After beating Batman: Arkham Asylum, I thought about why it was so great, especially when other licensed games pale in comparison. These are my thoughts, along with comparisons to other licensed titles that weren't quite as well received.

While playing through the roughly 15 hour roller coaster ride of a game, these elements craft an experience that Spiderman, Hulk, Harry Potter and James Bond haven’t yet given me in a licensed video game. Instead of swinging from building to building in between thoughtless missions as Spiderman, I more-less fed Scarrecrow to Killer Croc just before scowering the Croc’s lair for an antidote as Batman. Rather than wave my wand at a textureless, funny lookin’ Voldemort in a scene I’ve read about in the book and seen in the movie as Harry Potter, I stopped Poison Ivy’s plants from consuming all of Arkham Asylum while simultaneously foiling The Joker’s plan for a mutated-villain takeover as, once again, Batman.

bradtramel via gameblurb.net »