I preordered Batman: Arkham Asylum for the PlayStation 3 for one reason only: to get my hands on the eight, PS3-exclusive Joker challenge rooms where you can take control of the Clown Prince of Crime himself.
To my surprise, Rocksteady was actually displaying one of the eight challenge rooms on the E3 show floor (next to the awfully cool-looking Arkham Asylum booth, which had been decked out to look like the actual Arkham Asylum). Being the massive Batman fanboy that I am, I dashed to the first available booth in an effort to see how the Joker handled.
Hit the jump to find out how that went.
The Joker controls exactly the same as Batman. I’m not sure if you get to use other, Joker-specific gadgets in the other challenge rooms, but the single combat room I played felt literally identical to the Batman challenge rooms I played at GDC and Gamestops around the country. Rocksteady changed Batman’s skin out for the Joker’s and gave him a bunch of new animations, but he plays exactly the same way.
Granted, I don’t necessarily consider this a bad thing. I rather enjoyed the fluidity with which Batman controlled in the original challenge rooms, and the Joker controls just as smoothly. The main change is that his combat animations are much loopier, weirder, and often more funny than anything Bats ever did.
He’s lankier and bouncier, visually relying more on trickery (instead of Batman’s cape swipe, he confuses enemies with a laughing gas shooter hidden up his wrist) than the brute force Bruce Wayne utilizes so well. For instance, I once got the Joker to jump on a SWAT team member, wrap his legs around him, and start wailing on his head like a kid throwing a temper tantrum. Later, he motioned as if he was going to punch a guy with his closed right fist, before suddenly extending two fingers and poking him in the eyes. I was really surprised to find myself laughing at the maniacal glee with which the Joker dispensed his enemies; his animations really feel true to his character.
Instead of Arkham inmates and villains from Batman’s rogue gallery, you fight members of the Gotham SWAT team and, in the final level of the room I played, Commissioner Gordon himself! Perhaps it’s just the Batman geek in me, but I got a real charge out of being able to pummel a recognizable good guy, for once.
If you were hoping for the PS3 version of Arkham Asylum to provide some totally new Joker combat mechanics, then you’re going to be disappointed. If you’re willing to just enjoy the extra challenge maps and the purely cosmetic skin changes at the expense of being unable to earn 360 achievement points, then perhaps the PS3 version of Arkham is for you.
Personally, I’m still pretty happy with my preorder. I’m still curious to know if the Joker gets new toys for his stealth challenge rooms (if he even gets stealth rooms), but I finished the Joker challenge rooms with a grin on my face.
