"Batman: Arkham Asylum" is a Great Video Game, Except...

When it comes to video games, I've become a crotchety old man telling those whipper-snapper punks to get off my lawn. In video game terms, I've become the general moviegoer who would rather see the laziest big-studio confection than be challenged by a critically-acclaimed drama.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is the most visually dazzling Batman game ever made, with rich vocal performances from Mark Hamill, Kevin Conroy, and Arleen Sorkin as their animated series alter egos. It is a joy to hear Hamill doing a long-form performance as The Joker in a borderline R-rated narrative. Even Conroy has toned down his vocals just a bit, sounding more like his 1990s Batman: The Animated Series reads than his somewhat more arch and on-the-nose Justice League performances. The controls are simple to learn and the game plays flawlessly. So what is the problem? It's challenging. It's not impossible, but it's genuinely challenging. And at my age and with the limited amount of free time I have, I no longer want to be challenged by video games.

I have too little time to have to consult an online walkthrough when I can't figure out which path to take. I'm too old to have to worry about not making it to a specific part of the game, so I can save and actually have made some progress in said playing session. I don't have hours on end to play a video game. I don't have the time to spend ten minutes figuring out how to trip a wire to make a jar explode which makes a door open. I don't have time to actually go out of my way to find endless riddle markers in order to unlock challenge rooms. I don't have time to spend countless extra hours earning the very special moves that make the game fun to play in the first place. I want video games that I can play, enjoy, somewhat easily beat, and then go back and play my favorite portions when time allows.

I get it. I'm old. I'm married with a daughter and I don't think either party has much interest in watching me search yet another darkly-lit hallway of Arkham looking for the magic key that will unlock that door on the complete other side of the asylum. I want games like Stranglehold, where I can play and immediately start shooting the hell out of various henchmen. I want games like X-Men Origins: Wolverine where I immediately leap into action and pretty much stay in action mode for the majority of the game being easily able to make my way through the narrative without too many distractions. Most importantly, I want video games that I can play for 20 minutes or so at a time and make genuine progress in the game.

I love looking at and listening to Batman: Arkham Asylum. But unless the game gets a little more linear and a little easier, I'm not sure I'm going to love actually playing Batman: Arkham Asylum. And as a hardcore Batman fan, that's a little sad.

Follow Scott Mendelson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ScottMendelson

Comments

[dataphage]

People that don't like challenge shouldn't play video games--challenge is the point.

If people don't like challenge and insist on playing, play on easy, or skip all the Riddler trophies, interview tapes, and chronicles of Arkham; if they don't like challenge, they won't like the challenge modes, so no big deal. Anything needed to actually complete the story mode comes along automatically with the story, and either Batman or the Oracle tell you where to go when you change areas. Other than that, the individual buildings are not so big that you get lost trying to find where you need to go. This is a game that lends itself to enjoyment by gamers at all levels.

Also, there is no exploding a jar to get into a room, neither is there a key to search for that lets you into a room on the other side of the island. Those things just aren't in the game. You use a cryptographic sequencer or exploding gel to get into rooms.

[Scott Mendelson - Huffpost Blogger]

Ironically, I now find myself enjoying the challenge rooms more than the actual game. With the challenge rooms, you just do the fun stuff (take out bad guys from on-high or beat the crap out of a dozen thugs).

[sonic397]

I can't say the same as the author, but then again, I probrably have a little more time than he does. The demand that Batman Arkham Asylum puts on a player was pretty good for a video game. It rewards you for going that extra step. And like this guy made it clear, it's not for those that don't like a challenge.

If you do like a challenge, the reward is there. This video game has a good and deep story, non-linear play, and excellent and immersive graphics. I'd much rather pay $65 for a game like this than to be watching tv or movies.

But then, I also pride myself on finishing a game without cheating. I like the challenge because it adds to the fun and the replay factor. I really wish games were still more immersive and challenging. I believe games as a whole are still too simplistic in control and storyline (e.g. Wii).

I can't stand games that allow you to divert your attention away for too long without getting lost. If I don't care about the details, then I quickly lose interest in the game. If you liked Bioshock and GTA, you'll like this Batman game. It's almost that good.

Anyway I just beat this game on regular difficulty. Now I'm looking forward to beating it on the hardest play setting and figuring out all of the Riddlers riddles.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

Does Batman do that silly "Christian Bale-voice" in this game?

[dataphage]

If you read the article at all, you will know that Batman is voiced by Kevin Conroy, who voiced him for Justice League and the Animated Series.

[JZAONE]

If you don't like the challenge in video games, the answer is simple: don't play them and watch a movie. If you actually like the game's story and presentation, that's the impetus for the gamer to actually get better at the game mechanics, and the best-developed games are those that reward the player with cutscenes, new abilities, or new story as the player progresses.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

*** I no longer want to be challenged by video games***

I feel the same way

I use cheats on almost every game I've got.

It's much more fun when you play a first person shooter with infinite ammo and invincibility.

[JustThisGuy]

From previews I have read about the game, it is targeting the version of batman as "world's greatest detective" not brawler in a batsuit. It is easyer to make a fighting game be bit sized bits...

[Blenvid]

(Part 1) I'll guess I'll be the first one to disagree with you Scott. LOL We may be around the same age. I'm 36, and probably like you, have been gaming since the Commodore 64 and the Atari 2600. I really want to play Arkham Asylum, but I haven't yet.

I feel the opposite. For example, I've been playing COD5 recently. (on pc) As games are becoming more and more realistic looking, games that are trying to emmulate warfare should also try and simulate the difficulties of being in a war realistically.

Ghost Recon, which was a benchmark in the FPS genre, was the first FPS which featured one shot/one kill gameplay as well as the ability to continue gameplay if you're shot in the leg, albeit by dragging along wounded slowly. The only way to survive in Ghost Recon was to be behind cover. This forced you to think strategically about how best to take an objective.

Fast forward to COD5, which is supposed to be an improvement right? You know who does the best in COD5? Kids, or those who run around with their hair on fire. The game has been coded to award those attacking. Have you ever been in a situaition in COD5 when someone is attacking and they run into the room unaware of where you are in the room and you see them all along, you shoot them in the face, they survive, run over to you, and stab you and you die?

[Blenvid]

Sorry, I had a full 2nd part to this which was blown away when IE shut down by itself. I'll try and write my 2nd part soon.

[sociocanuck]

I know lots of people who play the most difficult settings of games available so that they can feel somehow very rewarded for (eventually) getting through it all.

I'm far too much of a casual gamer to be able to appreciate this stance, though. I find more entertainment in a game that's simple, short, but inherently designed for 'fun' than one that's long, complex, and even moderately difficult. Every time I face the "game over" screen I die a little inside (no pun intended). Where's the entertainment in that?

[mnich13]

I guess I got old years ago, because anything more demanding than a session of Spider Solitaire or "Zuma" is pretty well over the line into "takes too much time and effort" category for me, and it's been that way for quite some time.