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Vanquish (PS3)


And it's fooking marvelous!

Batman: Arkham Asylum (360)

Despite being released in 2009 i have only recently played through this great game. Having ignored it at release thinking it would be a very generic title (much as i did with the equally wonderful Dead Space)

Arkham Asylum certainly made me eat my words however. Aside from some slightly ropey combat in places and some rather uninspiring boss encounters it's a superbly crafted, atmospheric title and actually does deserve the majority of the praise that's been heaped upon it.












Having read the first play thread over at NTSC-UK to wet my appetite before playing the game one comment had stuck in my head, a comment that likened Arkham Asylum to Bioshock.
At the time i couldn't quite fathom what the poster meant but now having finished the game i can completely see what he was getting at, the graphics and the general atmosphere of the game definitely remind me of Bioshock.












Arkham Asylum also benefits from having fantastic voice acting and music, both of which enhance the experience and add to the feeling of "being Batman"

What i actually loved the most about Arkham Asylum was the hidden Riddler challenges. To begin with i didn't pay much attention but as the game progressed finding them all took over and i was consumed with the need to find them all! That's how collecting stuff in games should be, actually interesting and intriguing rather than just the standard "collect 100 flags etc" found in other games.

Much like Dead Space and Skate this is an unexpected classic that everyone should sample.