Arkham Asylum, for the criminally insane and a place you'll definitely want to visit soon.
Batman is all about stealth, though that's not to say he doesn't occasionally get into fisticuffs with some of the asylums inmates. The combat system bares a resemblance to Too Human. All you need to do is point the analog stick in the right direction and at the press of a button Batman will leap across the level and introduce his fist to the face of his foes. The inmates will do their best to put up a fight, but by paying enough attention, Batman can easily counter anything they throw his way. Be it inmates wielding knives, stun batons or even guns. However, the guys with knives and batons need to be dispatched in a special way while it's best to just avoid the guys with the guns and dispatch them silently. As Batman progresses through Arkham, he'll gain new gadgets such as the bat claw which can rip ventilation grates off walls and eventually pull weak walls down. Explosive gel can be turned into proximity mines and upgraded to detonate one at a time. Sonic batarangs act as mini explosives that stun enemies when they've been fully upgraded. Batman himself can eventually throw enemies and use special takedowns that make it seem like he's seen one too many Steven Segal movies. Certain boss battles offer some of the most memorable moments in the game, it's just too bad they're not more of Batman's super human foes in the game, but you certainly learn about a lot of them with the character bios.
As I said before, stealth is Batman's style, which becomes more apparent as enemies arm themselves with guns and group up with each other. Later on into the game, the enemies will wear suicide collars that alert their comrades that Batman has taken down one of their own. The Joker himself will keep a prevalent eye on his troops and inform them as Batman renders them unconscious. When enemies find unconscious bodies, they'll begin to move about the level watching each others backs, and scanning their surroundings more closely. There's a number of ways to silently take out your enemies like hanging them from gargoyles and pulling them over ledges. If caught, all Batman needs to do is zip up to the closest gargoyles and swing until they lose interest. This would make things too easy if not for the fact Batman can't really take a bullet. Watching an inmate slowly go from being calm, to nervous, to terrified as his friends are picked off, one at a time adds onto the feeling of being Batman. Listening to the inmates as the Joker taunts them and Batman thins their ranks, makes
The game looks great and certainly shows a darker side of Batman. It's just too bad that you'll spend a ninety percent of the game using the detective mode which prevents you from admiring the games fantastic graphics. Eidos managed to get most of the voice actors from the cartoons to come back and voice their characters. Kevin McCoy and Mark Hamill deliver a magnificent performance, that's not to say that the other voice actors don't do just as good. All the characters are well voiced, no matter how big or small the role is.
Batman: Arkham Asylum is a great game. It's got a simple combat system that still manages to keep players on their toes, looks magnificent and is well voiced. Once you've finished the game you're free to hunt down the 240 challenges in the single player campaign to unlock the challenge rooms, which will keep you coming back to unlock all the trophies, some of which may require thugs to be defeated in certain ways. Whether you're a criminal, crazy, a guy dressed up in spandex or neither of the above, believe me when I say that Arkham Asylum is definitely a place you'll want to visit.