Batman: Arkham Asylum -- Initial Impression.

Next up for me is Batman: Arkham Asylum, developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. Batman will likely be one of the last titles published by Eidos Interactive as they're now known by the name Square-Enix Europe. I've gone with the PlayStation 3 version of the game for two reasons. First, I'm looking to bolster my PlayStation 3 library. Second, the playable Joker challenge maps are the only real exclusive for the title. If Shadow Complex was a great send-off to the summer season Batman looks to be just as impressive a kick-off to the holiday season. Some of you might be saying holiday season? Batman marks the point where it essentially becomes a game a week or two for me through Thanksgiving and thus marks the start of the holiday season. From my time with Batman so far it appears to be a wonderful blending of ideas. At the core you have a 3D brawler coupled with the Batman aesthetic and all of his wonderful toys. You also have an experience system that allows for upgrading of items and abilities that provides sort of a Metroidvania sense of progression through the game. The game is also story intensive and actually pulls off the Batman world far better than any Batman game before it. It doesn't hurt that the three main characters are voiced by their counterparts from Batman: The Animated Series, which many, including myself would consider to be the best thing Batman ever created. A word of warning to the completionist out there, Arkham Asylum will drive you insane with its two-hundred and forty collectables. Which is rather fitting as they are all tied to the Riddler. They're just collectables, but how they're handled and presented just might be the coolest means yet. Batman: Arkham Asylum early on is showing signs of potential Game of the Year candidacy. Let's see how it shapes up on the other side...