You get to be Batman. There is so much to love about this game. First, getting Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill to reprise their rolls is just a joy in its self. The character designs are updated and reflect the more Nolan's more realistic vision of the Dark Knight. The Riddler challenges adds a good deal of history. For much of the time, you will feel like Batman (which is the most important part of all). The environment is engaging.

When boiled down, their isn't a lot of variation in the game. While the stealthy take-down areas are the most batman (you can monitor the terror of the bad guys), the combat can get a little mind-numbing. There are basically 5 bad guys, and I found myself narrowing down combat to 3 moves (punch, dodge, counter). Other moves are relevant against specific opponents, but watching Batman leap 20 feet across the room multiple times is a bit silly. As for being the worlds greatest detective, there aren't any puzzles you have to solve (save the spirit of arkham).

The level of difficulty during the game ranges from easy to insane. The Scarecrow and Killer Croc portions are awesome environments, but there are so many save points and little interaction with those villains so the challenge is minimal. On the other hand, trying to defeat a dozen henchmen in tight quarters while keeping track of which ones require a specific attack and keeping combos going (to maximize experience to gain weapons and upgrades) can get frustrating at times.

In fact, the entire exp thing feels wrong. Batman can clearly carry all the items and is renowned for being prepared for almost everything, yet you have to unlock items that help move you around various areas or unlock Riddler items. Most don't allow a noticeable advantage throughout the story mode and it just seems like they don't give you items so one has to go back through all the areas to unlock Trophies and what not (so you will see tons of collectibles throughout game play that you have to wait until 70% of the game is done before you can revisit them).

If you still haven't gotten your fix of fighting and stealth, there are challenges that duplicate in game scenarios with some variations. Unlocking a combat challenge early on is a great way to practice your moves; but, again, the fighting does get repetitive.

And the game is linear, which isn't necessarily bad, with no sand box. You can go back through areas (preferable after you have all the required upgrades) but once all the baddies have been put down, the fighting is over.

The game has an amazing environment and is accessible to those unfamiliar with Batman (whoever the heck those people are). I find the stealth portions of the game to be the highlights while the combat portions get repetitive. All in all it's a fun experience.

This game is perfect for everyone who loves the Batman comic's books and movies, and even if you don't know him, you should play this game because is great.

The atmosphere thanks to well narrated storyline, as well to the grapich, sounds and a calibrated gameplay, is fantastic!

An absolutely must have!

This game does everything an action oriented game should. Good, fluid combat, interesting mechanics, good story, and breaks from it all to do other stuff (ie, detective work). It feels good to be the bat.

An amazing game. An absoulte must have. I love the combat system. It is smooth and gratifying. I like the mixture of stealth and action. They have done an excellent job of putting you in the shoes of Batman. You get all of the cool gadgets and face off against your arch-villians. They do a great job of emersing you in the environment. The story line is solid and believable.

"Who want to be a Batman?" Everyone!

In this game you can realize your dream and become the dark, vengeful hero: Batman. A good gameplay and an interesting story help you to realize it.

Its one of the best comic book based video games ever released. The atmosphere is very good and the developers really injected a lot of the Batman lore into the game. It is best played with a 360 controller attached to the PC in order to enjoy the game as it was meant to be.

Excellent game, fluid fighting makes for a fun button mashing time. The second game is superior, takes all that worked well and fixes many things that didn't. But this game is worthwhile, especially at the discounted price.

This game is awesome. This is one of the best superhero games i've played. Bad guys are cool & graphics are fantastic. Definitely pick this up if its on sale. i was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this game all round. 4 stars.

In these times where superhero are "in", a lot of games are out and they are not all made of high quality. However, this one sets the bar pretty high.

Arkham Asylum starts when the Joker is brought into the Asylum and takes control of the place. As you can imagine, you will fight against a lot of bad guys and you will also encounter 3-4 of the main characters of the Batman series. The story is good, however the hardest fights are not necessarily the ones against the bosses. That's a thing that annoy me a bit. I would think that fighting against the Joker would be harder than against some "dudes", but this is not the case. The bosses are predictable and easy, even on the hardest difficulty.

There are plenty of enigmas that comes from the Sphinx. 240 in total. However, they do not really give you anything at the end. I would have like to have at least a cinematic with an unlockable at the end. Nothing at all! Going trough the game will take you around 8 hours or 15 if you look for everything. However, I would not recommend it as stated previously.

The sound is good, but once again the comments are always restarting when you look around for some enigmas. Very often, it turns out that the Joker repeats the same 3 sentences over the Asylum speakers.

