The Batman Arkham Asylum demo is out a little early; announced to be released on Friday, August 7, you can find the demo on PSN now. So, check it out and let me know what you think!
[Half an hour later]
Alright, so I've played the demo and my only complaint is that it's short. The gameplay is surprisingly simple despite all the different abilities you have. There was a nice mixture of brawling and "Predatory" segments (where you stealthily take down enemies one by one), and the developers did a great job at giving you control over Batman's strengths and abilities. In a game such as the latest Prince of Persia, many of the Prince's abilities were automated and I often felt like a passive participant. However, in Batman Arkham Asylum, the gameplay requires a lot more timing, reaction, and planning, so even though reversals, combos, gliding, and grappling only requires a simple button press, you still feel in control of Batman.
As I mentioned, the demo is short, but it's well worth the download. It opens with Joker escaping into Arkham Asylum, which leads to your first brawl with a handful of nondescript bad guys. The rest of the demo is mainly a walkthrough of how to use your detective abilities in Predatory segments. Because the flow and outcome of these segments can vary depending on your plan of attack, you could easily play the demo repeatedly with different strategies and results. I imagine I will play the demo several times, and I'm now even more excited about the game's release in upcoming weeks.
[Another Update!]
Checkout GoGamer.com for a deal on Batman Arkham Asylum - not sure how long this preorder price will last, but it's currently $49.90 plus $3.00 shipping.
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