Batman: Arkham Asylum

Plot synopsis:
=== Characters ===
Arkham Asylum is set in the fictional Arkham Asylum, a facility on Arkham Island off the coast of Gotham City that houses criminally insane supervillains. The game features a large ensemble of characters from the history of Batman comics. Three voice actors, who worked on the DC Animated Universe series of film and television, reprised their roles for the game. Kevin Conroy voices Batman—a superhero trained to the peak of human physical perfection and an expert in martial arts, Mark Hamill voices Batman's psychopathic nemesis the Joker, and the Joker's sidekick Harley Quinn is voiced by Arleen Sorkin. Batman is aided by his allies Oracle (Kimberly Brooks)—who remotely provides him with intelligence, and police commissioner James Gordon (Tom Kane).
In the asylum, Batman is faced with several supervillains; he must defend himself from an enraged Bane (Fred Tatasciore), subdue indiscriminate serial killer Victor Zsasz (Danny Jacobs), confront the monstrous Killer Croc (Steven Blum), defeat the plant-controlling Poison Ivy (Tasia Valenza), and battle his way through hallucinogen-induced nightmares created by the Scarecrow (Dino Andrade). The Riddler (Wally Wingert) does not physically appear in the game, but communicates with Batman and challenges him to solve riddles placed around the island. Other characters appearing in the game include the asylum's warden Quincy Sharp (also voiced by Kane), Batman's parents Thomas and Martha Wayne (voiced by Conroy and Valenza respectively), and asylum guard Aaron Cash (Duane R Shepard, Sr). The shape-shifting Clayface appears in cameo, taking on the guise of other characters as he tries to trick the player into releasing him. The Mad Hatter was almost included in the game, but the developers removed him. The body of Ra's al Ghul is in the asylum's morgue and the Ventriloquist's dummy, Scarface, appears several times in the story. Several other characters—including the Penguin, Jack Ryder, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Catwoman, and the asylum's founder Amadeus Arkham—are referenced in the game, but do not appear in it.
=== Plot ===
After the Joker assaults Gotham City Hall, he is caught by Batman and taken to Arkham Asylum, which temporarily houses many members of the Joker's gang, who were transferred after a fire at Blackgate Prison. Believing the Joker allowed himself to be captured, Batman accompanies him into the asylum. The Joker's plan is revealed as Harley Quinn takes control of the security and the Joker escapes into the facility, aided by a corrupt guard who kidnaps Commissioner Gordon. The Joker threatens to detonate bombs hidden around Gotham City if anyone tries to enter Arkham, forcing Batman to work alone. Tracking Quinn to the medical facility to rescue Gordon, Batman is exposed to the Scarecrow's fear toxin and hallucinates, seeing Gordon's death and the corpses of his parents talking to him. After fighting off Scarecrow, Batman finds and subdues Quinn before rescuing Gordon. The Joker then directs Batman to the captured Bane, who has been experimented on by asylum doctor Penelope Young. The Joker frees Bane and Batman is forced to fight him, during which Quinn escapes. Afterward, he goes to a secret Batcave installation he had hidden on the island, where Batman restocks his gadgets.
There, Batman learns that the Joker returned to the asylum to gain access to Young, who has been developing Titan—a more powerful version of the Venom drug that gives Bane his strength—intending to use it to help patients survive more strenuous therapies. Young learned that the Joker had been funding her research to create an army of superhuman henchmen; her refusal to hand over the formula precipitated Joker's return to the Asylum. While searching for Young, Batman is again attacked by Scarecrow and the fear toxin, and hallucinates the night of his parents' deaths. After he recovers, Batman destroys Young's Titan formula and rescues Young from Victor Zsasz. An explosion kills Young and the Joker obtains the completed batches of Titan.
At the Penitentiary, Quinn releases Poison Ivy from her cell before being imprisoned by Batman. Quinn accidentally reveals that Joker has a Titan production facility in the Arkham botanical gardens. Batman travels there and learns that Titan is created by genetically modified plants. He enlists Ivy's help to create an antidote and learns that it can only be made from spores found exclusively in Killer Croc's lair in a sewer. En route to Croc, Batman is again attacked by Scarecrow and overcomes several doses of fear toxin. Meanwhile, Joker injects Ivy with Titan, enhancing her powers. Ivy begins ravaging Arkham Island with giant mutant plants. Pursued by Batman into Croc's lair, Scarecrow is attacked by Croc and dragged underwater. Batman recovers the necessary spores and subdues Croc before returning to the Batcave, but can only synthesize one dose of the antidote before Ivy's plants breach the cave and destroy his equipment.
