Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane is an amorphous place. A den of dementia and depravity, it is a living, breathing place that is twisted and shaped to yield to the means of whichever artist and writer are depicting the place.
So now we get the first peek at what the building will look like in the upcoming game Batman: Arkham Asylum, from Rocksteady Studios. With the first peek inside of Arkham, it instantly reminded me of any number of buildings I've seen inside of Silent Hill in its dilapidated and dingy state of disrepair.
With Paul Dini handling the writing, I have a feeling that the place will have a more restrained style -- personally, I would have preferred the game to be an adaptation of Grant Morrison's 1989 Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. Morrison's work is one of the more disturbing looks into Arkham and its denizens.
Nonetheless, this first peek at Arkham is promising. Much of it will depend on how Batman will have to deal with the deranged dwellers of the place, and what challenges the building itself will provide for Batman. I'm just a little excited, how about you?
An adaption of Serious House on a Serious Earth would be amazing, however it would be impossible to replicate the amazing visuals of that story, which would detract significantly from the whole thing.
@AKK: Capturing the visuals would be hard, but to recreate the atmosphere? Totally doable. I guess it'd be leaning more towards Manhunt in that case (that you're the pawn of the insane), but it could actually be really good.
I have been looking forward to the day a good Batman game would come out. Perhaps that day will finally come. You can do eet Rocksteady! You just gotta BELIEEEEEEEEEEVE!
Color me skeptical... the music and setting seemed more akin to The Dark Knight than anything in the graphic novels. Combine that with no good Batman games since the Nintendo and Batman's name going to the highest bidder (MKvsDC)... guess we'll see eh?
@bluexy There is no source material that this is based off of. It's written by Paul Dini, who has recently been handling Detective Comics, and also wrote the entirety of the Batman animated series from the 90s. You know, the good one.
@michaelonfire That's what I've heard, but I've yet to play the game.
Paul Dini, Kevin Conroy, and Mark Hamill? Oh dear Lord, please let the gameplay be good and not extremely, mind-bendingly generic. I'M SO EXCITED, I'M SO EXCITED, I'M SO, SO... SCARED.
If you ready anything that bases itself solely in Arkham asylum that's canon for batman, you'll find it to be a horrific place to be for anyone who isn't as damaged as the majority of batman's rogue's gallery.
This is going to be the best Batman game ever. I think Arkham, whichever depiction they use, is a perfect way to confine the gameplay and make it adaptable to Batman's style of crime fighting while also allowing the villains to be let loose (ironically) and show their twisted insides.
Apparently, my brain doesn't like reading right now; that first sentence read: "Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane is an amorous place" to me - and all I could think was "well...I guess if you're into that sort of thing..."
Otherwise, I really look forward to this one - hope the writing is up to snuff, at least somewhat. Also, Scarecrow.
Seems like it'll be pretty good, at least where writing is concerned. The 90s batman cartoon was a staple of my childhood so it's good to see that the writer for that is lending a hand.
The music sounds like Elfman...I hope it actually is. His music has the perfect atmosphere for Batman stuff, especially Arkham Asylum.
I have faith in this game's awesomeness. And on adapting Morrison's Arkham Asylum into a game? Yeah...no. Half of it is chronicling the story of Amadeas Arkham, which you wouldn't be able to play, and the rest is a mindbending acid trip into utter dementia.
I can't think of a single part of the graphic novel that would in any way work as a game, except for the whole concept of Batman trapped in the asylum with his foes on the loose, which is exactly what this game is.
Personally, I would've preferred the game to be an adaptation of a comic I want to make sure everyone knows I've read to show how knowledgeable and smart I am.
The envirionments reminded me a little of BioShock. Just the colors and all the chairs reminds me of BioShock. Maybe because it looks like they're both run by UE3 (which i'm betting they are).
This game is looking really good so far. The Dark Knight made me want a good Batman game, I hope like hell this is as great as all the previews and trailer have made it look.
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Contest:
2:12 PM on 11.22.2008
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One way or another, I'm cautiously optimistic.
HNMMM
@michaelonfire That's what I've heard, but I've yet to play the game.
I can't wait until this comes out.
Yeah, and Urban Chaos: Riot Response is an awesome game. Seriously, it's one of the funnest FPS you'll play on PS2 or the XBox.
I'm very optimistic about this game, and usually I'm pretty pessimistic about things. I really have high hopes for this game.
Did anyone else get chills when they heard the Joker laughing. It made me nostalgic for the old animated series.
Otherwise, I really look forward to this one - hope the writing is up to snuff, at least somewhat. Also, Scarecrow.
The music sounds like Elfman...I hope it actually is. His music has the perfect atmosphere for Batman stuff, especially Arkham Asylum.
I can't think of a single part of the graphic novel that would in any way work as a game, except for the whole concept of Batman trapped in the asylum with his foes on the loose, which is exactly what this game is.
This game is looking really good so far. The Dark Knight made me want a good Batman game, I hope like hell this is as great as all the previews and trailer have made it look.