Before I even begin to write this article let me clearly state that I’m a huge Batman fan in general. I love the comics, I love the movies, I love the games, I love anything and everything that is Batman. With this article I am not stating the movie or games are terrible. I am purely stating my opinion about the game and making a comparison to the movies. When referencing movies also note that I’m only referring to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight—nothing before those.

Batman Arkham Asylum is a very amazing game, noted to be the best superhero game to date by several reviews and other sites. When I finally got the chance to rent this game I was completely blown away, to the point where if I had the money I would go out and buy it that very second. The storytelling and graphical appeal of the game is absolutely amazing. However, those are all details for our upcoming review—right now I want to talk about something else: how the team behind AA out-does the team behind the latest movies.

Batman Is a Detective

Batman as a character is correctly portrayed through the game, while on the movies it’s a little different. Those of us that read the comics know that Batman is the greatest detective in the world—the best at everything he does. The movie, in my mind, completely misses this fact. In the movies it’s more about his cool gadgets; he literally just drops down into a fight and moves on with things. Sure, there are some instances of detective motives, but these are purely to move along the story. With the game, you’re truly a detective and you see how Batman works as one. He has gadgets and skills that enable this, helping to continue the story very easily. Of course, there is some butt-kicking in the game, but that's not what it’s all about—one reason why I truly enjoyed the experience.

Voice Acting

While I like Christian Bale as an actor, his voice just isn’t Batman at all. As Bruce Wayne I’ll give it to him, he fits that roll almost perfectly. However, growing up with 90’s cartoons you get used to Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker. There is a reason for this—they are absolutely amazing at their roles and they fit the characters perfectly. Kevin’s Batman voice IS Batman, and there is no way around it—he completely blows Christian Bale out of the water. Hearing him talk in game still gets the butterflies going in your stomach. Then with Mark as the Joker you can easily understand why people love the character so much. Heath Ledger did an amazing job in The Dark Knight, but let’s not forget who the true king of the Joker is. Of course, the incredible scripting for the dialogue helps too, but overall this game excels with voice acting.

Looks

I love how the movies are taking on a new look for Batman, but to me they go too far with some things. While the new Batmobile in the movies is great, it's not accurate to the comics. The Batmobile in the game is just how I would have pictured it—very neat looking, a classy car look to it, and of course packed to the brim with the awesome gadgets. Then you have the Batman suit, which is literally an opinion of either liking the old or accepting the new—in this case I take the old suit. The dark grey complimented with the black cape and highlights is what I know Batman as—this is the hero I grew up with.

Cast

While the movies are just beginning, I think the video game allowed the entire cast and history of Batman to show correctly. With everyone from the Riddler and Joker to Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, the cast is amazing. Each character is portrayed accurately and drawn to perfection. The Joker is more "happy" and jokes around a lot, instead of the movie's “kill me now” attitude. They also gave Batman and Joker the perfect chemistry to screw with each other and show their true emotions. The devs did a great job in explaining Batman’s past, adding something truly unique to the franchise. It was an entirely new start and a perfect first game for the Batman universe, allowing more games in the future.

Like I said earlier, both the game and the movies are truly amazing—I just believe that the game dived more deeply into the world of Batman and portrayed him correctly. While they do have a little bit more to work with, they had a complete game from beginning to end. It focused on the right areas and allowed us to see the true Batman. They stuck closely to the comics while still managing to innovate them and make something very creative that will explode with the eventual follow-ups. There is no doubt in my mind why this game is so critically acclaimed.

http://www.ps3center.net/article/284/1/why-batman-arkham-asylum-outdoes-the-movies/

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Thoughts on this?

Do you agree? This is the first time someones CLAIMED such a thing!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Narrative and depth may be lacking, but it is considerably more fun than Dark Knight or Batman Begins was, and much more steeped in Batman lore.