Batman returns to the botanical gardens and defeats Ivy, halting the rampaging plants. The Joker announces that the preparations for his party are finally complete and Batman travels to the asylum's visitor center where the Joker's applauding henchmen welcome him. The Joker reveals he has recaptured Gordon and tries to shoot him with a Titan-filled dart; Batman leaps to Gordon's defense and is shot instead. Batman attempts to resist the change, and an upset Joker takes an overdose of Titan, mutating into a massive monster. In a makeshift arena on the building's roof, the Joker challenges Batman to a fight as Titan-induced monsters in front of news helicopters. Batman refuses to transform, uses the antidote on himself, and defeats the Titan-affected Joker and his henchmen, knocking his nemesis unconscious with an explosive gel-enhanced punch. In the aftermath, those affected by Titan begin to revert to normal, including the Joker—who is restrained and taken into custody as police officers retake the asylum. Batman overhears a call about a crime led by Two-Face in progress and flies back to Gotham City in the Batwing. In a post-credits scene, a crate of Titan formula is shown floating in the ocean near the asylum when a hand surfaces and grabs it.

Tags: gothic, murder, violence, insanity, psychedelic, sadist

Review:
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 is excellent in all aspects (Story, game play, actions, level designs, graphics).The story starts with joker taking over the control of ARKHAM ASYLUM leaving batman into a trap.
Batman has to save and infiltrate the arkham asylum to stop joker from doing bad to Gotham.Not only against joker but batman also has to fight against his enemies like croc, ivy, bane, scarecrow ....It is a must play game for batman fans.
And if any one is looking out for a best 3rd person action game then they should go for BATMAN:ARKHAM ASYLUM I give 10/10 for the game..
The game begins with Batman (Kevin Conroy from the 1992 Batman Animated Series) returning The Joker (Mark Hamill) to Arkham Asylum after an attempt is made on the Mayor of Gotham City's life.
Some of Batman's greatest enemies make appearances in the game as bosses (Joker, Poison Ivy, Harley, Scarecrow, etc...) and other great villains are not in the game at all, presumably running rampant in Gotham, but files and trivia on these villains can still be found around the game.
Story: 10/10The graphics are truly a marvel to behold with Batman looking especially excellent, you can see each cut on his suit and even his 5 o'clock shadow, Arkham is enormous and is almost fully accessible, and Harley Quinn has never looked better!
Audio: 10/10The best part of this game is how you actually FEEL like Batman, solving the mysteries of Arkham Asylum as if you were the real Dark Knight.
Gameplay: 10/10 Just like how The Dark Knight was my favourite film of 2008, Batman: Arkham Asylum is my favourite game of 2009.
It also saddens me a bit as Spider-man is my favorite comic book character of all time, however Batman has now claimed my favorite movie based on a comic character in "The Dark Knight" and now my favorite video game.
This game though combines all of Batman's abilities to perfection as the fighting is fun and satisfying as you clobber wave after wave of Joker henchmen.
You can solve riddles from the Riddler and it is done a lot better than the collecting in most games of this type as the interview tapes and the spirit of Arkham things do not have to be found in any particular order.
Once I got over this hump though and got the feel for how Batman: AA plays and works, I got into it very quickly and found a very well designed game that features plenty of colour, plenty of variety and was a good solid challenge without ever being frustratingly difficult (in normal setting anyway).The game play is impressive; in terms of the straight story you'll be called on to work out how to get to places by using your eyes and the gadgets available to you; you'll have combat where your timing and skills are pushed in terms of pulling of combos, blocking and countering attacks but you'll also have stealth sections against armed foes where you get to be the shadowy Batman - taking them out one at a time and disappearing back into the shadows as your increasingly panicked enemies try and find where you are.
Some of these collectables also add detail and colour to the game - I won't say I listened to all the interview tapes, but the bio files (complete with comic-book pictures) were a nice touch and again added a sense of depth to the game beyond just the story.I am a fan of Batman but not to the point where I know all the characters, but it was enjoyable to see so many main ones have a large role in the game.
The Joker is particularly effective and is well voiced by Hamill but everyone does a good job - Poison Ivy was perhaps the exception for me but that is more down to me not really liking her character rather than a problem with the game.
The characters are full of colour and are well brought to the screen in terms of looks and voice work while the variety in the game-play means I was using my head, my eyes, a stealthy approach and also having button hammering combat - all of which worked very well together and individually..
The game comes from the Arkham Asylum comics but it is still it's own original thing as well.Gameplay- This game is flawless you get everything you need to make you feel like you are Batman, you fight like him, get cool gadgets, do a little sneaking around.
So yes Batman is voiced by Kevin Conroy and the Joker is voiced by the Mark Hamill himself.Graphics- These look fantastic granted the game is so much easier if you stay in detective mode, but I high recommend just getting out of that and admiring Arkham Asylum and all its glory.
