Batman: Arkham Asylum

The Skinny: Loosely based on the comic book of the same name, Batman: Arkham Asylum puts you in the shoes of Batman, on a mission at the local looney bin taken over by The Joker and his cast of miscreants. Use the caped crusader’s superhero gadgetry to strike fear into the hearts of the crazies or wait in the shadows to unleash The Dark Knight’s combat skills.

The Good: If the film The Dark Knight was a video game, this would be it. Familiar elements of the Batman storyline (both from comic book lore and the TV series) intersect to form a powerful narrative in what may very well become one of the best games of 2009. While you’ll come across many of the characters in the series, there aren’t too many thrown in to make the story seem rushed or overcooked. The Riddler challenges you with 240 “puzzles” for you to solve, Bane and Killer Croc provide some ridiculous moments of brawn-on-brawn action, and The Scarecrow warps you into his world of fear where you can catch a glimpse of Batman eating a sewer rat. In other words: Everything makes sense—this isn’t some crappy kiddie game put together to capitalize on the success of last year’s blockbuster movie. The enemies are persistent, sadistic, and merciless.

The Bad: The game uses ventilation systems as walkways waayyyy too much. In fact, if they weren’t Batman-sized, the citizens of Gotham would be so screwed. Also, there are some weird additions to the canon, like there existing—lo and behold—a bat cave underneath Arkham Island, but what would a Batman game be if there wasn’t one?

Riddle Me This: On your first play through, don’t worry about solving all of The Riddler’s riddles. Finish off the game and you’ll be allowed to traverse the island as you please and, at that point, will have the tools needed to access all of the areas.

Buy, Rent, or Disembowel? This is a must buy. Take note: The PS3 version features a few more goodies, like exclusive The Joker challenges, soyou may want to go that route—more BANG! for your buck. HaHaHaAAhahAHhAHhahAHhAHhaahahHHA!