Rocksteady's "Batman: Arkham Asylum" was released 13 months after "The Dark Knight" hit theaters. And just like that Christopher Nolan movie, this was a highly-acclaimed adaption that matched the quality of the very best Batman stories. A dark sequel of sorts to The Animated Series, it was named the greatest comic book video game ever made by many critics. Utilizing the Unreal graphics engine, the environments of "Arkham Asylum" visually resemble the world of "Bioshock", while the iconic characters are buffed-up versions that recall the humans from "Gears of War". Gameplay-wise, this plays like a 3D "Metroid" complete with hidden rooms, scattered collectibles, optional objectives and backtracking.
The story of "Arkham Asylum" was inspired by the Grant Morrison's acclaimed graphic novel "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth". In the game, Batman spends an entire night tracking down the Gotham villains that have been released by The Joker who was captured by the police. The brilliancy of this game is how much it makes the player feel like the Dark Knight. It feels like a simulation since it cleverly integrates every aspect of the character (sans the Batmobile) into the gameplay. Both the stealth segments and combat mechanics are smooth and perfectly capture Batman's unique fighting styles. The game also utilizes Batman's cape in combat as well as travel, as you can use it to glide through the environments.
As players progress, Batman will gain different abilities and experience points which can be used to upgrade health, strength and gadgets. Playing through "Arkham" never feels like a chore since repetition is cut down to a minimum. You're always discovering new areas and abilities, while the action moments are used sparsely to compliment the adventure feel of the game. But isolated challenge rooms open up to test your skill in combat if you just want arcade-style fighting. The PS3 version also includes the exclusive Joker challenge rooms which include attack moves unique to the Clown Prince of Crime.
Overall, this is a near-perfect "Batman" experience with its outstanding story, awesome visuals and terrific gameplay. While "Arkham City" is a better game, "Asylum" was the one that started a great franchise. It was an amazing accomplishment as well as a surprising one since Rocksteady was an unproven developer at the time of release. I'd rate it with a 9.3 out of 10.