Game Debate #179: Batman Arkham Asylum

[Reed Rothchild | 9,526]

[Sumez | 2,951]

Somewhere between 7 and 8. I greatly appreciate this game's more tight Metroidvania'esque exploration compared to the free roaming city of the sequels. But it's a bit lacking in actual cool Batman stuff, something the next game was packed full of.

The combat system seemed innovative at the time, but man it's been copied so many times now in lieau of actually involving video game combat that I'm getting real sick of it - just hordes of enemies holding back and waiting their turn, so you can mash buttons and push the counter attack whenever the prompt for that appears.
But I can't hold that against this game, the system works fine here, and it's not what carries the game anyway.

[TDIRunner | 2,737]

I never got into any of the Batman games during this era, but I always wanted to try them.  

[Webhead123 | 675]

I believe this still stands as one of only two games I've ever pre-ordered (the other was the System Shock remake). This game pretty much consumed my free time when it came out. The visuals and character designs were absolutely mind-blowing for their time, the gameplay came the closest to making the player "feel" like they were a world-class detective and they managed to get both Conroy and Hamill to return to voice their iconic roles. It was pretty much a BTAS fan's wet dream of a game and it did not disappoint. I even, for a time, threw my hat in on the leaderboards for some of the challenge maps.

While I think Arkham City did the right thing and opened the game up even further (and was also an absolute gem), having to start somewhere, this game feels like it was perfect for what it was. If I have one complaint, it's the same one I think everyone's ever had with it, and that's the rather disappointing final showdown with Joker. But if 99% of the rest of the game is basically the perfect Batman experience for its time, I can forgive a lack-luster final boss.

9/10, easily.

Edited November 15, 2023 by Webhead123

[wongojack | 214]

This is a 9 for me but only because Arkham City exists (that game is a 10/10).  The 360/PS3 era was an amazing time for single player gaming, and as I look back, this series continues to climb for me in terms of the best games for that era.  As others have said, the formula has now been copied (masterfully in the case of Shadow of Mordor and others), but this game really deserves some credit for giving us a lot of new experiences and dropping it into one of the most cherished licenses in the history of . . . fiction.

 

[doner24 | 1,195]

9

[DarkTone | 984]

8. 

[Brickman | 3,984]

9 for me. Loved the mechanics implemented in this game and it really felt like a proper Batman game vs what was on the NES and SNES. The story was great and there was a lot of extra riddles to find it that was your thing. The other two games were great but I feel like this was my favourite of the 3.

[Gentlegamer | 174]

9/10 (Arkham City gets the 10)

[Webhead123 | 675]

Oh, I forgot to mention that this game was also one of only a handful (maybe 6 or 7 total) that I've ever committed myself to doing 100% trophies/achievements/whatever. I loved the game so much that I wanted to complete everything possible, and I did!

[koifish | 556]

pretty good but only worth one playthrough. The sneaking and taking out guys is cool, but the stealth could be better (you can tell it comes from the era of design where devs stopped assuming that their audience possessed any patience or critical thinking skills) and the combat is basically a joke. The detective work would be cooler if it didn't give you magic x-ray vision, and indeed, in one part where you sneak through a courtyard patrolled by snipers, it was way more fun turning off the easy goggles and finding/eliminating the snipers yourself. As a counterpoint to batman, think of spiderman 2 on ps2; You start out and you suck at webswinging, but with time you get good and its as fun as it is rewarding. Bamham never does that, so its a bit mind-numbing of an experience. As pointed out above also, the final boss sucks too, but given how none of the fighting is any good, that isn't especially surprising.

As a mindless batman sim however, this game rocks. You just fall in and get to really be the bat, and the spectacle of it all is fantastic. The thinking-free focus helps ensure that you never really fail, so like batman you just succeed a lot and  beat dudes up and look flashy doing it. Some of the flipping around just looks ridiculous, but it plays fine enough, and moreover all the VAs really show up and put on a good show.

