Batman: Arkham Asylum

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Description

Once again, Batman has captured and returned the Joker to Arkham Asylum. Unfortunately, the inmates have taken over and the Joker is now running the show. Play as the Caped Crusader, navigating in a 3rd person style through the grounds and collective wings of Arkham Asylum; super prison and rehabilitation center for Gotham's most hardened criminals.

Using a combination of stealth, detective work, and exciting combat elements, proceed toward your ultimate goal of apprehending the maniacal Joker. On the way, you'll encounter some of Batman's deadliest foes. Fortunately, you're not entirely alone, as Batman will receive assistance from the surviving guards, and information from the computer genius Oracle.

Make use of the grappling hook, Batarangs, explosive gel, zipline, electronically-assisted vision, and more. During your search, you will gain experience points from defeating opponents, finding hidden items, or accomplishing special tasks. Once you "level up" you are able to purchase/upgrade an ability or feature of Batman's arsenal. The game features a controllable camera viewpoint, and optional first person view for viewing things up close.

Strewn about the grounds of the Asylum are 240 "riddles" for you to solve, courtesy of the Riddler, and a variety of achievements/trophies to unlock, depending on your gaming platform.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "蝙蝠俠：小丑大逃亡" -- Chinese spelling (traditional)

Part of the Following Groups

• 3D Engine: UnrealEngine3
• Batman: Arkham series
• Batman licensees
• Characters: Clowns, Mimes, and Harlequins
• DC comics licensees
• Gameplay feature: Photography
• Games made into comics
• Games with game altering copy protection
• Green Pepper releases
• Middleware: FaceFX
• Middleware: Nvidia 3D Vision
• Middleware: Scaleform GFx SDK
• Middleware: SpeedTree
• Physics Engine: PhysX
• PlayStation 3 Platinum Range releases
• Premium Games label
• Theme: Mental facility / Asylum
• Xbox 360 Classics releases

User Reviews

You're Batman!	PlayStation 3	Stijn Daneels (85)
Unique in many ways	Windows	Asinine (1006)
Fear the dark knight	Windows	NeoJ (455)
The Dark Knight at his very best.	Windows	Joakim Kihlman (275)
Atmospheric and Innovative Stealth-Action	Windows	GeoffPS (114)
Building A Better Batman Game	Xbox 360	MasterMegid (902)
I'm Batman	Windows	Valroman Francisco (42)

Critic Reviews

Impulse Gamer	Windows	Aug, 2009	10 out of 10	100
OMGN: Online Multiplayer Games Network	Windows	Nov 30, 2009	9.7 out of 10	97
GameSpot	Xbox 360	Aug 24, 2009	9 out of 10	90
Game Captain	PlayStation 3	Aug 31, 2009	90 out of 100	90
Game Captain	Windows	Sep 20, 2009	90 out of 100	90
PC Games (Germany)	Windows	Sep 16, 2009	90 out of 100	90
GameStar (Germany)	Windows	Sep 11, 2009	87 out of 100	87
JeuxActu	Windows	Aug 28, 2009	17 out of 20	85
Total PC Gaming	Windows	Mar 09, 2009	8.4 out of 10	84
4Players.de	PlayStation 3	Aug 26, 2009	84 out of 100	84

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Trivia

1001 Video Games

Batman: Arkham Asylum appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Batcave

The idea of a secondary Batcave in Arkham Asylum first appeared during the No Man's Land saga.

Batman: The Animated Series

Batman, Joker and Harley Quinn are voiced by Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill and Arline Sorkin respectively, who reprise their roles from the critically acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series.

The story is written by Paul Dini who, as well as having contributed to the comics, was a writer on the series.

PlayStation Home

Inserting the game into your PlayStation 3 console will unlock a PlayStation Home exclusive personal space called the Batcave Outpost Apartment. The space includes a replica of Bruce Wayne's underground lair, including famous items such as the Batsuit, Batmobile, and Batwing.

References

If Batman is killed by Bane, one of the death cut scenes shows Bane breaking his back. He also taunts Batman during battle, yelling "I will break you" and making a kneeing motion. This is a reference to the Knightfall storyline, where Bane actually broke Batman's spine.

References to Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth

The game references Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth several times:

• Amadeus Arkham, the asylum's founder, is mentioned and has a bio.
• The insect motif that appears on the "Spirit of Arkham" artifacts is inspired by the book.
• In the garden, there is the statue of Saint Michell (an angel with a spear).
• There is also a reference to the gory demise of Amadeus' wife and child.
• And finally, the basic premise of the book is the same (the Joker takes over Arkham and its inmates, including several Bat-villains, run amok).

Awards

• 4Players
  • 2009 – #6 Best Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
  • 2009 – #3 Best Trailer Cut of the Year
• AceGamez
  • 2009 - Game of the Year
  • 2009 - Xbox 360 Game of the Year
  • 2009 - Best Music & Sound
  • 2009 - Best Gameplay
• Cheat Code Central
  • 2009 - Best Licensed Game
• Game Developers Choice Awards
  • 2010 - Best Game Design
• GamePro
  • 2009 - Best Licensed Game
• GameShark
  • 2009 - Xbox 360 Game of the Year
  • 2009 - Best Line
  • 2009 - Best Boss
  • 2009 - Worst Boss
• Gamespot
  • 2009 - Best Atmosphere (Editors' Choice)
  • 2009 - Best Atmosphere (Readers' Choice)
  • 2009 - Best Use of a Creative License (Editors' Choice)
  • 2009 - Best Use of a Creative License (Readers' Choice)
  • 2009 - Best Sound Design (Readers' Choice)
  • 2009 - Best UK-Developed Game (Readers' Choice)
• GameSpy
  • 2009 - The Atmospheric Intensity Award
  • 2009 - The Bag of Tricks Award
  • 2011 – #1 Top Superhero PC Game (together with Batman: Arkham City)
• GameTrailers
  • 2009 - Best Action/Adventure Game
  • 2009 - Biggest Surprise
• IGN
  • Best PC Action Game (Editors' Choice)
  • Best PC Action Game (Readers' Choice)
  • Best Xbox 360 Story (Editors' Choice)
  • PC Award for Excellence in Sound (Readers' Choice)
• Machinima
  • 2009 - Best Animation
  • 2009 - Best Art Direction
  • 2009 - Most Compelling Character (for the main antagonist The Joker)

Information also contributed by Big John WV and Caelestis.

Related Web Sites

• trophy guide @ PS3trophies.org (PS3trophies.org's trophy guide for Batman: Arkham Asylum)
• Wikipedia: Batman: Arkham Asylum (article in the open encyclopedia about the game)
• X360A achievement guide for Batman: Arkham Asylum (X360A's achievement guide for Batman: Arkham Asylum.)