Let me begin by saying I have not completed this game yet, but I am not calling this an official review either so please hang on to your "how can you write a review before you beat the game" comments. It is not often that I come across a game that has impact on me personally. More often books or movies can have a lasting impression on me if they are strong enough (The Road by Cormac McCarthy or the first few minutes of Saving Private Ryan).
For example, I still think about Bioshock all of the time. When I first beat that game (I went on to beat it again shortly after just because), I couldn't stop thinking about it. The characters, the mood, the setting, it was all so amazing. I so thoroughly enjoyed it in fact, I decided to attempt to listen to Atlas Shrugged on CD since that is where they got a lot of the ideas for the game in a roundabout way. It was decent, but after the first 20 some hours of listening I grew weary and haven't finished it yet.
The point of telling you that is to better explain my love for the new Batman: Arkham Asylum video game. I am not a shill for Eidos, I did not receive the game for free like some reviewers understandably did, I went and bought it myself with my semi-hard earned money based on word of mouth. Now some people probably beat this game in a couple of marathon sessions of playing but with two kids and a wife that likes video games as much as eating liver it makes it hard for me to do so, and for once I am glad to say that I have not had that luxury. I don't want this game to end, ever.
It has single handedly renewed my interest in the Dark Knight. I have been hunting for action figures for my boy (and me), I have been buying comic books again and reading graphic novels and I finally got around to watching the latest Batman movie all of the way through. Yes, this game is so masterfully done it has sparked up interests I haven't had in 15 years. So far, a majority of the better known Batman baddies have made an appearance, my favorite of which is the Scarecrow. The parts of the game with him in them are so well done I was literally choked up during one cut scene. The voice acting is Hollywood cinema caliber with Mark Hamill (Luke himself) playing the part of Joker as well as I have heard it done.
The female arch enemies are fun to look at and are about as sexy as you can get for a game rated T, the gameplay is intuitive and the challenges are fun as well. To just cruise through the game quickly is to miss out on a lot. There are hidden items throughout Arkham mostly hidden by the Riddler which add for some fun hunting. Batarangs, Batclaws, etc. Eidos thought of everything.
This isn't only the best comic book based video game I have ever played, this may be one of the best video games I have ever played. Please, even if you wait until it comes down in price, do not miss this game. Give it a chance. And developers, the next time you go to make a game based on a comic book hero, play through Batman: Arkham Asylum first.
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