Batman: Arkham Asylum demo coming to PSN August 7th

Batman: Arkham Asylum hits stores August 25th.

Today Eidos and WB Interactive announced the release of the demo for Batman: Arkham Asylum. To celebrate the occasion, a new trailer (which I have embedded below) has been released showing many of the game’s features. The demo will be available for download via PlayStation Network and XBL Marketplace on August 7th.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to play a demo (thanks again Brick, NJ Target) and I must say it has promise. The demo I played (different from the one being released Friday) was nothing more than a few waves of enemies in an enclosed space, but it really gave me a feel for the combat system and also for the visuals produced by the Unreal 3 Engine.

In all honesty, I had my doubts about this title mainly because both Eidos and the Batman license have not produced a stellar game in a long time, if ever. However, the simplicity and ease of the “unique freeflow combat” made the experience fun to play and a pleasure for the eye in that the animations were so smooth I thought I was watching a choreographed fight. My only hope is that the combat does not become repetitive; however if the other gameplay features (i.e. gliding, grappling, sneaking, and the batarang) are as great in the game as they are in the trailers, then all should be fine.

The only downside to the demo I played is that it showcased the fighting and visuals and nothing else. Graphically, the game was beautifully detailed right down to the subtle gloss on Batman’s cape. Also on the visual side, the demo gave a taste of the hit detection, which was quite precise. Between waves of enemies I was shown statistics and a close-up of my character model; while fighting one group of bad-dudes the Caped Crusader took a right cross to the face and afterward the close-up showed a crack in the cowl just above the eye. A round later, the Dark Knight took a rusty pipe across the chest and the next close-up revealed a slice across the iconic bat symbol.

In regard to Batman: Arkham Asylum, I cannot help but be reminded of the PSOne Spider-Man title Activision put out oh so many years ago (nine to be exact). This particular Web Slinger title managed to bring just about every memorable Spidey villain into one half-decent story while adding enough variety in gameplay to give fans a solid Spider-Man experience. I hope I am right in saying that Batman: Arkham Asylum, with everything previously said plus the return of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, looks like it is in that same vein of fan service. Either way we won’t find out until the game hits stores August 25th.
 

For more information: Batman: Arkham Asylum