 |
| Don't mess with Bats. |
I would like to preface this review by saying that I did not play all the way through this game for reasons that I will later disclose, so this is more or less a partial review of Batman: Arkham Asylum (BAA hereafter). As such, this will be a mostly superficial outline of the game's features rather than a review of the entire storyline.
Presentation/Visuals
The fact that many of the staple voice actors/actresses from the Batman animated series were used for the production of BAA was easily the most exciting part about this game going into the storyline. The return of Mark Hamel as the Joker was an awesome touch, and not too many people can capture the maniacal, psychopathic nature of the Joker's personality as he can. As a fan of the animated series, this was a great treat. However, BAA's mood and content are not a part of the animated series' story arc, and players should be warned that the title is quite dark as the comic series is. BAA does not shy away from death and torture, though the violence presented is pretty free of gore.
Graphically, BAA is a stunning mix of comic exaggeration and real life simulation. Characters are as muscular as you would expect their comic book counterparts to be, and models were rendered to show off the still relevant capabilities of the Unreal Engine 3. The only fault with the overall look of the game was with how some of the character animations looked. With characters being as muscular as they were, some of the rag-doll physics were a bit lost in the bulk of the characters. Batman moves with beautiful, fluid motions during combat, but some of his victims fall awkwardly when dispatched. Many of the character skins become redundant after a while as well, particularly the jokers goons who all look like they took huge amounts of steroids. Doesn't anyone hire skinny henchmen anymore? Also, for this being a Batman game, I thought old Bats would look a little more skulky at times. Of course there is an option to make Batman crouch for stealth mode, but the rest of his time is spent running or walking around like a high school athlete with perfect posture. Isn't this man a trained ninja? He should at least look like he is trying to stay hidden even when he isn't actively avoiding confrontations.
Mechanics/Control/Gameplay
These categories are lumped together due to the fact that not all of Batman's abilities were unlocked during my play through of BAA's story line. However, the basics of each were glossed over, and I wasn't disappointed with any one component in general. The control scheme in BAA is pretty simple when compared with other titles in this genre. There are basic exploration commands, stealth controls, and combat combinations. None of these controls revolutionized any gameplay mechanics in any way, but they still made BAA very playable. At no point did the control scheme detract from the fun factor of the game, nor did it interfere with the flow of the game. As far as control in BAA, you either get it, or you should just give up.
In true exploration fashion, Batman is stripped of all his gadgets from the beginning, and abilities must be unlocked as you progress. Again, nothing new here. The only fault that I found here was that none of the unlocks provided that "Wow, kickass! Now I totally feel like I can take on the game!" feeling that some titles provide. Sure, upgrade aid in progression and versatility in taking out baddies, but they didn't really give the whole geek out factor.
A major detraction to this title was its reliance on the "detective mode" function which is basically like other scan modes that other titles employ. Detective mode should be used to point out hidden clues for solving puzzles, but too often it was easier to just leave the thing on all of the time. With the ability enabled, players always know when a goon is lurking around a room, or where a weak wall is waiting for a bit of the blasting foam. Perhaps if this ability had been hampered by some sort of energy consumption mechanic where players had to collect points to provide a charge it would have been better. Otherwise, it was just too easy to use it all of the time without penalty.
Final Thoughts
I mentioned earlier that I didn't play this game all the way through, and this is true for several reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the title overall. I think that BAA is a well presented and accessible game with many strong qualities, but it simply failed to hold my attention for as long as was required to complete it. Every facet of the game was adequately polished, and there appeared to be no glaring flaws to detract from the experience. However, there are simply more appealing titles out there to be explored. Perhaps the upcoming Batman: Arkham City will offer a more complete Batman immersion, but this game simply glossed over the potential of what a Batman title can really be. Was BAA fun? Yes. Does it do service to the fans of Batman casual and hardcore alike? Certainly. However, when compared to titles that have done what BAA could have done with stealth and gameplay, and seeing that they have done them quite well, I didn't feel that BAA measured up to its own expectations.
Final Score: 7.5 out of 10 Good, but not Great
No comments:
Post a Comment