On an Island Full of Overdressed Lunatics
Batman: Arkham Asylum is a masterpiece. Who would've thought?
Published: October 5, 2009
While most licensed games seem to know nothing about their source material, Batman: Arkham Asylum is just full of fantastic references. Be it the 240 riddles which the Riddler lovingly hid throughout the penitentiary (it almost seems like every single character made it into the game someway or another), or the dialogue and plot itself, everything just screams fan service. I couldn't imagine a better way to please the hardcore comic book audience, which naturally is most hard to satisfy with a translation from the beloved graphic novel to any of the other existing form of media.
While the Batman universe has always been a very dark and disturbed one which generally quite successfully ignores black and white thinking and mainly takes place in different shades of gray, only Nolan's movies, and especially The Dark Knight, come close to what Rocksteady's very own interpretation is like. While many of the villains are just plain evil (like in every good comic book story), some of them aren't. This is something that has always made Batman stand out among classic comic book heroes. Take Poison Ivy for example; while she is no ally to Batman she also refuses to take the Joker's side. It's hard not to spoil anything when going into details which is why I won't, but what's so unique is that every character in the story has a motivation that is believable, and the game very successfully manages to capture that feel from the graphic novels. It at no point uses a hammer to convey any sort of moral dilemma, and yet if you pay close attention you will be pleased with what Rocksteady tried to do for the most part. Ultimately this courage to at least point in a morally “different” direction is also my only concern with the game's plot; they could have gone a little further with their approach. But for now I am very happy with the end product even if I see room for improvement.
At times Rocksteady manages to at least come very close to video game epics like Metal Gear Solid. While Scarecrow's moments are a tiny bit shallow gameplay wise, it's the experience that counts. It's all very messed up and definitely not something you want your kids playing before their 15th or 16th birthday.
While not everything is displayed in graphic violence (the game almost entirely lacks any sign of blood) it really comes down to the terror that unfolds in our heads after the game pushes that first domino. Listening to Killer Croc's patient interview is both disturbing and fascinating, Poison Ivy really manages to charm players into following her blindly and the Joker effectiveley calls Batman's sanity into question. Also great is how exploring Arkham more and more creates an unpleasant feeling that the people treating the inmates might themselves not be entirely sane. A great Scarecrow sequence, which again I'm only going to tease at this point, very much creates a realm for speculation on that theory. Anyone who plays the game will understand.
