have been several times that I have started up the game, only to be told that I cannot log into my profile. That, and I have little confidence that when I leave the game, my saved game will still be there.

This is a frustrating situation, because the game itself is so good. Why anybody thought that a single-player game with NO multiplayer should require logging into the Windows Live service to save makes no sense to me. I know there are a lot of users who enjoy achievement points (or whatever this service provides), but quite frankly, I don't particularly care for it. Given my experience with Games for Windows Live, I will probably avoid any future games requiring it.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of those games that you sit down with and play straight through to the end while dreading work, sleep, and bathroom breaks! Since it's a huge game with plenty of replay value this can be very tough on the bladder!

Seriously, well maybe I already was, this is one of the rare examples of a game where I walked away completely satisfied for my purchase. The characters are three dimensional in more ways than just the stunning graphics. If you are a fan of the WB series then you will be a bigger fan of the game. The voices are all there but you have the added darkness and maturity of a game that does not need to please the TV censors.

What's not to love! The graphics are deep and dark. The fight scenes are clean and incredibly smooth. The interface is well thought out and easy for us older types to feel that we have complete control, even during some of the more overwhelming scenarios.

All in all this is a game I will play over and over, well , as soon as I find that last elusive puzzle piece!

I was looking forward to playing this game, after playing the demo. But, like many others, after two frustrating hours of trying to get through Games for Windows Live, I gave up. The sign-up was cumbersome, then it kept demanding an update (couldn't save games without it, it told me), the update took forever, then when I went to sign on again, it again demanded an update. I tried about five times. The game is going back to a retailer tomorrow.

I thought I was buying this game, not GFWL. It is irritating that they put this road-block up in the first place, and then have it prevent me from playing the game is infuriating.

I'm not much of a video game player. I come from an era when PONG was a sensation. I bought this game from a demo I saw and It is absolutley the best money I have ever spent on a game. It keeps you interested, guessing, and amazed throughout the main quest. Then when the main story is over the challenges, which are seperate part of the game that you earn by playing the main story, keep you coming back for more. I can hardly wait for Arkham City that comes out later this year. Five Stars.

Just a quick comment.
This game ran flawlessly on my computer, a Gateway FX6800. After playing the demo there was no doubt I was buying this one. I was very impressed with the makers of this game. The graphics were stunning. All seemed so realistic. The characters, both good and bad, fit to a tee. Poison Ivy? Now that is one hot evil gal. This game can be short or it can be long. If you go around searching for all the riddles and question marks you'll definitely get your moneys worth. The sound was also impressive. The fighting, the explosions and all the ambient sound. Fantastic. Best game I've played in quite some time.

Ok, first of all this game includes SecuROM, which if you don't already know is a copy protection scheme that performs all the functions of a virus by secretly installing itself into your computer and then not allowing you to remove it. You have to download a special removal utility (just like a virus) or completely reinstall your operating system (again, just like a virus) to get rid of this unwanted piece of software. What's more is that the developer and publisher try to hide all this by not telling you beforehand what all is included with this game. I purposely bought this game used so that Eidos/Rocksteady wouldn't ever see a dime from me. Too bad Eidos/Rocksteady, you just lost out of $50. Any company that uses viruses like SecuROM to supposedly "protect" their game I will always buy used. It never ceases to amaze me that companies will keep forking over cash for programs like SecuROM that DON'T WORK and continue to NOT WORK. This game was cracked the day before its retail release.

And on top of that, you have to deal with Games for Windows Live which purposely tries to trick you into registering your game with the Games for Windows Live "service" by making it appear you HAVE to enter the registration code after installing the game. If you chose not to enter the code you are then sternly warned that you won't be able to save your game progress if you don't create an account and register your game. Only AFTER declining several times to register your SINGLE-PLAYER ONLY game are you given the option to create an offline Live account, which then allows you to save your game progress. This ticked me off so much that I wasn't able to really enjoy the first 30% of the game. I just kept thinking of how Eidos/Rocksteady tried so hard to trick me.... And even after creating an offline account, ever time you launch the game it tries to connect to the internet anyway WITHOUT my permission. PCshipping-bmgame.exe tries to secretly connect to the internet at each launch so I had to block it with my firewall. Talk about spyware right there!

Also, Games for Windows Live will force you download a patch THAT YOU DON'T NEED. Even with the faults mentioned above, this actually is a very good game that was polished quite well. I've played through the entire game and I can tell you that it played perfectly with no bugs whatsoever. I'll say it again: THIS GAME DOES NOT NEED ANY PATCH. The only thing the currently available patch (version 1.1) does is add extra PhysX effects, which are nice I suppose but not needed to enjoy the game.

I've played both the Xbox and PC version and I can tell you for sure the PC version is superior. Sometimes on the Xbox version your kicks or punches won't connect quite right visually. But on the PC, batman's kicks and punches always connected right where they were supposed to--so well in fact that I actually admire this game's combat system now. It's put together extremely well.

The musical score is quite good and I was often reminded of the Batman Begins/Dark Knight movies. The voice acting was also top notch. I especially liked Harley Quinn. She's pretty funny in this game...she even makes fun of you when you die.

Overall this is the best Batman game I've ever played. It's very engaging and pulls you into the story very well. But it's just so sad that Eidos/Rocksteady chose to include viruses and spyware in this game.

I just received the video game today and was excited to play once I got home from work. Installed everything, clicked 'Click to Play', then a Windows Live log in appears. Okay whatever, I'll register an account. Registered, logged in and Windows Live tells me I have to update my profile. Sure! Game needs to restart.

Finally done!

Log in. Oh wait, another message telling me I have to update.

Okay, now I get to play.

No, log in and update again.

Okay, for reals now I get to play.

...Are you serious? Update again?

(Fourth time, if you lost count)

Can I play now?

NO! UPDATE AGAIN!

I'm on my FIFTH update now as I am typing this.

** Update**

I had to update five times. It took me over 30 minutes.

I'm going to bump this to 3 stars because the game is simply fantastic.
Gameplay is easy but if you're more interested in the storyline, it's a must!!

0 stars for windows live
5 stars for batman

since you need both, 3 stars!

I tried for 4 hours straight trying to create a working Games for Windows LIVE account, but it refused to acknowledge or allow me to sign in. I kept getting code: 80048821, authentication failure. After trying to search online for another 4 hours for some solution, I gave up. I will be returning this useless piece of plastic TODAY.