You love it, you really love it, and so does Guinness, which bestowed “record-breaking” status on developer Rocksteady Studios’ action-sleuther Batman: Arkham Asylum, dubbing it the ‘Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever’. I won’t cite the aggregate score here because smart gamers know it’s dubious math (if you want it, you know where to get it) but there’s no contesting the game’s inspired oodles of rapturous prose. I wouldn’t know why yet, since I haven’t played it, and my experience with the demo was lackluster, but I’ve heard from several other editors (who agree the demo was prosaic) that the final product is world’s apart.
Grabbing this particular world record’s both more and less significant than it seems. More, because development of superhero licenses seems pathologically prone to mediocrity. The last decent superhero tie-in was…just a second…it’ll come to me…still thinking… Okay, let me get back to you on that.
Less, because there’s aren’t terribly many superhero games up for grabs. It’s not quite like saying ‘Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Starring Batman Ever’, but it’s close. The last really truly great superhero game was Freedom Force. Okay, the last and onliest great superhero game, for my money. Yeah, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, The Darkness, Crackdown, and City of Heroes/Villains. But those are good games. Not great.
I’ll be reviewing the Windows version of Batman: Arkham Asylum shortly. In the meantime, congratulations Rocksteady, and maybe next time just ix-nay on the emo-day.
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