Arkham never looked so good!

Turns out that Batman Arkham Asylum was one of the best game purchases I have ever made because the game is awesome! There's not much more that I can say about the game that hasn't already been said, but I will try.

The game takes place all in one night on Arkham Island where the asylum is located. With a little help the Joker has managed to free himself and taken over the asylum. You as Batman trek around the island trying to figure out what the Joker is planning and capture him before he does it.

The two gameplay features most talked about in the game are the Detective mode and the Freeflowing combat. In detective mode Batman can follow footprints, hand prints, find secret locations and even see enemies through walls and floors. The only downside is that there is no penalty for using detective mode the entire play through, which can make the game seem too easy at times.

The freeflowing combat is awesome, it's just a tad difficult to explain. Essentially you can begin attacking one goon and by moving the analog stick towards another enemy you will continue attacking and if done right it will be one smooth flowing combo attack. The freeflowing combat system is revolutionary and I hope at some time we will get some type of martial arts fighting game that will utilize it!

I have only two complaints about the game; Batman's sluggish combat animations and the camera during combat. It would seem that the more enemies that Batman has to face, the slower the animations get when attacking or trying to counter-attack. The camera wants to constantly be at Batman's back, which makes fighting large groups of goons a chore at times, especially if fighting in a small confined area.

I played and finished Batman on the PS3 about a week ago. The game plays great and doesn't look too bad, but I had this overwhelming desire to play it on the PC. After downloading the demo and playing for maybe ten minutes, I immediately purchased the game on Steam, and it has been worth it even though I finished it on another platform.

If you have a wired Xbox 360 controller and a decent PC, do yourself a favor and pick up Arkham Asylum on the PC, you will not be disappointed. The game looks so much better than the console version. I have my resolution set to 1920x1200 with all settings maxed and with no AA, and it runs very smooth. You will get the occasional hitching at times, but it's almost like night and day when compared to the PS3 version.

For those who have Nvidia 9800 or better video cards will also be in for a treat, Batman uses PhysX. So random debris on the ground like leaves, papers or rocks will be kicked up when Batman walks or runs around. I think it's great and really adds to the game.

Batman Arkham Asylum is fantastic. It's easily one of my favorite games and would have been my personal game of the year hands down if I had played it last year.