Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Zap! Kersplatt! Kapow!

Nah, only kidding. This is not a game based on the camp 1960’s Batman series. Nor is it a game linked to either of the hugely successful Batman Begins and The Dark Knight movies. It stands on its own. And it stands on its own extremely well.

With an excellently written script and a voice cast led by a certain Mark Hamill (if you haven’t instantly thought of Luke Skywalker, then hang your head in shame!). He voices The Joker. And my my my does he voice it well! Completely manic and deranged, his version of The Joker is arguably better than Heath Ledger’s. You will find yourself chuckling away at some of his ramblings and craziness as you progress through the plot.

The game begins with Batman returning the whacky Joker back to Gotham City’s insane asylum; Arkham. Little does he know that The Joker has actually planned ahead and has a trap planned for The Dark Knight. His henchmen have taken control of Arkham Asylum and Batman must restore order and rescue some old friends along the way.

It really is a gorgeous looking game. Even in standard definition the game looks nice, but once on a HDTV you’ll be drooling at how good it looks. With its lovely dark and gothic environment you will enjoy exploring the island and beating up The Jokers Goons.

The fighting system is really good fun but after a while it can become repetitive. Another big negative are the boss fights. These are dreadfully unimaginative and once you figure out the pattern on how to defeat the boss they can be completed quite swiftly, even on a harder difficulty.

But don’t let the negatives put you off this. It is far and away the best comic book game on the market today. It really is smooth and good looking and very easy to play. Batman is the Batman you want. Powerful, decisive and dark. And let’s face, we want a dark and vindictive Batman, dishing out his own style of physical retribution on the scum of Gotham!

I love it.

Score: 8/10