I love the idea of Batman far more than I actually like the execution of Batman usually. There have been many variations on the Batman character: some goofy, some dark, but most of them have failed to capture what I’ve always wanted from Batman. The thing was, I didn’t even know what I wanted from Batman.

The last time I played a Batman game was on the NES. It was a movie cash-in, and side-scrolling beat-em’ ups were a dime a dozen. Later 3D Batman games were panned by critics, and I never gave them any thought. And when I heard about Arkham Asylum, I figured it would be just as bad. I assumed it would be a middling brawler like the Wolverine: Origins game. But everyone seemed to love Arkham Asylum when it shipped. I gave the demo a try, and was surprised at how good it was. When I fired up the full game, I couldn’t believe how much it exceeded my expectations, even then. Batman: Arkham Asylum might be my favorite game of the year, so far.

There are so many good things about Batman. The mood and atmosphere of Arkham Asylum is perfectly dark and eerie. There’s nothing dreadful about the game though, because Batman is never in much danger. You easily dispatch of enemies, and have so many options at your disposal to just crush them. Fighting boils down to brawling and stealth takedowns. The brawling parts are fun, but they feel like the grinding part of an RPG: they’re not super fun, but you need to do them to gain experience points. The real beauty of Batman are the Predator rooms where you are able to swing from gargoyle to gargoyle, picking off The Joker’s henchmen, one by one. Batman’s inverted takedown where he drops from the gargoyle, snatches a henchmen below, and then strings him up by his heels is the most gratifying move I’ve ever performed in a game.

Aside from fighting though, just moving through the environments is fun. Zipping around using the grappling hook is fast and easy. Batman auto-jumps like Link does, and any long leaps you make allow Batman to spread his cape and glide through the air. And no matter how far you fall, Batman always spreads his cape just before impact. There are no cheap deaths in Arkham Asylum. I repeat, there are no cheap deaths. The gameplay is Metal Gear-like methodical. Batman stands no chance against gunfire, so you are required to keep a low profile and strike unseen. For someone like me, who loves stealth action and platforming, Batman might be perfect.

I’m not quite finished with the story mode yet. I just got into the botanical gardens. I’m sure I’ll be writing more about Batman when I’m done, and I’ll be talking about it on this week’s Snatchcast.