For the uninformed, Batman: Arkham Asylum is an upcoming action-adventure stealth game for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC being developed by Rocksteady. In the game you take on the role of the Caped Crusader in which the Joker is captured and taken to Arkham Asylum, where he promptly escapes and takes over Arkham Asylum along with the help of Harley Quinn and his thugs shipped in from Blackgate. As Batman, you are tasked with restoring order within the Asylum.

I've been looking forward to this game since it was announced, being the huge Batman fan that I am. I downloaded the demo on Saturday and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm really happy that the cast from the animated series have reprised their roles, featuring Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn. However strangely Commissioner Gordon gets a new voice actor who makes him sound like a blender filled with gravel but anyway, onto the gameplay and story.

The gameplay I found to be really enjoyable. The controls are fairly simple and intuitive. You have three main buttons for combat: attack, stun and counter. This helps the combat to feel really fluid as you take on multiple enemies, countering some and attacking others without any delay. However this isn't the only thing. The stealth sequences are done brilliantly. You can crouch to make yourself virtually undetectable as long as you're out of sight, enabling you to sneak up behind enemies and silently take them down. Further into the demo you encounter armed enemies with guns. Stealth is paramount here. If you charge right in you are going to die quickly. So taking to the high ceilings, you have several options to take out these enemies. A well placed glide kick to knock them down, followed by a takedown to knock them unconscious before taking to the rafters once again. You can use batarangs in place of the glide kicks in the method above, or you can use my favourite technique, which is called an inverted takedown. While perched on top of a gargoyle, you can wait until an enemy wanders below it, silently hang down and yank him upside down and attaching him to said gargoyle. This is extremely satisfying as you watch his friends discover him and become frightened. Occasionally while in a terrified state these enemies will shoot randomly into the air which is a nice touch. The Detective Mode is also useful, giving Batman a kind of x-ray vision which highlights enemies and points of interest, as well as giving Batman a display of the weapons enemies are armed with, their heart rate and current state.

The story also is enjoyable. Throughout the demo the Joker appears on screens taunting Batman and you will even have a chance to take down Mr. Zsasz. However the demo is short, taking about 10 minutes to complete and will leave you salivating for more. At the end you're given a trailer with glimpses of Harley Quinn, Bane, Poison Ivy and Killer Croc as well as Zsasz and the Joker. The Riddler and Scarecrow have also been confirmed for the game.

But anyway, enough of my wall of text. Let's get some discussion going. For those of you that downloaded the demo, what did you think? What were your likes and dislikes? Are you looking forward to this game which could possibly set the bar for all superhero games in the future?

I haven't had a chance to be online with my 360 to play the demo yet, but I am very interested in this game all the same. Like you said, BAA seems like it has a lot going for it, and it could very well redeem the overload of bad and mediocre superhero games.

I may not be salivating for the game itself, but I am at the thought of Harley Quinn.

Don't get too excited about her RR... Her character design is rather... Well a word I can't say on here. So from now on I'll call her Stripper McGiantBreasts. Poison Ivy is looking good though... I know she's practically a plant but still

The game definitely looks promising. I played the demo several times over the first few nights I had it. i love the stealth sequences, however, you'd (at least I do) think batman's grapple gun would give him away more easily. Regardless, I firmly believe this game will be one of the best of 2009. I just wish I had a chance to play as the Joker in one of the challenge maps even for a minute.

Anyone else considering buying the collectors edition just to get the battarang?

My brother pre-ordered the Collector's Edition just for the battarang. It's a shame it isn't Metal anymore though.

PS. Hi Preblooch! It's been awhile since I have seen you around here.