Arkham Asylum

I recieved this game as a late birthday gift from a friend. I started playing it a few days ago and have been totally immersed in it since!

The game takes you into the famous Arkham Asylum, home to the most depraved and devious minds in all of the Batman Universe. What starts out as a routine prisoner deposti (routine for Batman, that is.) turns into a full scale takeover orchestrated by my personal favorite villian, the Joker.

You play Batman trouughout the twisted halls of the Asylum, hunting down lunatics and thugs, rescuing people unfortunate enough to have fallen into their hands, exploring the history of the Asylum and all the while doing so in a stylish cape and armor.

Now, if you think that the game is all just fisticuffs, you will be surprised. The game has an intuative puzzle solving system that allows you to track down people by analyzing clues and using the wonderful technology provided by Wayne Enterprises to help you not only solve the Riddler's incessant quizzing, but locate hidden foes and track fleeing felons by tracing people's fingerprints on surfaces, the hint of Bourbon Whiskey in the air and even snippets of Commisioner Gordon's pipe tobacco!

The rendering isn't as sharp as our beloved Uru, but the scenery and charecters are rendered very clearly and vividly The plot is very intriguing and I feel like the Riddler is challenging my Uru skills personally and it makes me try to decipher their meaning all the more. The cast of charecters is very well thought out and for those of you out there who are Batman junkies, the fellow that made this game went back into the comics to find some of these enemies. (Calendar Man?!) The game allows you to climb and roam over almost everything. Very expansive and exploration is encouraged. Things are hidden everywhere!

I personally think this one is worth a rent if not a buy. Some of you might not like it and the controls take a little getting used to but all in all I find it a great game and I'm looking forward to wiping that smile off of the Joker's face.

Well, that's my review.