Batman: Arkham Asylum (Video Game 2009)

You control Batman as he fights to subdue The Joker and his fellows when they seize control of the forensic mental hospital.

Directors:

Sefton Hill, Paul Boulden,

Writers:

Bob Kane (creator), Paul Dini,

Stars:

Kevin Conroy, Kimberly Brooks, Tom Kane

4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Conroy	...	Bruce Wayne / Batman / Thomas Wayne (voice)
Kimberly Brooks	...	Barbara Gordon / Oracle / Young Bruce Wayne / Dr. Sara Cassidy (voice) (as Kimberly D. Brooks)
Tom Kane	...	Commissioner Gordon / Quincy Sharp / Amadeus Arkham / Louie Green (voice)
Mark Hamill	...	The Joker / Scarface / Cop #2 (voice)
Arleen Sorkin	...	Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn (voice)
Wally Wingert	...	Edward Nigma / The Riddler / Orderly Bob Johnson / Henchman #8 / Dr. Adrian Chen / Janitor Luke Curtis / Gotham Cop / Masked Guard (voice)
Dino Andrade	...	Dr. Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow / Lunatic #1 (voice)
Steve Blum	...	Waylon Jones / Killer Croc / Masked Guard #2 / Guard Ian Kennedy / Guard Jordan Fraser (voice) (as Steven Blum)
Fred Tatasciore	...	Bane / Henchman #2 / Janitor Carl Todd (voice)
Danny Jacobs	...	Victor Zsasz / Guard Frank Boles / Orderly Robert Stirling / Masked Guard #1 (voice)
Tasia Valenza	...	Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy / Martha Wayne (voice)
Cree Summer	...	Dr. Penelope Young (voice)
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Arkham Voice / Dr. Gretchen Whistler (voice)
Duane R. Shepard Sr.	...	Head Guard Aaron Cash / Henchman #6 (voice) (as Duane Shepard)
Roger Rose	...	Guard William North / Masked Guard #4 / Masked Orderly #1 (voice)

Storyline

On a routine trip returning The Joker to Arkham Asylum, the Batman himself must deal with traps set within its inner sanctums, purposely set by the now escaped Joker, along with the rest of his rogues' gallery that are now free within the premises.

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Plot Keywords:

asylum | mental hospital | scarecrow | bell | prison fight | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

T

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Battoman Akâmu asairumu

Company Credits

Production Co:

DC Comics, Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS (PlayStation 3 version)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for most critically acclaimed superhero video game of all time.

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Goofs

After Batman takes down Zsasz in the mansion, Dr. Young kneels down and begins hitting him with her left hand. In the cut scene immediately following, Dr. Young is now hitting Zsasz with her right hand.

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Quotes

[first lines]
The Joker: Hey, Sharpie. Love what you've done with the place.

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Connections

References Batman (1992)

User Reviews

Holy snowball in Hell, Batman. A GOOD superhero game?

A lot of people rolled their eyes when Arkham Asylum got 9s and 10s across the board from reviewers, myself included. Although it's a dirty little secret of the video game industry that big companies often buy high scores from media outlets, I am happy to say this time, they didn't have to. The game sells itself, and several hours into it, the jaded cynic within me was brutally beaten and tossed from the establishment.

They have done nearly everything right with this game; the only flaw I could find was that it has a final boss and an ending, and thus does not, as I had hoped, continue into perpetuity.

Let me list a few of the game's good points:

1. You don't die nearly as often as in other games. That might sound like another case of the dumbing down of games for casuals, but it does away with cheap deaths like slipping and falling off a ledge (anytime you miss a dangerous jump, you have a brief chance to press the grapple button to escape death). It's good design, in my opinion, something you'll find a lot in this game.

2. The gameplay has been unfairly skewed to be the most fun thing you've ever experienced. Fights against multiple opponents border on poetic at times, as Batman smoothly segues between attacks, counters, and throws. The secrets riddled (no pun intended) throughout the game that can be accessed with specific gadgets require frequent backtracking, but none of it feels repetitive, which is a credit to the devs.

3. The voice-acting is straight up flawless. Repeat: it is without flaw. Every actor is perfectly cast for his or her role, and they deliver their lines very much in character. The long-time voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, reprises his role as the Caped Crusader, and Mark Hamill sounds appropriately sociopathic as the Joker, one of the best voice-over jobs in the game, and that's saying a lot.

The bad? The game can seem a tad easy at times, as too many obvious hints are dropped when the game senses you're stuck, however briefly. Also, at 12-15 hours, it's a short game, made even shorter by the fact that you can't stop playing. That's nitpicking, though, and if you see these drawbacks as a reason not to buy the game, you've taken one too many batarangs to the head.

TL;DR version: 10/10. MUST-BUY.