Batman: Arkham Asylum Demo
Impressions of the Demo for the Xbox 360
A demo for the upcoming game Batman: Arkham Asylum landed on Xbox Live Marketplace last Friday the 7th. Developer Rocksteady Studios might have come up with the ultimate solution for a Batman game. Batman games in years past have fallen anywhere between mediocre and abysmal, but Batman Arkham Asylum looks to be a promising stealth action title as well as a faithful-to-the-lore Batman experience.
The Story So Far
The demo opens with Batman en route to Arkham Asyulm with handcuffed arch nemesis Joker in custody. Shortly after arriving in the penitentiary Joker gains the upper hand and incapacitates his escorting guards with surprising ease. It is at this point that it becomes apparent Arkham Asylum has been overturned to its inmates and Batman has walked into a deadly trap.
Brutal and Visceral Combat
Asylum puts a big emphasis on the style and ferocity of Batman's combat. Right off the bat the player is thrown into a group of unarmed, but very violent enemies. The emphasis is not so much about combos and sheer number of hits as it is about bringing each enemy down as fast and efficiently as possible. Dishing out a few attacks to an enemy followed by a visually pleasing finisher, or an occasional counter seems to be how the standard enemy encounter plays out.
Free Camera Controls
Interestingly, the camera doesn't automatically recenter behind the player, but is completely and freely controlled by the player by rotating the right thumb stick. This design choice proves to be engaging during combat segments. During finishing moves or special attacks the player can set up the camera in a particular way to capture the brutality at the perfect angle. The free camera really invigorates the dichotomy between the fluid responsiveness of the combat and the sheer visual aesthetics of the combat
Detective Mode
Tapping the left shoulder button brings up a infrared/ x-ray HUD called Detective Mode. While in Detective Mode all enemies or characters on screen becoming transparent down the their skeletal composition.
The HUD also displays each enemy's current mental condition (nervous, scared, etc.), if they are armed or not, and how many of them there are. Detective Mode also highlights anything interactive in the environments such as movable grates leading to air ducts to be crawled through, or ledges or mounted objects that can be grappled to.
Stealth Action Gameplay
While its no question that Batman is capable of dishing out the violence in spades, a large aspect of his mysterious persona comes from his low-profile method of operations. Stealth is a core theme in the demo, and while dealing with a handful of unarmed enemies is not a problem, a more delicate approach is necessary when guns are in the picture.
While in Detective Mode the player can scan an entire room and keep a tally on enemy locations, and proceed to pick them off one by one. The silent takedown approach is commonplace in such situations -- crouching down and sneaking up behind an enemy to take them down with the tap of a button. Or a dramatic glide kick from up high can be utilized to take an enemy by surprise.
Last Words
If the demo is any indication of the final product, Batman Arkham Asylum is shaping up to be the quintessential experience starring this caped crusader. Rocksteady have captured the tones of the dark and adult Batman that is so often portrayed in the comics. From the landmark Unreal Engine 3 providing the cold, dingy, metallic prison atmosphere to the sleek and stealthy, yet retaining all the brutality -- Batman himself, the tone is just right.
To top it off, writer Paul Dini of Batman: the Animated Series has written the story for the game and also from the same cartoon, voices of Batman and the Joker (Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill) lend their talents once again to their respective roles.
Batman: AA Cover Art
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Batman Grabbing Joker
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Batman Punch
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