Graphics do not necessarily look awesome. They are correct. However, in the cinematics, the characters seem to be covered by a layer of fog, that makes them look strange.

If you bought the Game of the Year edition, you also have some challenges included. You can try to beat times of your friend or yours. However, doing combos for fun is not my trip.

On the good side, there are quite few gadgets that you unlock throughout the game. 7 or 8 in total. However, only 5 will be needed to get the game completed at 100%. The other 2-3 are special batarangs. I personally never used them since I unlocked them at the end of the game.

If you play on the hardest difficulty, expect your thumb to be used at maximum. When you fight 10 characters at the same time, you have to press a lot of buttons in a short period of time. I even had to take a break when playing several hours back to back.

The developers of this game, Rocksteady, were not necessarily known before doing this game. However, this is a really good second game for them considering that they are in the domain only since 2004.

I would recommend it to players who like action games where you have to do a lot of combos. All the other ones who like superhero should also get something out of it.

Wonderful execution of a comic book game.

The graphics are stunning.

Some of the greatest animation work ive ever seen in a game. The combat is an easy flow of spectacular acrobatics. This is offset by a hard difficulty option which keeps the game nice and challenging.

It really shows when a developer shows pride in their work. You know this game was created with passion.

I have read somewhere that you need 40 hours for complete the game!

I play for 2 months and the game is awesome, good storyline, nice graphic and interesting riddles. Recommend to all who like this genre.

The world's premier "Being Batman" simulator; there have been plenty of Batman video games, but this is the first that really captures the spirit of things. It's primarily a stealth game, although there's certainly plenty of combat as well. Great voice acting, great writing, lots of riddles and side-quests that you can do or ignore, as is your pleasure, great setting ... you know, I really don't have anything much to say against this game. I suppose the controls could be better, with the scripted scenes where you have to abandon stealth and go melee suffering the most, but they never descend so far as to be called "bad." My great complaint with the game isn't actually with the game, per se--it uses "Games for Windows Live," and for a service that presumably wants people to use it, getting set up sure was a frustrating, miserable experience. Got it going eventually, though.

What else can be said about this game that hasn't already been said...it is one of the best Batman games ever made. I am still in awe every time I play this. It has incredible atmosphere, a great story, amazing voice acting, fantastic gameplay and gorgeous graphics. It's all here and at its current sale price ($4.99), it is a MUST buy if you don't have it already.

Heard the game is brilliant, really looked forward to it although I waited a bit late before deciding to purchase. Heard the game is great from many reliable sources and did deserve the title of game of the year as I have played the console version. However I advise you to be cautious when buying this as it runs with Windows Live Games which pretty much resulted in me now 3-4 months after buying the game still unable to play it thanks to one excuse or another from Microsoft.

A lot of content, nice graphics, great gameplay.. one of the best Batman games.

This game is set up so that if you are not using an xbox controller that all the buttons are backwards, and all the direction are backwards except for one which is set up side ways. So because there is a blatant douchbagary I am just going to give this game a one star especially since I just spent the last four hours trying to figure out how to fix my controller.

Arkham Asylum is one of the best action-games ever. It perfectly connects elements of action, adventure and platform games. Plot and characters are in fact quite mature, so grown-ups will find them interesting but gameplay is not very brutal, so game is also acceptable for younger players. Graphics is just awesome and it really improves experience from the game. It is an absolute must-have.

An amazing game with great ambiance. You feel like batman and it integrates every aspect of batman, from beating to a pulp 20 henchmen to silently taking them all out. definitely fun and a must-buy.

An excellent game! Fantastic Graphics, fun gameplay, and it rewards you to explore the environment as well. Over the course of the gmae you will gain access to new equipement,allowing access to new rooms, Metroid style. 240 riddles are scattered across the island, and around 20 challenge maps ensure that there is plenty to do!

Highly enjoyable game, with Combat that is easy to get into, but challenging to master. An assortment of foes ensure that there is always something to fight, and their differences will ensure that you need a wide variety of strategies to prevail. The only downside to this otherwise glorious game is that the controls are, on occasion, irritating, with Batman just standing there, taking a beating because the controls are being unresponsive. This does little however, to take away from the entertainment of stalking armed thugs, seeing them become increasingly panicky as they are picked off one by one, or of bashing away at unarmed gang members. I would advise buying it.

Awesome game, the fighting is smooth and works really well. The atmosphere is solid, but the boss fights are terrible.

