Batman: Arkham Asylum Review | Freeflow Combat, Predator Rooms, Detective Mode

Stealth Boom Boom | A Stealth Video Games Podcast

During the mid-to-late 2000s, film fans were breaking down the doors of cinemas all over the world in order to see how new life had been given to the Batman. Around this time, the alter ego of Bruce Wayne had a similar renaissance in video games. We're going back to 2009 in order to look at the action-adventure game that became the measuring stick for future comic book games. We're talking Batman: Arkham Asylum.

On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we look at how a young English developer named Rocksteady Studios was tasked with bringing the story of Batman writer Paul Dini to life. We also discuss how getting the cape right was so important to Brian and all his colleagues, as well as how a singer almost owned Eidos Interactive.

In our review, you'll hear some chat on the sameyness of (most) Predator rooms – but also gargoyles with dynamite on them, how Detective Mode is OP, What's The Time Mr. Scarecrow, the rhythmic flow of punching and kicking baddies, the superhero launching himself at said baddies, glove-fixing, combo breakers, learning inverted takedowns on the job, Batman's gadgets that he left in the boot of his car, Metroidvania-ness in an open (space) world, setting up a crime scene without jurisdiction and scanning for Old Country tobacco, awful boss fights and a mohawked Joker, the beauty in the awful of Arkham Island, comic book characters in a comic book world, Christopher Nolan, Mark Hamill's menace and joy, the opening ten minutes, breaking the fourth wall, interview tapes, stellar easter eggs, and Commissioner Jim Gordon's COG-like physique.

After all that, the lads take you through what some of the critics were saying about the game around the time it came out, and then they give their final verdicts on whether Batman: Arkham Asylum is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.

For those who would like to play along at home, we'll be discussing, reviewing and dissecting Forbidden Siren on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.

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