Plus I personally thing it gives a sense of danger if the hero is getting beaten down.Story- So the Joker turns Arkham Asylum into his own personal playground but of course he has a more dastardly plan in mind.
In the story you fight The Joker, Harley Quinn, Bane, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, and there are appearances by other Batman villains as well.
With a compelling opening that sets the creepy, gritty and bleak tone(with Gothic architecture - tall windows, and gargoyles that you can perch atop, and hang goons from) as you escort The Joker deep into the Arkham facility(which is now a full island, not merely the mansion - albeit that remains part of it), with several stops along the way(such as a doctor checking on him), and you expect that any moment now, he'll break free - he suddenly does, surprising you in spite of the anticipation, takes over, threatens that he'll detonate bombs all over Gotham if anyone approaches the Asylum and has graffiti tagged and a statue of the warden defaced, as you now have to track him down, rescue the hostages taken, fight his army of henchmen - and he may just send some supervillains your way.Outside of The Killing Joke(which is where the inspiration for his appearance in this comes from) and Ledger, this is the best depiction of him.
Having played many Batman games throughout the years, FINALLY a game that really gives you the feeling of being Batman with his arsenal of gadgets and fighting styles that is innovative in execution.
You got all of Batman's rogues gallery that includes The Joker, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Bane, Scarecrow, and Harley Quinn; some of which are voiced by fellow "Animated Series" veterans such as Kevin Conroy and of course, Mark Hamill, whose chilling portrayal of the Joker is simply the highlight of the games overall narrative.In visuals, Arkham Asylum is a beautiful game, with a level of detail that's very impressive with stunning animation and lighting effects.
With stunning visuals, superb voice acting, and an innovative combat system that has you beating thugs like a pro, Arkham Asylum is simply the GREATEST Batman video game ever made.
Batman: Arkham Asylum is an excellent game by Rocksteady.
i may have only played the demo but as far as i can tell the controls are flawless the graphics are excellent the game play makes you feel like batman you actually need to think about your actions as one screw up can make the game impossible the stealth is very Metal Gear Solid and the fighting is that of the upgrade fight of matrix reloaded all in all if it lives up to the demo it will be among the finest games i have ever played my only problems with the game is it's no butcher bay or Metal Gear Solid and the fact that that you have to map out your actions i should also point out that the enemies set path and strategies constantly change making even the demo different every time i highly recommend.
We have a big return of voice actors Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as Joker and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn, from the old animated TV series.
Every track just makes this game more bad-ass!Overall, Batman: Arkham Asylum gets a 9.5 (excellent).
Batman: Arkham Asylum is the game that started the trend for videogames based on the Superhero genre.
Batman was the one character at the time that didn't have a decent videogame made about him, except for Lego Batman, of course!But after two whole years of programming and development, we finally felt like we WERE the Batman!An original story by legendary Batman Animated Series writer Paul Dini and starring veteran voice actors Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, reprising their roles as Batman and the Joker; this game is like the PERFECT Batman videogame that kicked off a franchise that changed Superhero genre games for the better, with it's gripping combat and intense predator missions, this game really makes you feel like a badass vigilante trapped inside Arkham Asylum.Criticisms lead down to the lack of innovation in terms of the physics, upgrades, the map and also DLC.
Now it's up to you to play as Batman and protect Arkham Asylum from any danger.Can this game ever be any more awesome?
So far, Batman: Arkham Asylum is my favorite superhero game of all time!
My favorite game of all time is Batman Arkham asylum.
Greetings from Lithuania."Batman: Arkham Asylum" (2009) is an amazing game.
Overall, "Batman: Arkham Asylum" is a game that everyone should play and beat.
One bad thing I do have to say about this game is that some of the boss fights, even though playing on a lower difficulty, it is still quite hard to overcome the challenge of beating this superior enemy.
In that time period I wasn't exactly crazy about Batman video games only because a lot of the older games were so bad that I just didn't have the thrill anymore as a fan of Batman to buy it or play it.
The idea of confining the main character to Arkham island for one hellacious night wouldn't usually make for a good Batman game.
And while the people behind this game put some serious muscle behind the voice work (Conroy as Batman, Hamill as The Joker, Sorkin's back as Harley Quinn), the real winner is the gameplay.
But that disappointment pales in comparison to the distinct creepy atmosphere of Arkham, the thrilling fights and hearing these signature voices (Hamill really does make the Joker hilarious).Great game.8/10.
Either way, Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of the best superhero games I've played.
About the game...The game starts when Batman captures Joker and attempts to lock him up in Arkham for good.
The first boss you fight is Bane, and its fun, but you fight about five or six more like him at different points in the game and it gets a bit redundant and simple.
This game contains everything that a Batman game should contain.It has stealth, combat, gadgets, super villains and even a good (although simple and ) story.
batman arkham asylum was good but very dark in some places.
looking forward to the sequel, but i can say I've played the ghost busters game many more times then batman AA.
