Batman Arkham Asylum - The Best Bits

The hype is true. Batman Arkham Asylum will induce a pearl of pre-cum to form in your jap’s eye. Leaking bodily fluids like a cracked water pipe does not, however, explain why BAA has harvested such a bumper crop of critical acclaim. The following list does just that.

The Intro
Escorting The Joker into the grimy bowels of Arkham Asylum is a master class in scene setting. Trussed and bound like Hannibal Lecture in Silence of the Lambs, the punk-haired prankster is on top form, twitching, guffawing and cracking ghoulish puns. Arkham’s inmates hail their hero’s arrival with thuggish cheers and a knowing wink. A brief, terrifying encounter with the Killer Croc leaves you in no doubt that something foul is brewing. And then the inevitable – the Joker escapes…

Bat Fact: The intro is turned on its head to brilliant effect during one of Batman’s hallucinations.

The Joker Always teetering on the verge of outright insanity, the Joker provides Arkham Asylum’s lunatic soundtrack. A silently executed stealth takedown is exposed with spectacular bluntness, ‘He’s down there you idiots!’ The Asylum’s pervasive speaker system means that the Joker is an omnipresent force. Whether he’s blowing your cover or threatening his goons, the Joker’s cracked laughter is always echoing in the ether. He’s quite literally the rotten soul of Arkahm Asylum.

Bat Fact: Check out Mark Hamill’s crowd pleasing appearance at comic con.

The Scarecrow The hellish hallucinations induced by Scarecrow’s toxins make for some of the most memorable moments in the game. At first, bewilderment – it’s raining inside Arkham Mansion. The decadent splendour of your surroundings melts away into the filthy back alleys of Gotham City. Disembodied voices beg for mercy. The unmistakable crack of two gunshots. A flash of blinding white light. You’re no longer Batman. You’re Bruce Wayne, 8 years old and sobbing over the rain sodden corpses of your murdered parents.

The scene dissolves into the emptiness of space. Fragments of Arkham Asylum float above a swirling vortex. A grotesquely colossal Scarecrow, with searchlights for eyes, scours the ruins with murderous intent. An eternity of insanity is the price you pay if caught. It’s a genuinely disturbing vision of madness. Each hallucination is an expertly crafted slice of psychological horror. The Scarecrow lives to exploit the fears and phobias of his adversaries and to this end he succeeds. Batman is forced to relive the brutal murder of his parents.

But the Scarecrow’s reach extends far beyond the walls of Arkham Asylum. He also pricks you, the player, with his toxin loaded syringes. The terrifying game of cat and mouse you're forced to endure after each hallucination taps into the atavistic fear we have of being hunted. Your flesh will tingle when that roving yellow searchlight skims just millimetres above your head.

Bat Fact: Don’t unzip those body bags…

Night Glider He’s not called the caped crusader for nothing. Batman’s ability to glide effortlessly from a vantage point on high into a gang of Joker’s henchmen below, before reducing them to a heap of broken bones, encapsulates all of the Dark Knight’s strongest attributes - grace, beauty and power. And there’s nothing more iconic than a fully stretched bat cape silhouetted against the pale glow of the moon.

Bat Fact: Glide continuously for over 100m to unlock the Night Glider achievement. Your best bet is leaping from the peak of Arkham Mansion.

The Grapnel Gun The tactile joy of zipping between gargoyles is second to none. Walking feels like a clumsy chore in comparison.
Bat Fact: This'll keep the young 'un happy.

Combat The first, and most important, thing that Arkham Asylum gets right is its combat:

Batman’s a painstakingly modelled muscleman, but he moves like a panther between targets, intercepting blows, breaking ankles and disarming thugs with ease. The system is part timing and part pattern-spotting, and when mastered proves about as perfect a combination of brutality, fluidity and grace as you could wish for. The challenge ramps up with enemies that require specific tactics thrown into the mix, but it never becomes truly difficult; rather, the skill lies in maintaining an unbroken combo and flowing between opponents without missing an opportunity.
Edge Magazine

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Detective Mode Detective Mode shows you where opponents are and what they’re armed with using garish reds and blues. The feeling of empowerment as you plot your enemies’ downfall is awesome:

When the crims get their lumpy hands on guns, fisticuffs becomes suicide. These stealthier engagements are about setting up one-button silent takedowns and, although limited in scope, are often thrilling. Batman drops from a gargoyle and pulls up a thug, dangling him from the outcrop before swinging away. As his comrades run to investigate, you silently drop down behind one and choke him unconscious, hiding around the corner from the body. Finally, as the last thug runs over, terrified, you’re able to burst out from hiding with an elbow to the throat and an excitable grin.
Edge Magazine

Bat Fact: Bat's the way to do it...

Riddles The Riddler has painted ‘question marks’ on various structures in Arkham Asylum. All must be found and scanned if you’re to unlock the Perfect Knight achievement. The catch, however, is this – the question marks are invisible. You can only see them in detective mode. And it gets worse – the curved arch of each question mark is separated from its underlying dot. Your job is to position yourself so that both parts of the question mark align to form a seamless whole. It’s a testament to Rocksteady’s pioneering genius as developers that one of the most innovative aspects of the game is hidden away as a tiny portion of the Riddler’s Challenges.

Bat Fact: Riddle me this...