Batman: Arkham Asylum--DONE

Finished Arkham Asylum on Thursday night. Have moved another game off the Pile of Shame, with a sense of loss mixed with victory.

The Webnet is filled with praises for this game, so I won't go on about the strengths of Asylum too much. Suffice to say that it never really ever stopped being fun, and I felt sad when it ended. Of the three main components of the game--main story, collecting stuff, and combat challenges--they were all enjoyable, although now that I've finished the story, I can't see myself going back to grab the remaining green Riddler trophies or unlock the dire Arkham beetle headstones. (Some of the Riddler trophies are well hidden, and I'm just too damned lazy to find them. And the story the beetle headstones unlock doesn't sound all that different from Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum comic book, so perhaps I'll just go re-read that.) There are also Patient Interview Tapes to collect, which were well done, especially Zzazz's series. I missed a few of those, but I'll try to find the strength to carry on.

I had two great WTF moments with this game. One was towards the end--as the moment unfurled, I said out loud 'Are you serious?"It seemed over the top, but after hours of fighting giant plants and mutant crocodile men, I had little grounds for disputes with game reality. The other was an addition to the Batman mythos that I had never thought of before, and I spend a lot of time thinking about Batman. Of course he would do that. I feel ashamed that of my well learned and well read friends, not one of us had even once considered this.

So if you love comics and love Batman, then you will not regret buying Arkham Asylum. Is it Game of The Year for me? That much sought after award might be awarded to it, depending how things go with my next gaming foray. Does it knock Resident Evil 4 off my Favourite Game Evah pedestal? I'd have to say, with a deep sigh, yes. The desire to go back for the combat challenges--which are doable, unlike RE's Assassins modes--tip the balance. As does all the nerd comic love Asylum doles out for dorks like us.

And most of all, it gets Batman right. This is the Grim Mofo Batman, an unrelenting gray force of justice who gets the living hell beat out of him, but keeps getting up, who keeps his jaw clenched and his eyes (however blackened)steely. This is Batman written by someone who grew up reading him in the Seventies, and it shows.

Sigh. Such a great game.