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After years and years of misfires, disappointments, and outright misery, developer Rocksteady and publisher Eidos have struck gold with Batman: Arkham Asylum, the first great superhero game we’ve ever had. The superhero genre has not fared well in the video game industry. Superman 64 is considered by some to be the worst game of the 1990’s. Other games, going from DC to Marvel to Dark Horse universes, have had a wide range of success, with much of it ranging near the putrid category. Exceptions like Marvel Ultimate Alliance come along every now and then, but none have come close to the mark that Arkham Asylum has achieved.
What makes Arkham Asylum work? The most important aspect is that the game takes itself seriously and it takes the Batman story seriously. Writer Paul Dini, the co-creator of the famed 1990’s Batman animated series is a great asset. He knows how to craft a well-rounded story that is true to the characters and can also create a storyline that is filled with mystery, intrigue, and mature elements and themes. Dini was always hampered by making the show appropriate for kids. Now he can really cut loose and create a mature, dark story.
Fighting crime is such a kick.
The story itself involves Batman delivering Joker to Arkham once again. Batman doesn’t feel right about this latest victory. It seemed too easy; like he wanted to be caught. His suspicions are proven correct as Joker breaks free and unleashes hordes of minions to take over the prison. Batman is in pursuit with help from friendly guards, Commissioner Gordon, and his daughter (post "Killing Joke," in this case), going by the alias Oracle as she provides tech support from afar. Joker has plenty of nasty surprises in store for Batman, and plenty of henchman including Harley Quinn, Bane, Zsasz, Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy. As Batman digs deeper into the asylum, he learns about some of the projects that had been going on behind bars like using prisoners like guinea pigs. The hospitals and cells look like they haven’t been cleaned in ages. One character refers to the hospitals as a “butcher shop.” Dini’s story is sharp, literate, and intelligent in every way.
Visually speaking, they are very well done, top to bottom. The art design makes Arkham look like a house of horrors and the characters look like they’ve spent twenty years too many in the cells. There is almost no slow-down, even when you’re encountering eight or nine enemies at once. Some minor inconsistencies occur when enemies go through solid walls and there are minor pixilation issues for far-off enemies, but these are minor by comparison.
The voice-over work is near perfect. It very much helps when you have most of the same original cast from the 90’s cartoon series doing the same work again. Kevin Conroy is excellent as Batman; he hasn’t missed a beat in the last 17 years. Mark Hamill cuts loose in his wild, deranged vision of The Joker. This version is more about murder and cruelty than his cartoon iteration, but Hamill still cracks the jokes over the P.A. and makes them work. Arleen Sorkin is also a lot of fun as Harley, the Joker’s accomplice for much of the game. The rest of the voice-work is also well-done, but having these three doing a majority of the work is a tremendous asset because they’re very familiar with the characters that they have come to define, in a way. The musical score is often low-key, but ominous. The Joker tends to be the soundtrack for much of the game. Some of his comments repeat, but not so often that it’ll be a problem.
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