The GameOn Magazine - Free Special Editions Batman: Arkham Special Edition | Page 20

Predator Challenges, you are
required to take out the armed
inmates as stealthily as you can.
Each level has three different
challenges, which require
you to take out your enemies
in certain ways. Manage all
three in one challenge and
you’ll receive three medals.

new room you enter provides a new challenge
but, unfortunately, it is very specific in the
way that it is solved. For example, you may
enter one room filled with unarmed inmates
which means the only solution is to take them
out in combat. Enter a room with armed
inmates, however, and it is obvious that the
only way to survive is to stealthily take them
out one by one. Again, the gameplay is never
unlikeable and it is just as well paced as the
story, but it’d be nice to be given a little more
free reign over Batman’s abilities, rather than
being ushered into a predetermined tactic.
And herein lies the beauty of the game; being
given control of one of the most deadly and
popular superheroes of all. Every aspect of
the Dark Knight, the gliding, the combat,
the stealth, the gadgets - everything that
makes Batman the popular character that
he is - has been perfected into what can
only be the best Batman game to date.
Even once the game has ended there are
the challenge rooms to attempt. These take
two modes, Predator or Freeflow (Stealth
or Combat in other words). To succeed in

20 • GameOn Magazine

Freeflow Challenges are much
simpler; you earn a score for taking out
your enemies, with the difficult ramping up
over four rounds. This is where the combat
of the game truly shines. To get anywhere
near achieving three medals in these modes
you will need to be able to string together
all of Batman’s abilities, as well as making
sure you’re not hit by anyone, to achieve the
highest bonus points. With a leaderboard
and the inevitable one-upmanship from
your friend’s list, these will provide a lot of
extra replay value once the game is over.
All in all, Batman: Arkham Asylum is a
fantastic feat. It’s not without its minor
flaws, but everything about the Big Bad
Bat has been perfected, and it is definitely
a must-play for anyone, Batman fan or
not. Now all there is left to do, is to wait for
Eidos to bring this perfected Dark Knight
to a sprawling open-world Gotham City.
Adam Barnes

Batman:
Arkham Asylum
Scored: 7.5 out 10
Batman Arkham Special Edition