Batman: Arkham Asylum
Wait, didn’t I just get done talking about this one? It seems I’m about to give Arkham Asylum yet another award: Most Surprising Game of 2009.
While I doubt anyone knew what a splash Arkham Asylum would make in the gaming world, it probably came as more of a surprise to me than most. Why? Well, to be honest, I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to the game during its development. Buying it was an impulse purchase based on positive feedback from fellow gamers. I really didn’t expect much more than a good licensed game. What I got was one of the best action-adventure titles of this generation.
Practically everything about Arkham Asylum is polished until it shines. The free-flow combat system is an absolute joy to control, and manages to never get old throughout the entire experience. The detective aspects, including “detective mode,” are brilliantly conceived. And as I’ve already mentioned, the atmosphere is the best I experienced in 2009. It’s the perfect Batman experience. In fact, I’ll go further still and call it the best licensed game ever made.
I definitely was not expecting that. I really can’t wait to see what Rocksteady does with the franchise from here on. Next time, I’ll be purchasing on day one.
Runner Up: Dead Space Extraction
Tags: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Most Surprising 2009, Riddles' Picks 2009
Yeah, best use of a license ever. Every aspect of the game’s design just compliments the source material so well, and there’s just so many little easter eggs to reward exploration. Pretty much everything about it screams quality, and they’ve obviously taken care to ensure that evey part of the game is consistantly enjoyable all the way through!
A comment regarding the “one of the best action-adventure titles of this generation” line.
I think people in the gaming media talk in that manner when they want to make a game sound great while being too lazy to come up with a decent explanation or comparison that shows why. In 2009 alone, Uncharted 2, Assassin’s Creed 2, InFamous, and Arkham Asylum came out. From what I can tell, they are all action-adventure titles and all great games. It’s not a genre I pay close attention too, but I’d think some great action-adventure game came out in past years too. Do you consider BioShock to be action-adventure? If so, that would be one of the best in this generation for sure. Twilight Princess. How many “one of the best of the generation” do you plan on declaring?
Needlessly using superlatives like that is very Journalism 101 to me. Save “one of the best of the generation” talk for those amazingly superior games that come along once every couple years. Arkham Asylum isn’t even your favorite 2009 action-adventure game. Find a way to make it sound excellent without copping out and saying “one of the best” when you know you can’t say “the best,” and then hoping no one notices how often you throw that phrase out there. It’s very Gamespot-ish.
I say this out of love, and because I first noticed you doing this in Currents columns a long time ago. It’s not a rant coming from a one time thing.
Tough but fair.
Blah-ha!
The true fans criticize!
I subliminally noticed that pattern because it does seem a very Riddles thing to say.