I have been waiting for this game since they first started teasing it sometime in 2008.  First, it was the announcement, then the synopsis, then the teaser stills and then, finally, the demo.  The demo blew my mind and I couldn't wait for the release (which was, unfortunately, delayed a few times).

So, it finally came and it took everything in me not to just immediately drop everything and start playing immediately.  So, instead, I gently put the baby down and got to playing (kidding, I don't have a baby, I just started playing immediately).

The game first starts with Batman leading the Joker (complete in near-Hannibal type shackles) into Arkham Asylum with a few armed guards with their guns permanently aimed on him.  There is nothing much you can do here but walk for a few minutes with the Joker.  You can't venture off or the Joker starts yelling at you, you can't jump, crouch, hit or use anything off of your utility belt.  You can simply control Batman directionally as the Joker is led in and you hear Batman expressing his discomfort with how easily the Joker gave in.  This lasts 5-10 minutes and starts to get really annoying.  It's like a loading screen that you can only slightly interact with but, the downside being that you can't walk away and grab a drink or go to the bathroom while it loads like you can with a normal loading screen or unskippable movie.  If you do, the game doesn't progress.  So, finally, the lights go dark and the Joker makes his escape, knocking out guards and laughing his way through the expertly planned break-out.  But, his intentions aren't to get out of Arkham.  This time, his devious plan is to trap Batman in the asylum and torment him through a series of riddles, games and kidnappings.

The game finally begins and all the build-up finally comes to fruition.  You slowly start building your arsenal (batarangs, armor, etc) but, like Batman, you never get to put your hands on a gun as you rely solely on fighting, batarangs and stealthy maneuvering to get through the maze.  You get to fight your way through all the infamous (and not so infamous) villains like Riddler, Killer Kroc, Harley Quinn and, my favorite, Scarecrow, among others.  When Scarecrow enters, the game starts to get really dark with trippy sequences as he gases you and, in a very Freddy Krueger kind of way, invades your thoughts and manifests images that you have to fight your way through.

Batman is routinely tormented throughout the game with the murder of his parents and the guilt of leaving them behind.  One of the coolest aspects of the game is that you can still control your character through a lot of the "movies".

Arkham Asylum is a huge, brooding and intimidating set who's campus just keeps growing as the game continues.  You have to defeat a series of goons throughout, most are weaponless but some have guns, tasers and bats.  As the game progresses, the inmates start to break loose and get a little crazier and more animalistic.  There are creepy parts (like finding your way through a morgue when the "spirits" obviously don't want you there), making this game unlike any other superhero game out there.  It is rated "T for Teen" but with violence, imagery, themes and language, it is borderline "M for Mature".  For me, all the hype was worth it.  Though it has it's flaws like every game, there are few and far between.  Some parts frustrating, some parts fun, some parts easy and others very difficult, but overall it is a game that is more than worth your time and money.