I never got really into the Arkham games, but I did play this one through a number of years ago. This summer, following a little wave of rekindled personal batmania after The Batman, I bought the Return to Arkham trilogy for a steal. I could have skipped this one, but I decided to play it again, and I'm glad I did!

What else can be said about the game that infamously 'really makes you feel like you're batman?' The game has aged pretty well, although the crowd combat isn't as novel as it once was, and I have never been the biggest fan of the TwIsTeD character design, although I do like the general environmental art direction. This version of Arkham Asylum is pretty distinct and memorable.

The island feels intimate enough that I actually ended up going back just before the end for all of the riddler stuff, which I didn't think I was going to bother with, and I felt like they were scattered in a way that hit a pretty good balance between giving a little extra something and being frustrating or redundant (helps when you have the maps).

I wish that there had been more of the stealthy takedown sections, because those really shine. And while the crowd combat still plays well, it's clear the devs knew it would impress for the time, because thug fights play into a good number of the boss fights rather than just giving bosses their own distinct moves.

Anyway, I've already said more than I expected to. It's a solid game from a game-ier era of games, for better or worse. Eager to see how the sequels play.