I would say, go in and expect a cool batman theme park ride and just turn your brain off for the film. You'll have a good amount of fun and feel like it was a worthwhile batman experience. Just don't bother with it much more than that, I'd say, or you'll just find yourself wanting something with more design substance, like Splinter Cell (for stealth) or Godhand (for combat), as examples that come to mind of games that do those things far better IMO. But it is clear that the goal of this was more to be a "batman fan's game" than a "video game for people who like batman", so I don't really knock it. Still, overall I give it a 5, because other than one time for the spectacle, I wouldn't bother with it, and indeed I sold it not long after my one playthrough.

Also, I get a good laugh out of how everybody, even commissioner gordon, is so preposterously WIDE. Seriously, batman is 3 times as wide as he is deep. Reminds me of the comical proportions from the 90s superman and batman cartoons (and by extension the 2000s Justice League shows). Also, screw whomever decided to make a bazillion costumes for batman and locked them all behind different store preorder bonuses. Not cool.

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

5.. I always found it hard to get into these types of games.. not sure why. The combat system just didn't excite me when I played this one. It wasn't bad but it's not something I'd go out of my way to play.

[wongojack | 214]

On 11/16/2023 at 4:59 PM, koifish said:

pretty good but only worth one playthrough. The sneaking and taking out guys is cool, but the stealth could be better (you can tell it comes from the era of design where devs stopped assuming that their audience possessed any patience or critical thinking skills) and the combat is basically a joke. The detective work would be cooler if it didn't give you magic x-ray vision, and indeed, in one part where you sneak through a courtyard patrolled by snipers, it was way more fun turning off the easy goggles and finding/eliminating the snipers yourself. As a counterpoint to batman, think of spiderman 2 on ps2; You start out and you suck at webswinging, but with time you get good and its as fun as it is rewarding. Bamham never does that, so its a bit mind-numbing of an experience. As pointed out above also, the final boss sucks too, but given how none of the fighting is any good, that isn't especially surprising.

As a mindless batman sim however, this game rocks. You just fall in and get to really be the bat, and the spectacle of it all is fantastic. The thinking-free focus helps ensure that you never really fail, so like batman you just succeed a lot and  beat dudes up and look flashy doing it. Some of the flipping around just looks ridiculous, but it plays fine enough, and moreover all the VAs really show up and put on a good show.

I would say, go in and expect a cool batman theme park ride and just turn your brain off for the film. You'll have a good amount of fun and feel like it was a worthwhile batman experience. Just don't bother with it much more than that, I'd say, or you'll just find yourself wanting something with more design substance, like Splinter Cell (for stealth) or Godhand (for combat), as examples that come to mind of games that do those things far better IMO. But it is clear that the goal of this was more to be a "batman fan's game" than a "video game for people who like batman", so I don't really knock it. Still, overall I give it a 5, because other than one time for the spectacle, I wouldn't bother with it, and indeed I sold it not long after my one playthrough.

Also, I get a good laugh out of how everybody, even commissioner gordon, is so preposterously WIDE. Seriously, batman is 3 times as wide as he is deep. Reminds me of the comical proportions from the 90s superman and batman cartoons (and by extension the 2000s Justice League shows). Also, screw whomever decided to make a bazillion costumes for batman and locked them all behind different store preorder bonuses. Not cool.

I appreciated your comment and justification for giving the game a 5 out of 10.  I think your description of the game as an amusement park ride works except that I don't think that is a negative thing.  I actually want more rides from my experiences with modern gaming.  I don't need complex gameplay mechanics or difficult to master control schemes.  Especially if increasing the complexity results in a decrease in the quality of the story delivered.  That being said, the formula can certainly overstay its welcome.  Games like "The Last of Us" (and TLOU II) demonstrate this well.  I thought there were plenty of opportunities for rich gameplay there, but they didn't really let you "off the ride" enough to experience them.  There are other examples.

Anyway, I'm not going to ding a game for succeeding at being the greatest DC comics video game property ever even if I can think of other games with more challenge and deeper mechanics.

[AstralSoul | 502]

This is one of those game I've wanted to play for years, and one that everyone can't seem to believe I haven't played, but I will...one day. I really want to. There's just no time.

[G-type | 2,481]

I've played this for about 30 minutes... thought it was kinda cool, but also not really something I'd want to play for an extended period of time... so not really sure how to vote... I feel it deserves better than a "never going to play it" but realistically I guess that's just what it is.