Arkham Knight also refined some of the upgrades and tools that Batman uses, so it renders some of this game's models amateurish.Lastly, I am unimpressed with the manner in which the game just randomly inserts Batman's main villains into the story with little regard to how they play any sort of role in it.
So Bane, Joker, Scarecrow and Posion Ivy are all enemies as well as other characters someone only being introduced to them won't know about such as Harley Quinn (to be honest I found her annoying - I guess it's that voice), Zsasz and Killer Croc.So the plot is very simplistic but things such as The Gameplay are fantastic.
With the help of his lady friend, Harley Quinn, he is able to keep Batman under observation through the Asylum, and making life a living hell for the Dark Knight.Now, I knew the story would be great.
When I first got my Playstation 3 one of the first games that got my attention when I play the demo was Batman: Arkham Asylum.Now Batman is my favorite superhero from DC Comics and I grew up with Batman from the movies to the classic Animated Series the action figures and video games.
With The Joker and Harley Quinn in control of the Asylum Batman has to be one step ahead of them along with fighting the other villains in the asylum like Bane, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy and othersThe writers really took their time to make this game a joy to play and the story line just keeps you interested from the start as it proves to be one of the longest nights of Batman's life.
The only thing I didn't care too much for is The Riddler's riddles while they are for helping you unlock items and maps in my opinion The Riddler serves little to no meaning to the plot just a side mission.The boss battles will have you on your highest gaming sense my favorite battle in this game is Poison Ivy but you also fight Bane, Killer Croc, Scarecrow and The Joker in the climax of the game.
It gives you the feel of actually expect the unexpected.Seriously if you don't have this game you must get it because it one of the best video games ever created, the Best Batman Game and one of the best comic book games that really is a champion.With original story, Excellent Graphics, Tight Game Play and Superb Voice acting you will be in for a thrill rideI give Batman Arkham Asylum an 10 out of 10.
The Game begins with Batman capturing the Joker and delivering him to the Asylum.
I've never played an action game with a combat system that made you feel like such a bad ass It's just so simple and yet it looks so cool.
But the thing that makes the combat so addictive is that it's easy to learn but insanely difficult to master.The Other major corner stone of the game-play of Arkham Asylum is predator mode.
So despite the challenge the predator aspect of the game truly gives you the opportunity to feel like Batman and that perhaps is the highest praise that anyone can give it.One of the best things about the game, aside from The fun game-play, Dark atmosphere, and great graphics are the memorable clashes that Batman has with some of the super villains in the Asylum.
Asylum is a lot different than all of the other games, which gave you an open world, a main story, and various side missions which you could do at any time you wanted to.
I enjoyed this game a lot when it first came out, i thought that is was the best Superhero video game, but then after the sequel came out Batman Arkham City (my most favourite Arkham Game) it moved to second place on my list of Arkham games, but the game is still awesome after all these years, the characters were memorable, the story is good and Arkham Asylum just looks good, the only problems I have with this game is the Riddler trophies and the boss battles, the Riddler Trophies have always been an annoying thing in the Arkham games so this really isn't a problem but the reason this isn't my most favourite Arkham game is because of the boss battles, TITAN Jokers boss battle was easy, all you had to do was defeat his henchmen and then drag him down with the batclaw 3 times, Killer Croc's boss battle wasn't that hard and didn't really seem like a boss battle because you didn't have to fight him, you would just crawl around the place collecting whatever you were supposed to (i forgot what you were supposed to collect) and then throw batarangs at him when he would jump out of the water and try to attack you, then later when you finish that you have to wait for him to stand on top of where you planted the explosive gel then detonate it and you have beaten him, the final boss battle I hated was Bane, because he was just basically a TITAN henchmen, besides that the game was good.
As a die-hard Batman fan, this (along with the more recent Arkham City) is exactly what I have been looking for in a video game based off of various Batman characters and stories.
The game takes place directly after Batman has brought Joker over to Arkham Asylum; as you walk through the beginning with Joker on the way to his confinement, we meet a few characters along the way, and you can already tell things are not right.
Soon, Joker's plan explodes upon Batman and the Arkham Asylum guards, and you're then forced into working your way through the entire island to try and stop whatever he has planned.There are so many things to love about this game.
when i played this game i cried for these reasons: I'm so happy they've made a Batman game, I'm so happy it pulled of, the jokers in it, and its in arkham asylum.
this game is easily a classic, with batman fighting the joker, killer croc, scarecrow (who scared the living daylights out of me) and Zsasz.
the developers really showed love to this character and the gamer that will be playing this.there is just so much to explore to do to see that if u managed to sit and read all this then that you yes you must be interested in this game so get out there and buy it and experience all that Batman Arkham Aslyum has to offer you.