In 2009, "Batman: Arkham Asylum" was released - a game about the cult comic book character from the then virtually unknown studio Rocksteady. Despite the "Dark Knight"that thundered a year earlier , which finally revived public interest in the hero, no one expected anything special from the game, everyone hoped to see, at best, a passable beat-em-up, for it is no secret that games licenses have always been, to put it mildly, of dubious quality. The louder "Arkham Asylum" thundered throughout the world, setting an incredible standard for quality not only among projects about superheroes, but, perhaps, for the entire genre of action games.
First of all, attention is drawn to the plot, which here is not just an “incentive” to action for the characters and a justification for the gameplay, the story in “Batman: Arkham Asylum” is a truly important element of the game. Batman once again catches the clown prince of crime, but the Joker gives up surprisingly easily, and the Dark Knight decides to play it safe, wanting to personally accompany the insane clown within the walls of the infamous Arkham Asylum to his cell. But all this turns out to be part of the Joker's plan, and Batman himself becomes a prisoner, locked up with his worst enemies.
The premise for the story is very, very good, and the plot itself holds interest throughout the entire game, throwing in some twists and organically introducing many characters from the Batman universe into the narrative.
Undoubtedly, it is worth noting the very cool gameplay, which in "Batman: Arkham Asylum" is conventionally divided into two parts - the actual beat-em-up and stealth. The combat system itself is done perfectly, and despite the fact that all the battles are tied to, in fact, two buttons and timings, they look incredibly spectacular and are not boring at all. Stealth is also done simply, but tastefully - crawling through ventilation shafts, chokeholds, hanging opponents from gargoyles - it plays very cool, and you just feel like a real avenger in a mask. Add to all this an expanding arsenal of gadgets and abilities throughout the game that add even more variety to the gameplay. It is also worth noting that the gameplay is polished to the smallest detail, the game perfectly senses who you want to hit, where to throw the batarang, and this definitely adds points to the feeling of the character.
But even this is not the most important thing for which Rocksteady should be praised. Both the plot and the gameplay would not work properly if it were not for the excellently conveyed atmosphere of the Batman universe. It is clear that the guys from Rocksteady created the game with great love for the original source. "Batman: Arkham Asylum" is a project with great style and mood, simply overflowing with fan service and references and treating the original characters with great respect, for which the developers deserve special applause and respect.
Approaching the conclusion, I’ll note that for its time “Batman: Arkham Asylum” could boast of excellent graphics, beautifully choreographed in-game videos, and even now the game looks pretty good. The permanent Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamillwere invited to voice Batman and the Joker, and the Russian localization turned out to be very worthy overall.
"Batman: Arkham Asylum" collected all conceivable and inconceivable awards, entered the Guinness Book of Records, gained the respect and love of both ordinary players and fans of the character, and marked the beginning of a full-fledged game franchise. The game turned out to be great in everything from the story and characters to the level design, and Rocksteady showed the whole world that it is quite possible to make not just a good, but a great superhero game.
10 out of 10