At first I disliked how weak the fisticuffs felt, but before long I fell for the tempo-based beat-downs, especially late into the game when I had unlocked triple ‘batarangs’ and cringe-worthy, bone-snapping grabs. The storytelling is great for keeping Arkham Asylum’s pace in check as well. The simple premise, wherein The Joker takes over the titular madhouse and hatches a master plan with an army of crazed criminals, balloons into something bigger than you might expect. It also strikes a lot of unbelievable highs. The long introduction sets an incredible atmosphere that completely sucks you in for the rest of the game, and various villains trigger moments that I will remember for as long as BioShock’s twist or Portal’s ending. The Scarecrow’s sequence, for example, is a stroke of absolute genius that should be experienced, Batman fan or not.

The problem with the game’s villains is that they’re poorly used. Within the narrative, which is full of excellent voice acting and non-intrusive storytelling moments, The Joker and his crew of lunatics are wonderfully demented comic book villains with outlandish plans to wreak havoc on Gotham City. When it comes to fighting each of them, however, it’s a different story. I got tired of fighting recycled, roid-raging giants after I finished off Bane; though his story moments are incredible, I was tired of Scarecrow’s hide-and-seek segments by the third run; and I absolutely abhor the Killer Croc segment at the 75%-ish mark, where you’re arbitrarily forced to suffer a dull, plodding scavenger hunt that shatters everything you’ve come to adore about Arkham Asylum.

With a game as great as Batman: Arkham Asylum it’s hard not to nitpick at its issues, no matter how small they are. I didn’t like spending most of the game in detective vision. I despise the lack of creativity in the boss fights and enemy variety. In the face of the rest of the game, it’s hard to care too much. It’s expertly tuned to keep you engaged in the fascinatingly dark world, and gives a real, true sense of what it might be like to be Batman – a dream I’ve been dreamin’ since I was six years old.

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