This is definitely the best Batman game I have ever played. Very immersive, and the story kept me hooked. Arkham City looks breathtaking; I couldn't stop looking at how gorgeous this game is. Better yet, there's still so much more stuff to do after completing the main story arc, which makes the replay value of this game superbly high.

Being Batman never felt so awesome. The game seems to take a little bit of continuity from just about every Batman universe and does it splendidly. Stealth is neat and fast, ranging from popping in and out of conveniently placed trap doors and vents to camping gargoyle statues. Numerous sidequests give off the Great Detective feel. Combat is very fluid without sacrificing too much substance, and takedowns are solid. Overall a great example of not just a licensed game gone right, but a brilliant game in its own right.

Great game, specially for batman fans. The fighting system is a bit simple but it makes the game enjoyable and not too complicated. Using the batman's gadgets is a joy.

The graphics are excellent. I have a GTX 560 and I can run the game at its max without problems.

The game is a fantastic tribute to Batman and the whole atmosphere and universe in witch it was established. Once you star playing you won't want to stop till you have 100% on the game. It is a fantastic brawler with memorable levels and boss fights, like the scarecrow, the joker make this game a must have for nay fighting/Streets of rage/ golden axe fan. It is game to be remembered for taking a stale genre(yes I am aware of Ninja Gaiden, but since almost every one after the XBOX one has been Copy paste at most) and giving it a new makeover and putting it on the map. A must have for any batman fan.

Best game of 2009. Gameplay, scenario and voice acting is fantastic. Must play ! And after that, you will insta-buy Arkham City, even more fantastic sequel :)

I'd heard a lot of good things about this game so when I saw it on sale I decided to give it a try. The graphics are great and I was surprised how well it ran on my computer (I have a low-mid range graphics card). Gameplay wise it's a combination of stealth, fighting and metroidvania style exploration and it really makes you feel like Batman - you have to plan how you are going to take out a room full of enemies, or you will die quickly. My one gripe is that detective mode, which is used to track enemies and solve puzzles, is almost to useful to turn off, and as a result I spent much of the game looking and almost entirely blue environments. Overall, it's a great game 9.5/10

This is one of the greatest (if not the greatest) superhero games. If you like comic books or Batman look no further. Even though I've never been a big fan of Batman I enjoyed this game very much. It's fast paced, has a good story which keeps you intrigued. Another thing that is awesome are voice overs. Actors did a great job here. Besides - it's a pretty lengthy adventure, although chances are you'll not be willing to play through it again.

One suggestion - it is best played with controller as it is quite a console-ish game. Other than that it is perfect! 5/5

First PC game I have purchased in years (to show my age, the last games I purchased were probably Diablo II, the Icewind Dale and Baulder's Gate series -- oh how I would love to have good turned based RPGs again).

Just finished building a new system and this game was the first item I purchased. The graphics are great, the game play is fun, and the story line is good. I like the different difficulty levels as playing this on a keyboard can be a bit challenging at first.

Maybe only minor grip is the game was a bit shorter then I expected, otherwise a must have game in my opinion.

Now on to Arkham City...

This game is great, and I was never expected it to be this great. I thought it would be like the rest of the super heroes games, but it just blew me away with the good storyline and actions. Well, I ain't be spoiling it for telling you the storyline eh.

Apart from that, the graphic is pretty nice, and it is even nicer if your graphic card supports Nvidia PhysX. Although it was released in 2009, but I'd say it still has great graphics, but of course it doesn't have the graphics like in the Battlefield 3. BUT, it is still good for my standard.

All in all, I'd rate this game 10/10. Definitely must buy even if it's a 2009 game!

Mixing stealth and action is always a hard task but Arkham Asylum does it, really, reaally good.

After all you are Batman! Hiding in the shadows, picking off single guards as the remaining crew gets increasingly paranoid is fun as hell. Hiding in the shadows, jumping into 5 guys and kicking their butts is even funnier. The combat is really fast and after you've learned the basics you dance around the battlefield, punching, kicking, countering everything in your way.

BATMAN!

As im writing this im replaying this game for like 10 th time now . Im confident to say that this is the best superhero game ever made in gaming history...except the upcoming Arkham City which is obviously taking its spot. Awsome story , great gameplay , and above all the true feeling of the Dark Knight, you would be a CLOWN not to pick this one up!

Batman Arkham Asylum is simply a great game and ,as of its release, the best game based on a comic book character ever made. The graphics are great with detailed environments and excellent character models, The controls and camera are good and never really frustrate you, the voice acting is well done and the combat is smooth and responsive, if not a little bit easy but that just makes you feel like a super hero so I can't complain.

