Game takes Batman, Joker into asylum
There's political commentary to be read into the new video game, "Batman: Arkham Asylum," concerning the state of the economy and our national health care debate.
At one point, you hear Joker telling his employees (his henchmen) they must suffer pay cuts because of budget cuts.
Then, Joker uses a public address system to snark at Batman, "You might want to check your health insurance. Oh, what am I talking about?! You don't have any!"
That's unexpected. And the game does something apolitical that's comically unique: One of the villain "bosses" seems to suddenly drop dead of a stroke -- right in the middle of a fight with Batman. I don't know if I've ever seen a game villain die of natural causes during a showdown until now.
Such moments speak well of the imagination that went into "Batman: Arkham Asylum," which is inspired by a Batman graphic novel, as opposed to "Batman" movie plots.
Batman escorts Joker into Arkham Asylum. Joker escapes. For the rest of the game, you play as Batman as he wends his way through many hours of tracking Joker down.
Actually, you spend most of your action time punching Joker's henchmen (this is far too easy to do) and occasionally beating up his sub-bosses (this is more challenging, although once you beat up one sub-boss, you basically know how to beat up the rest).
Those punching redundancies are frustrating. But mostly, this is a good, fun and fascinating game, and it takes many hours to finish. It's also a nearly beautiful action-adventure, with its setting and cinematic visuals set on an asylum island.
The island is a crumbling morass of bricks and mortar, a maze of asylum buildings and mansions, plus a darkly lush island exterior of greenery and cop-sniper towers.
As Batman, you use zip lines to zip up to gargoyles on walls, then jump down upon henchmen's heads. Or you crawl through vents to get past Joker's use of laser beam obstructions. Or you throw Batman's boomerang at the eyes of giant monsterish creatures, to stun them, so you can then beat them up.
Notice I did not say you kill anyone. Batman declines an opportunity to kill Joker early in the game, and he refuses to kill henchman. He merely knocks them out.
He says of one bad guy engulfed in toxic gas, "I can't let that man die. I have to clear the room of toxins as quickly as possible!"
That's commendable, Batman. But by letting Joker and his subordinates live, you let them live to kill again and litter the asylum with a mass of guard corpses who may leave families weeping at home.
But as we all know, superheroes such as Batman and Superman let nemeses live for two reasons. 1) Superheroes can't be seen stooping to villains' murderous levels. 2) Comic book executives need villains to live another day to sell another comic book.
And so, in this game we see Joker let loose in an asylum, where he goes on wilding rampages because of Batman's moral against killing killers. That's what you call a more nuanced sociopolitical theme.
("Batman: Arkham Asylum" by Eidos retails for $60 for Xbox 360 and PS 3; $50 for PC upon PC release Tuesday -- Plays fun. Looks great. Moderately challenging. Rated "T" for alcohol, tobacco reference, blood, mild language, suggestive themes and violence. Three and one-half stars out of four.)
Contact Doug Elfman at 383-0391 or e-mail him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He also blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.
NEW IN STORES
"The Beatles: Rock Band" is perhaps the biggest music video game yet released. We'll see. The Beatles' fan base is staggeringly large. And this "Rock Band" is different from music game predecessors in one way: It's simultaneously marketing a whole lot of peripherals that will tempt hard-core Beatles "completist" fans to spend many hundreds of dollars on extras.
You can buy the disc for $60 for Wii, Xbox 360 or PS 3. You can buy the limited edition box set for $250, which comes with a replica Paul McCartney bass. You can buy George Harrison and John Lennon replica guitars for another $100. You can buy extra microphones for $15-$50, because this "Rock Band" allows for three-part harmonies.
And in the biggest chump move ever, "The Beatles" comes with just 45 songs, about half as many as we've come to expect from such big projects. So in time, you'll have to download Beatles songs and albums later for a few bucks per song.
Tunes on the initial disc include "Revolution," "Something," "Taxman," "Come Together," "Helter Skelter," "Here Comes the Sun," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Twist and Shout" and "Octopus's Garden."
The game is rated "T" for mild lyrics and tobacco reference.
"Dirt 2" is an off-road racer that picks up where its predecessor left off, letting you drive crazy cars through beautifully and realistically drawn jungles, rain forests, arenas and canyons; through slowing puddles; and in front of tens of thousands of screaming virtual fans.
As a fellow video game critic recently wrote, the official teaser trailer looks like "a raucous collection of grime, half-naked women, and general insanity."
Essentially, this is a gnarlier game than the first "Dirt," with a more "extreme" feel. Once again, you can see slow-motion destruction of your car, though this time, damage doesn't destroy your car's ability to keep moving. That is, damage is more of a look than a race-destroying woe.
Online, the game doesn't just do point-to-point rallies, but brings the whole solo game to the online world, from tracks to vehicles and racing competitions.
The game retails for $60 for Xbox 360 and PS 3; $40 for Wii and PC; $30 for PSP; $30 for DS. It's rated "E 10+" for mild lyrics.
-- By DOUG ELFMAN
