Batman is synonymous with having shit luck when it comes to video games based around the character and his mythology. In fact, we even ran an article highlighting some of the worst titles poor Bats has seen over the years (The worst Batman games), and one thing shared between all of them is how they all completely miss the mark when it comes to using the source material to the game's advantage. That's where Rocksteady Studios steps in, promising to finally deliver a quality Batman game that the fans have been waiting for. It also didn't help that they came out publicly and announced that Arkham Asylum was as close to perfect as they've ever come with a video game. Talk about skyrocketing the hype for an already highly anticipated title. But now that Arkham Asylum has released and we are able to get our grubby hands on the finished product can we say Rocksteady come through on their promise?
To answer that question we here at CraveOnline decided to approach our review for Batman: Arkham Asylum a bit differently, hence the reason it's coming in a bit later than most sites reviewing the game (we need some sort of excuse!). We've brought in fellow Crave writer Joey Esposito, our Comic Channel Editorialist, to participate in a joint review of Batman: Arkham Asylum and cover it from both the standpoint of a gamer geek and that of a comic nerd.
Erik: So let's begin by getting right into the thick of things and discussing the game's presentation. Joey, do you feel Batman: Arkham Asylum captures the essence of what a Batman video game should look and sound like?
Joey: Absolutely. The thing that Arkham does so well is it combines aspects of Batman in various mediums: the comics, the new films, The Animated Series, and hell, the title screen even has the font of the first Tim Burton Batman movie. The musical score of the game definitely takes it's cues from Christopher Nolan's films; so much so that I found myself wishing they had just transplanted the film score all together.
Erik: I actually got the same impression from the soundtrack. The music of Nolan's films never had that overbearing distinct "theme" that the Burton ones had, it seems more ominous and subtle but still powerful and bold. The same goes for the soundtrack of Arkham Asylum. And yes, you bring up all the different sources of inspiration that Arkham Asylum cherry-picks influence from and I can't help but spotlight probably the two biggest; Batman: The Animated Series and Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum: Serious House on Serious Earth graphic novel, which not only shares a plot very similar to Arkham Asylum (the game) but also covers familar ground when discussing the thin line (or lack thereof) that separates Batman from the rest of the inmates of Arkham.
Erik: Agreed, I particularly enjoyed the references to Calendar Man, Mad Hatter, and Ra's Al Ghul, all very clever and cool.
