Having arrived back from Edinburgh (well, technically this is being written from a train close to Lancaster) I’ve had time to gather my thoughts and deliver to you this preview of the ‘Challenge Rooms’ in, Eidos/Rocksteady Studios upcoming game, Batman Arkham Asylum.
The first thing you’ll notice is the stark difference between the main game and these ‘rooms’. In total the PS3 will have 16 Batman-based rooms, with 8 more courtesy of the exclusive Joker downloadable content. These rooms are split into combat and stealth based levels and promise to offer another great experience to compliment the 15+ hour story mode.
I got to go hands on with a few of the combat based rooms and, I have to say, I was mighty impressed. Those who’ve played the main game (a demo is now available on PSN) will know that it isn’t a button basher by any means. These rooms, as the name suggests, offer the player a completely combat focused goal . Your aim: to string together a massive combo, kick arse, and get a high score on the leaderboards, something that isn’t easy.
The simple goal of beating your mates on the leaderboards, I feel, is what’s going to keep people playing the game long after they’re done with the story mode. In fact, and I know someone at Eidos will kill me for this, but the way these challenges got people to keep going back (so much so I lost my cameraman for hours at a time) is reminiscent of Mirrors Edge’s Time Trial mode.
As for the rooms and the challenges they present, they vary in many different ways. Some are more concentrated, leaving you fending off goons from all sides. Others are a little more open, giving you a little freedom, but never too much.
Each room has four rounds to complete. As you progress through the waves of enemies, you’ll be met with an increasingly difficult task at hand. For example, gun cabinets on the walls can be broken into, something which will leave the Dark Knight dead in seconds.
Trying to keep the enemies off your back and away from weapons is where the challenge really becomes apparent, but never felt frustrating, something which is definitely an advantage if you want to ramp up your scores. In fact, after a while with the levels I got into a routine and was able to complete levels most of the time. Not to say it wasn’t hard work though.
I was certainly impressed at what Rocksteady had managed to do and how they have seemed to create two, equally great, solid, games in one package. Take it from me, I think these challenge rooms will become the focus for many gamers. To be honest, I don’t think i’d blame them.
Batman: Arkham Asylum will be released on the PlayStation 3 on August 25th and 28th in North America and Europe respectively.
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Fixin to pop it in the ps3 for the first time.