Analog Gamers Gaming From a Slightly Different Perspective

One of the games I have been looking forward to all summer is Batman: Arkham Asylum. As such, it should come as no surprise that I was quick to jump onto the PlayStation Network this weekend and download the demo that was released Friday. So, how did it measure up to my expectations?

First off, the game has great atmosphere. It’s obviously been influenced by the dark feel of the Christopher Nolan Batman films, even though the enemies sometimes look more like the villains in the animated series. Roaming the halls of Arkham Asylum evokes all the feelings you would expect, and many of the enemies make you feel as though you are fighting the outrageous henchmen of the Joker and his ilk.

Secondly, the ‘dynamic combat’ system that has been touted as feature of the game does feel good. It’s intuitive and easy to use. I was able to play through the demo multiple times, and take a different approach to each encounter each time. Still, the system was easy enough for my wife to pick up and play the game without any instruction outside the in-game tutorials.

The voice acting in this game is outstanding. Mark Hamill is perfect as the Joker, and all of the other supporting villains have excellent casting to give them the feel that you would expect from a Batman game.

The only place I found the demo a little lacking was in the difficulty. Hopefully, the difficulty will scale up with the release of the full game. Still, the demo gives me great confidence in heading out to pick the full game up when it releases on August 25th. If you’re a Batman fan, you should definitely grab this demo and give it a try. Check back here at Analog Gamers after the game’s release to see how the rest of the game measures up.