Batman: The Game, The Comic, The Legacy

My game of choice the past two weeks has been the 2009 Game-of-the-Year-nominee, "Batman, Arkham Asylum." Gamefly sent me this gem while I was in the opening stages of "Red Dead Redemption", and because I want to get the most value for my Gamefly-dollar, I took a break from cattle-russlin' to do some Joker-russlin'. I wasn't disappointed.

I have always loved Batman. His dark past, his interesting and colorful foes, his genius detective skills were all very appealing to a young man of 10. So hearing so much praise for this game I was more than a little excited going in. Because of Batman's rich history in movies, television (I loved the cartoon as a kid) and comics, this game had a lot to live up to.

One thing I think Arkham Asylum really did right was giving the game it's own original story and universe. I was happy this wasn't another movie rip-off, although most of the voice actors were from the cartoon and video series, staring Mark Hamil as the Joker. By the way, he is fantastic in this. All of the voice actors are lively and perfectly matched. They jumped off of the screen, and often brought a smile to my face.

The game play and combat were very satisfying. Punches felt solid, your acrobatics seemed natural and amazing, and the gadgets were fun and inventive. My only gripe, albeit small, was the save system. Maybe I'm and idiot, but I couldn't figure out how to manually save, and the game never tells you when you have reached a checkpoint. Turning off the game I was always wondering just how far back I would have to start tomorrow.

As the challenge of Arkham Asylum ramped up, a deeper sense of the Batman universe opened as well. Unlockable bios and back-story for many MANY characters were revealed. Who ever heard of "Calendar Man"? What a stupid foe! But there he was, debuted in a 1985 comic. Some of the villains went back to the mid 1930's and I really found a deep story that spans over 700 comics.

Batman is OLD!

I've never been all that interested in comics. I know, it's the missing garnish in my nerd salad. This game, with all of it's deep history attached, more than any other Batman I've encountered, made me want to discover this worlds history, to read the comics and see Batman in his original element. I downloaded the comic reader for the iPhone and read thru a few later that night. The artistry and story were nothing less than jaw-dropping. I'm so glad I finally have an "in" to this missing part of nerddom.

Did anyone see "The Dark Knight"? That movie freakin' rocks. Every time I see it I get something new.

Sure Batman has had his dark times, the 70's show was pretty lame in my opinion, the second thru fifth movies were terrible, "Tonight, Hell freezes over!". Ugh I couldn't even make it to the end of that one. But Batman, it seems is going thru a Renaissance, a rebirth into what we always wanted him to be: a gritty, grounded, genius detective with solid action and compelling story. It is such an exciting time to be a fan of Gotham and the Dark Knight, I can't wait to see what's in store for the Caped Crusader!

/Highfive Chris Nolan!