The Dork Knight: a gamer’s greatest gaming fantasy

Finally, a comic book video game that doesn’t suck.

By Joey Vergara

Published Sept. 1, 2009

In a move that truly reveals how much hype and hyperbole has been intravenously pumped into “Batman: Arkham Asylum,” Guinness World Records recently honored the game with the ambiguous and questionably important “Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever” award. Beyond the fact that Batman is not a superhero and that no one really pays attention to Guinness any longer (when was that TV show cancelled, anyway?), “Arkham Asylum” manages to keep from buckling underneath the weight of a yearlong hype build-up.

This is a game made for the “Dark Knight” generation -- a game in which Batman is a dark figure in an even darker world.

The story begins as the Joker manages to invade Arkham Asylum after a trick capture by Batman. From there, it’s up to Batman to rescue various familiar faces (Jim Gordon) and take out villains including Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy and Bane.

Where the game excels, it really excels. The gameplay offers an experience somewhere between “Metal Gear Solid” and more straightforward action games such as “Devil May Cry.” The developers at Rocksteady understand Batman is more than an action hero: He’s a detective — and a damn good one at that. To progress, players will need to activate Detective Mode, an alternate vision system that allows Batman to spot hidden items and rooms and see upcoming enemies.

When not sneaking around like a rodent, Batman uses a battle system that seems simple to use but requires nuance to perfect. Each battle with Joker’s henchmen feels individualized. The nameless lunatics will behave differently, grouping together or splitting up, and use various weapons as their BPM (visible to Batman in Detective Mode) rises.

The Scarecrow portions of the game particularly stand out, requiring players to adopt a different perspective than the normally over-the-shoulder view and creeping the bejeezus out of them in the process. One cut scene even calls to mind the infamous interaction with Psycho Mantis in “Metal Gear Solid.”

After playing through the main game (a nine-to-10-hour affair), the option to collect Riddler Trophies and Riddles hidden throughout Arkham Island remains. It sounds like a cheap ploy, but in actuality, getting to explore an island devoid of most baddies and primary objectives allows players to really take in the extreme detail Rocksteady put into this game. Traces of Ra’s Al Ghul, Catwoman and other classic characters are littered throughout the expansive map. Additionally, Challenge Mode tests just how high a combo run can be taken or how sneaky Batman can get. In the PS3 version, players have the option to take Joker out for some mayhem as well.

On the downside, “Arkham Asylum’s” storyline begins to falter about halfway through. The idea of the Joker taking over Arkham Asylum is an interesting concept, one previously explored in Grant Morrison’s terrifying graphic novel of the same name, but eventually it begins to feel as if the developers were shooting for style over substance. As Batman begins to unravel the mystery of Joker’s plans, the story begins to sound a little familiar. Giant, mutated freak army? Repetitive boss fights? Seen it — “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” The finale itself goes so against DC mythology that it may as well not be a Batman game.

Despite this major flaw and some other minor ones including a repetitive Killer Croc level, “Batman: Arkham Asylum” might very well be the greatest comic book game available on any system. With voice acting from Mark Hamill, Kevin Conroy and Arleen Sorkin (all from “Batman: The Animated Series”) “Arkham Asylum” takes on a very cinematic feel, immersing the player into a world as nuanced as an Alan Moore story and as sinister as Christopher Nolan’s interpretation of the Dark Knight. This may not be the Golden Age of comic heroes, but it’s fun as hell.