"Arkham" successfully takes pieces from classics before it, making it a triumphant classic itself.
In "Arkham Asylum", you take on the role of Batman (aka "The Dark Knight"). The opening cut-scene shows Batman zipping through the streets in his Batmobile in black of the night, in cloudy Gotham City. Joker is restrained in the backseat, prepared to be institutionalized in Arkham Asylum. Upon entering Arkham, you realize that this game focuses greatly on high quality presentation and production values. As you slowly stroll through the facility with the prison guards and Joker, you immediately recognize the fantastic voice acting as well.
The hero-villain relationship between Batman and Joker (as well as the other villains in the game) feels very real thanks to the great voice acting and character interaction in the cut-scenes. Batman isn't allowed to proceed with Joker and the guards into the intensive treatment area due to security rules. Dummies, did they not realize that Joker would easily take down the two security guards, release prisoners, and take complete control of the Asylum, and cause all sorts of hell? The beginning of an adventure!
"Arkham Asylum" is a third person action game. The camera is set closely to Batman's back, much like in Resident Evil 4 with Leon. The camera is never an issue. "Arkham" plays a lot like a "Bioshock" or a "Metroid" would, in the sense that you are in one large area for the entire game. "Arkham" is not simply just an action romp. In fact, the game contains some of the sweetest stealth missions you could hope for.
The stealth parts of the game usually occur in a medium-sized to large room. Since Batman doesn't carry guns, when he is confronted with a room full of gun-wielding foes, he has to silently take them out, one by one. Using your surroundings is key in the stealth tasks. In most cases you can grapple onto gargoyle statues hanging on the walls, and craftily jump down behind your foe, sneak up quietly behind him, and take him down. When one enemy is taken down, an alarm in a collar that the enemy is wearing, goes off. The alarm alerts the other foes in the room that one of their fellow henchmen, is down. The enemies will then either team up or split up in different directions. If spotted, the only thing you can do is find a hiding spot that is unaccessible to the enemies, or swing along the tops of the room until the enemies lose track of you.
One thing that makes the stealth parts in the game so fun, is putting Batman's "detective mode" (x-ray vision +) to good use, allowing Batman to see foes through walls and other barriers, giving you a good idea of where to sneak around to take them out. The "detective mode" is one of the most important features in the game. It allows you to scan for evidence, find hidden treasure, weak infrastructure, and other objects that can be tampered with for the sake of advancing through the game.
Since Batman doesn't do knives and guns, he has to fight the classic way. The combat is simply beautiful. Few things are more satisfying than realizing that up ahead is a room full of baddies, waiting for a good fight. When beating up on one dude, squiggly lines may come up over another enemies head, which signals he is about to attack. You can quickly press Y at the moment you see that signal, and do a very stylish counter attack. Doing big combos allows Batman to do special moves as well, such as throwing an enemy or slamming him to the ground.
There is a small RPG component to the game as well. You earn experience points for defeating enemies, which will allow you to upgrade your armor and gadgets. Batman has a good variety of gadgets in which you will use to advance through the game, and each new gadget brings something new and fresh to the table.
"Arkham Asylum" is a success because it takes little bits and pieces from many classics that have come before it. The game has outstanding presentation and exceptional graphics. The villains of the Dark Knight feel as real as you could imagine. Batman encounters more than half a dozen of his foes in Arkham. All are memorable, but perhaps the most amazing encounters are the encounters with Scarecrow, which take on an entirely new feel of their own. Scarecrow does a great job of playing tricks with the player's mind, and accelerates the game's dark and weird factor to its highest points.
Aside from the main mission, you can find riddler trophies and complete puzzling tasks the Riddler has set up for Batman. These tasks aren't always necessary, but does unlock new missions in "Challenge Mode". Challenge Mode is a mode in which you take down a certain amount of enemies in either stealth or action combat mode and rack up points. It's a good added mode that adds sauce to an already meaty single player campaign. There are even more great features in the game that I haven't even mentioned. I did talk about the juicy stuff though. If this review hasn't prompted you to believe this game is worth playing, then rent it or something. You'll be blown away.