Batman Arkham Asylum

Batman Arkham Asylum

Within seconds of the superbly atmospheric intro to Arkham Asylum, as your brooding hero accompanies The Joker through his entrance to the "supposedly" maximum security unit of the title, such reservations are dispelled. From the impeccably drawn 3D interiors (powered by the ubiquitous Unreal engine) to the smooth scrolling and an optical zoom function that for once actually works (magnifying detail down to the stubble on the Dark Knight's chin) this is a hugely imaginative, evocative and well-balanced game.

Arkham Asylum is an arcade adventure, heavily reliant on hand-to-hand combat but with the dark, eerie atmosphere of Bioshock and none of the usual drawbacks. No dodgy roving camera, no button bashing randomness and most definitely no hastily tacked on storyline. In fact the cut scenes and dialogue, featuring a rare star turn from Mark Hamill as the Joker, could easily grace a graphic novel; hardly surprising given the writer, Paul Dini, has contributed to the real DC comic.

We're not going to go spoiling the plot here but basically, once the Joker makes his inevitable escape, it's down to Batman to track him down through an asylum now literally taken over by the lunatics. These include the usual collection of ex-cons and preposterously named arch villains including the Riddler, Harley Quinn and Killercroc, encountered in a series of set pieces requiring different tactics but all drawing on a handful of core abilities that can be upgraded as the game unfolds. Among these are punching, feinting, dodging and countering, each mapped to a controller button, animated with convincing heft and effective use of slowdown during the takedowns.

And, of course, there are gadgets – from the Batarang (which can be either manually or auto-targeted) to a Batclaw (for grappling onto overhead objects) and a variety of more explosive weapons you pick up along the way. There's also Detective Vision, a hugely versatile tool activated with a flick of the left trigger, that can be used to highlight interactive objects, follow DNA trails, see through walls or pick out evidence to be analysed. What's even more impressive is how smoothly all these elements have been linked, so you can switch from scoping a room to swinging into action to fighting in one seamless, realtime motion. Oh, and worry not – the Batmobile is in there too!