Batman: Arkham Asylum is far and away the best super-hero game I’ve ever played and one of the ten best games overall. This game is what I have always wanted a super hero game to be with a little Tomb Raider, a little Zelda, a little Splinter Cell – these folks did everything right.
I’ve really never seen anything quite like this game and at the same time it was constantly reminding me of several games I’ve loved in the past. And as a Batman fan, the game was chock full of the kind of insider tid-bits to keep me warm at night.
In the Persian Flaw column I will log the only thing that I thought was less than stellar – Ivy’s hair. I know, it’s a little thing, but in a game that otherwise does everything right, her awkward hair stands out as ‘less than’ everything else around it.
I need to ask Lisa Foiles why she objected to the ending
I’m not as much of a purist as some, which is probably why I’m okay with how the game ended. I prefer storylines that fit within established continuity, but how else are those universes going to change and grow? Continuing popular characters and universes without becoming boring and predictable is a difficult task, especially in the case of someone like Batman who’s got 70 years of history behind him.
He really did look like a Warcraft Troll, didn’t he?
I loved Arkham Asylum, but I can understand why some might object to the ending.
SPOILERS!
Joker has always been a “user” if you will. He uses gadgets, gizmos, gimmicks, and tricks to fight Batman. He also uses other people. Hiring other villains, tricking people into doing his bidding, etc. From a gameplay perspective, the final battle works pretty well. From a story perspective, for the Joker to amp himself up rather than make use of something/someone else, it doesn’t really fit with his character that much. Not to say Joker is locked into a pattern of behavior, just that any changes in that pattern will take some time to be assimilated by the fans as “normal”. I’m not the biggest follower of the franchise, so maybe I’m missing some events that make it fit, but altering himself to be physically superior to Batman when he would rather be mentally superior isn’t “normal”….
END SPOILERS
I can’t wait for more from Rocksteady (hopefully in this same franchise), and for the example they’ve provided to be followed by other developers with other heroes.
I wonder if that’s what Lisa was talking about…
I do know the picture ofd Joker looking like a 12 ft tall Warcraft Troll made me chuckle a bit but nothing beyond that.
Then again, I’m known to be fairly open to story line tweaks – I’m not a purist in that regard.
If Spock wants to get it on with Uhura, I’m cool with that.