Graphics-9.5/10
Gameplay-9.5/10
Story-9/10
Audio-10/10
Replayability-2/5
Accessibility-4/5

Final score-44/50

Whoa. That shit was tight. Like, "not even legal" tight. I enjoyed Prototype. I liked X-MEN Origins: Wolverine. They had NOTHING on this, From start to finish, this game had my full attention. Mark Hamill is a KING... Graphics like Bioshock and gameplay like Splinter Cell make this a MUST PLAY.

Graphics- Batman was graphically and atmospherically very similar to Bioshock. Everywhere you went, it felt as if you were somewhere that used to be magnificent, but over time the deluson of the populace has deteriorated it into its current state. In Batman's case that state is anarchy. Everything looked sharp, with very minimal oddities in the environmental design.

Gameplay- Think Splinter Cell and you have a pretty good idea of what this game is like. Not like Double Agent though. Screw that. I'm talking about good old fashioned Chaos Theory gameplay. However, it isn't level based. It is an open world exploratory take on that style of gameplay. At any time you can choose to go investigate explore or maim another part of the island. The gadgets break up the monotony of taking out henchmen. You could very easily walk up and just beat each one to a pulp. Thats boring and repetitive though. Why don't I....

1. String him up from a gargoyle?
2. Blow a piece of wall up while he's standing next to it?
3. Blow out the floor from underneath him?
4. Knock over three of the four of them in one Batarng toss and glide kick the fourth?
5. Bat-grapple him to me?

The environments make all of these possible, and increase the ability to go back and play it through a dozen times, differently each time. The game also has a variety of optional puzzles, riddles, and exploration based experience bonuses. There are also a few spots that will throw your mind in a blender. At one point I went from being pissed, to confused, to laughing hysterically in the span of twenty seconds. The only part they could have improved upon would be adding in more villains. Understandably, they didn't. You can only use so many in one game and still keep a focus on the individuals. There were minimal environmental collisions (getting stuck on corners) and nothing in serious combat situations. Every now and then I would Glide Kick somebody from a gargoyle and get caught on the railing next to them, but nothing serious.

Story- Great story. In case you don't already know, the game starts out like this...

Batman has just apprehended Joker after another failed(?) scheme. You arrive at Arkham wary of Joker as he was much easier to capture this time. You escort him along with security into the depths of Arkham Asylum. Once inside, he escapes. This was all a ploy to get you INTO Arkham. He and Harley are in control of the Asylum and its security systems and have released most all of the prisoners. Now... Come get us...

The story contains several of Batman's most FEARED (see what I did there? :) ) adversaries. Including Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Bane. You come across references to most every other villain as well if you know where to look.

Audio- Wow. Just Wow. Mark Hamill has always been The Joker in my mind. (Luke Skywalker as well, but let's stay focused) What is the Award they give out for best voice-work in an entertainment software title? He should get one. His role as The Joker was done supremely well. Whether he is talking directly to Batman or to one of his own henchman, Joker's voice will send chills up your spine. Thinking about it, Everyone did a great job with the voices, even the henchmen.

Replayability- This was, I thought, the only weak point in the title. Sure there are Riddler challenges to go after, but once you have them all (You can easily find them all) there is very little reason to go through the story again. You can approach areas with a different style, but the story doesn't change AT ALL. The challenge rooms help this as well as giving you ideas as to how best handle situations in the game and showing off the flowing combat style of the game.

Accessibility- Batman is not hard to pick up and play. You know that saying we all hate "Easy to pick up, difficult to master"? Well, Batman is that. Anyone can pick it up and beat some henchmen into the ground, but a master can do it without being seen. The master can also do it to Six henchmen in under a minute. If you've played stealth based games before like Splinter Cell or even Metal Gear Solid, this is right up your alley.

You know it's true. How many times have you thought you were winning a match only to look at the score and realize that your team had half the opponents score. "WTF?! I have 15 kills and 3 deaths!" Then, you look at the breakdown and see that two of your teammates have 2 kills and 12 deaths each.

It's sad that I have to call out people for their shortcomings in videogames, but I feel it needs to be done. It happens too often that my team is dragged down by people who aren't deliberately "griefing", they just truly are no good. Or maybe they are. Maybe they just had a bad game. Honestly though, they stay in to the next round and repeat. If I ever have a round where I don't have a 2 to 1 KDR I do not stick in the lobby after the round is over. I tell my friends good night and try again the next day.

This is why I rarely roll on any game unless I am on with my unofficial clan. I don't think we've ever lost a round when there have been four or more of us on at one time. When we have five, we have numerous win streaks of more than 50 rounds.

Faith in your teammates is something that games are now encouraging in all multiplayer rounds it seems. It is very rare that one person is able to carry a team. Everybody has to do their part to win, and it seems that some people are not up to the task. So why do they stay? Is it because they enjoy it? Or is it because they just don't care?

I'm inclined to think it's the latter. I have berated the slackers on my team numerous times and have found a fairly common response to my rants. "You care about this game too much."

Of course I f*cking do!!!!! That's why I'm playing! I'm trying to win! Why would you play competitive multiplayer with a minimal intent of actually winning? Is it just me? Is this approach to competitive multiplayer beyond the comprehension of anybody else?

This is Vera. My fiance and I named her after Jayne's gun from Firefly. It is a Samsung 67 inch DLP.

Set up for when I play Rock Band.

Most of my gaming and music collection.

A close up of my 360 games.

Gamecube, Playstation 2, and PS3.

My collector's editions. Oh, and my Halo Zune.

Our movie and TV series collection.

A close up of my HD-DVD and Blu-Ray collection.

Gamestop has decided to stop replenishing new Gamecube games in its stores. All stores have been told to convert their "New" Gamecube games to "Used" skus. I knew it would happen eventually, but this soon? How long until it happens to XBox? How long until Gamestop stops carrying those games altogether?

In case any of you were wondering, the Legendary version of Halo 3 is pretty big.

Basically, stack THREE XBOX360 console boxes on top of each other. Face/ass not head/foot! That is the size of TWO Legendary versions. I should have pics to verify in... 48 hours.

Ron Workman and Hamza CTZ Aziz are gonna show us why he is really called "AssRicky"? (Azereki)

7 day countdown for Halo 3?

3 Year countdown for Halo 0?

Another iteration in the now moral imperative of aesthetics? (it means DTOID will get a facelift morons... Go play Bioshock)