The game uses a "detective" mode that makes finding clues, spotting enemies or helping you know where to go next easy and intuitive. In addition, there are numerous tools like the baterang and grapple hook that really makes you feel like batman as you investigate for clues or sneak through enemy filled areas. You also get the ability to level up batman with new abilities which is a nice touch. The levels are also well designed and interesting throughout the game and you will always be moving to new areas with their own unique look and theme.

The only bad thing I would say about this game is that it is pretty linear and some of the actions you do are repeated too often, but that's really just being picky. Overall Batman Arkham Asylum is the Batman game we always wanted and Rocksteady delivered. I highly recommend the game and give it a 9 out of 10.

Such an amazing game. I can't wait to finish it up and then play Arkham City. God, I never thought I would be able to play a genuinely good game based off of comics.

Rewarding combat, great looking, with an excellent attention to detail. All wrapped up in a very nice story. Also, it's Batman. Great game.

This is an amazing game. It has it all. The need for you to be stealth, is one of the best things i think this game offers. It's very much fun to take the badguys out one by one, without them knowing where you are.

Buy the game! It's the best superhero game i have ever play.

Top five one the best singleplayer experiances i've ever had, the combat system is amazing and it's extremly satisfiying to fight Joker's goons just hammering them to the ground. The challenges are good, fun, and well thought out. The riddles are an complete waste of time in my honest opinion, the reward for finding them all was a bit of an anti-climax, i would only do it if you are the type that when playing a game, you complete it 100% (like me) this is however the only negative thing i have to say about the game. 5/5

This game has everything working for it; the story, the combat, the aesthetics, and the details.

The combat flow is solid and rewarding. The difficulty of combat is moderately easy, but maintains enough depth to require some skill. Boss battles may suffer a bit from do this X amount of times, but I believe the game makes up for this else where. The gadgets all behave exactly as expected.

The aesthetics of the game are brilliant. The amount of work put into the details of the game world is amazing. Try zooming in on some of the text documents sitting around in various places!

Then there insane amount of information the game has available for you to discover. Character bios, Riddler challenges/puzzles, and voiced interviews with famous inmates.

If you are a fan of Batman in the slightest you can not go wrong with Arkham Asylum.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is a massive triumph: Action, stealth and investigation as its best. The best videogame based on Bob Kane's composition, and the best superhero game this far too. A brilliant work that drives Rocksteady to the highest rank of developers.

This is simply the best superhero game I have ever played. Graphically, it's beautiful. Story wise amazing. It has Kevin Conroy as the Dark Knight and Mark Hamill as the Joker, what is better than that!

Fighting is smooth and very intuitive.

Tl;DR - Buy this game, now.

A friend of mine, reccomended the game, saying that was the best superhero game that he ever played, so I decided to give a try downloading the Demo, and I have to agree with him, It's a incredible game, beautiful graphics, inteligent design and fun to play. But it has a negative point, the game only accepts a Xbox 360 controller or a Keyboard+Mouse combination, that's a shame for everyone that own another kind of gamepad for PC...

Played my friend's copy last year and it was excellent, so I decided to buy it myself. Fun game, challenging on higher difficulties, and lots of stuff to do. I'll definitely be buying Arkham City after I finish a couple other games in my queue.

batman arkham asylum must be the best movie tie-in game iv'e ever played, it's in a pretty dark setting which i like. the combat is fun, there's a lot to find although i would really like to have some side mission because the "open world gave a little tease.

A veritable masterpiece that lives up to the atmosphere of Batman. The gadgets are there and there is a great mix of boss battles, flavorful Batman stealth and easy and fluid action. The gadgets are great fun though Detective Mode is perhaps too useful as it kinda addicts the player in using this functional visionmode, missing the dark and atmospheric beauty of the game at times. Boss battles are fun and there are quite a few supervillains in there though the game had been even better had there been 2 or 3 more in there. The game is full of references, cameos and the voice acting is magnificent. The A.I. and the voice acting it uses are great and realistic. The way they talk and how their behaviour changes as Batman clearly stalks them is magnificent. The multitude of secrets and the XP system is appealing too. In truth i have only 3 minor quibles with the system. The 'counter'/'block' system is a bit difficult. Furthermore there are a few brief sequences that are not ideal for keyboard movement but not that big a trouble with some practice. And finally it's a shame i can't replay the game on a harder difficulty with my upgrades unlocked.Instead you have to restart in entirety on another save.