Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum - Gotham's psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City's most notorious villains who have taken over the asylum. Using a wide range of Batman's gadgets and abilities, players will become the invisible predator and attempt to foil The Joker's demented scheme.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is a game that, one can hope, breaks the curse of terrible or mediocre comic book games. From the moment you begin the game to the very end, this game continues to draw you in with simple, but effective gameplay. Batman himself is incredibly easy to control. The fair majority of the combat seems like button mashing, but his combos can be effectively chained and directed in motion. An example being knocking down a thug and dramatically shifting directions to strike another one. You can also upgrade Batman to include a few new moves and boost his tools which are almost like they were pulled directly out of the comic book.

Strangely however, there's a sizable portion of the game that doesn't involve combat. There's a well-balanced heaping of platforming, puzzle solving, and strategy in the game. In some parts of the game, combat against gun-wielding thugs is deadly, so you rely on perching yourself on gargoyles and stringing them without engaging. Detective mode brings so much depth to the game in allowing you to gain greater knowledge of your surroundings and find secrets. If there's anything I didn't like about the gameplay was how easy the game was in general. Most people wouldn't play the game continuously as I did since I beat it in less than 10 hours, but still I felt it could have been tougher. There is a Hard difficulty for anyone who wants a real challenge, but just about anyone can beat this game with a little determination.

Visually, this game is astounding. Even with high definition graphics nowadays, there are games that don't even come close to the appearance of this game. Animations are fluid and smooth and level of detail is incredible. All of the characters look almost photo realistic even generic thugs.

Although I did say the game was easy, that doesn't mean there isn't value. Finding all of the Riddler riddles takes a long time as well as completing the out-of-story challenges can take up quite a bit of time adding largely to the replay value. You can unlock most of the Batman rogues gallery bios, but only Killer Croc, Bane, Scarecrow, Joker, Harley Quinn, Mr. Zsasz, and Poison Ivy make actual appearances which does feel like a missed opportunity for many of the characters. Hopefully there might be a sequel that will explore other characters.

All in all I think this is an incredible game worthy of anyone's attentions. Any problems with the game can really be overlooked. The Pros: Amazing visuals, sound really immerses you, vocal work is excellent, gameplay is simple and easy to pick up, detective mode is very fun, lots of replay value. The Cons: Game seems short and a bit easy, villains missing in the game seem like a missed opportunity.

Game Features :

• Utilize the unique FreeFlow combat system to chain together unlimited combos seamlessly and battle with huge groups of The Joker's henchmen in brutal melee brawls.
• Investigate as Batman, the World's Greatest Detective, by solving intricate puzzles with the help of cutting edge forensic tools including x-ray scanning, fingerprint scans, 'Amido Black' spray and a pheromone tracker.
• Face off against Gotham�s greatest villains including The Joker, Harley Quinn, Victor Zsasz and Killer Croc.
• Become the Invisible Predator with Batman's fear takedowns and unique vantage point system to move without being seen and hunt enemies.
• Choose multiple takedown methods, including swooping from the sky and smashing through walls, and use the predator camera get a closer look at the action.
• Explore every inch of Arkham Asylum and roam freely on the infamous island, presented for the first time ever in its gritty and realistic entirety.
• Experience what it's like to be Batman using Batarangs, explosive gel aerosol, The Batclaw, sonar resonator and the line launcher.
• Unlock more secrets by completing hidden challenges in the world and develop and customize equipment by earning experience points.
• Enjoy complete superhero freedom in the environment with the use of Batman's grapple to get to any place you can see, jump from any height and glide in any direction.

Minimum System Requirements :

• OS: Microsoft Windows XP or Vista
• CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3GHz or AMD Athlon 64 3500+
• RAM: 1GB for Windows XP 2GB for Windows Vista
• GRAPHICS: nVidia 6600 or ATI 1300
• SOUND: Microsoft Windows XP/Vista compatible sound card (100% DirectX 9.0c -compatible)
• DVD-ROM: Quad-speed (4x) DVD-ROM drive
• HARD DRIVE: 9GB free disk space

Batman: Arkham Asylum is an ambitious and amazing game that's worth a look for any gamer.