A solid game for hard-core fans and casual gamers alike.
Whether you're a die-hard Batman fan, or just a moderately interested gamer, or someone coming out of a 73-year coma and have no idea what a batman is, this game offers loads of fun and excitement.
Throughout the story, you'll encounter numerous characters from traditional Batman canon, and have access to many more character bios, full of information about their personality traits and their history. This exposure will make you feel like an insider relatively quickly.
The game starts with Batman driving a subdued Joker (his arch nemesis) to the Asylum. Joker seems disconcertingly calm given his situation. As you might expect, he has a few things up his sleeve. After a short introductory sequence where you follow the warden and some guards as they admit Joker to the facility, all hell breaks loose, as Joker escapes, commandeers the facility, and releases all of the inmates.
Thus starts an adventure where you (as Batman) will have to navigate all over the island, exploring the various facilities, caves and corridors of this island institution. The atmosphere is, in my opinion, the game's strongest asset. It is highly immersive, and the scenery is nothing short of stunning. It is a highly artsy environment with gritty textures and gorgeous architecture, fine details and rich, deep colors. Secret passages and hidden items abound, and the world beckons you to explore it.
In addition to strong exploration and immersion, this game has fantastic fight mechanics. There are many times when Batman will be surrounded by thugs armed only with fists, knives, pipes, stun rods, or other such melee items. Batman employs numerous methods of attack (such as the 'batarang') as well as methods of counterattack, subduing enemies, picking them up and throwing them, stunning them, and evading them. The game links these moves together with combo multipliers that enable perks at higher levels (such as increasing attack power and enabling special moves). Fighting groups of enemies is extremely thrilling, and the result of this system is what looks like a well-choreographed fight scene, fast-paced and epic.
The AI is good for the most part, especially during the stealth portions of the game (taking out armed guards) with enemies taking alarm if they see indications of Batman's presence (such as device left on a wall, or an unconscious thug). They often form groups of two (back-to-back) to perform sweeps of the area in search of Batman.
One thing that really put me off, though, was how the enemies could never seem to look up when searching for Batman. In any large area where there are armed enemies, there are often gargoyles sculpted into the building near the ceiling. Mounting these (and swinging from one to the other) is the best way to hide and escape from the enemies if they've seen you. After swinging from one to the other (usually only twice or so) they've completely lost sight of you. I realize this was a practical decision on the part of the makers of the game, who wanted the player to have a safe haven after a gunfight, but it seemed too contrived and hurt immersion for me. This is, however, highly subjective, so it's quite possible that most people won't have a problem with it.
Another thing I found irritating was the dialogue. This game is rife with the immature babble (such as: you better not mess with us, Batman, or What are you, chicken?!) that plagues so many superhero stories. I don't know if it's because it was meant to be playable by gamers of many different ages (with a 'T' rating, this seems questionable), or if it's just convention. But I think that it hurts the storyline.
This is also present in the 'patient interviews', which are various tape reels hidden around the island that play back doctor/patient sessions with some of Batman's enemies. The dialogue paints everyone very one-dimensionally, where any type of villain adopts all the stereotypical mannerisms of that type of villain, doctors adopt all the stereotypical mannerisms of doctors, and the pacing is artificial. In short, it just seems like really lazy writing.
The prime example of this, however, is the Joker himself. Throughout your many encounters with his henchman, he's on the intercom ridiculing you and spewing taunts. Some games use this to great effect (Portal, Bioshock, etc). But because it's the same cookie-cutter lines that are recycled over and over again, it gets EXTREMELY IRRITATING. Especially in the challenge modes of the game, which are otherwise incredibly fun, but might require multiple attempts thus hearing the Joker say the same things over and over again.
The last thing I found slightly irritating was that the controls can get somewhat balky (Batman often gets caught on things when trying to run around, such as desks, chairs, bins and whatnot). Collision detection could be better. Also, when trying to grapple up onto different surfaces and ledges, it is often difficult to get the HUD to target the right place to grapple to. You have to move the camera angle around haphazardly looking for the right one. Holding down RB makes your grapple indicator moveable, but this never seems to help it target the ledge. It just displays the 'cannot grapple here' icon.
These complaints are nuisances at best. They do little to take away from the core appeal of the game. Its solid storyline, excellent fight mechanics, and rich environment (not to mention dedicated inclusion of many of Batman's classic villains) make this a game definitely worth playing for the hardcore fan and casual gamer alike.