Batman: Arkham Asylum - Game of the Year Edition
Summary
Batman: Arkham Asylum is an action-adventure title created by Rocksteady Studios and released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Launched in 2009, the game casts players as Batman, who must confront the Joker after he takes over Arkham Asylum and unleashes its prisoners. Combining stealth, combat, and investigative gameplay, players utilize Batman’s tools and abilities to overcome adversaries and unravel mysteries. Taking place in a gritty, atmospheric rendition of Gotham, the narrative delves into Batman’s internal and external struggles against villains like Harley Quinn, Bane, and Scarecrow. Praised for its engaging gameplay, rich environment, and compelling narrative, the game became a landmark in the superhero gaming genre. The Game of the Year Edition includes four DLC Challenge Maps, a complete version of Batman: Arkham Asylum, and support for 3D gameplay using red and green lensed glasses.
Storyline
After the Joker attacks Gotham City Hall, he is apprehended by Batman and brought to Arkham Asylum, where several members of the Joker's gang are temporarily held following a fire at Blackgate Prison. Thinking the Joker intentionally turned himself in, Batman enters the asylum with him. The Joker's scheme is uncovered when Harley Quinn takes over the security systems, allowing him to escape with the help of a corrupt guard who abducts Commissioner Gordon. The Joker threatens to detonate bombs across Gotham if anyone enters Arkham, compelling Batman to operate alone. Tracking Quinn to the medical wing to save Gordon, Batman is exposed to Scarecrow's fear gas and experiences visions of Gordon's death and the ghosts of his parents. After battling Scarecrow, Batman captures Quinn and rescues Gordon. The Joker then leads Batman to Bane, who has been subjected to experiments by Arkham doctor Penelope Young. The Joker frees Bane, and Batman is forced to fight him as Quinn escapes. After the battle, Batman heads to a hidden Batcave installation on the island to restock his gear. There, he discovers that the Joker returned to the asylum to access Young, who had been developing Titan—a more potent version of the Venom drug that enhances Bane’s strength—intended to aid patients in enduring intense therapies. Young learned the Joker had secretly funded her research to create an army of super-powered henchmen; her refusal to provide the formula led to his return. While searching for Young, Batman is once again attacked by Scarecrow and exposed to fear toxin, reliving the night his parents were killed. After recovering, Batman destroys Young's Titan formula and rescues her from Victor Zsasz. An explosion kills Young, and the Joker retrieves the completed supply of Titan. At the Penitentiary, Quinn releases Poison Ivy from her cell before being captured by Batman. She inadvertently reveals that Joker has a Titan production site in the Arkham botanical gardens. Batman goes there and learns Titan is synthesized from genetically altered plants. He teams up with Ivy to create an antidote, but it requires spores found only in Killer Croc's underground lair in the sewers. On the way to Croc, Batman is again attacked by Scarecrow and fends off multiple doses of fear toxin. Meanwhile, Joker injects Ivy with Titan, amplifying her abilities. Ivy begins destroying Arkham Island with massive mutant flora. Chased by Batman into Croc's lair, Scarecrow is attacked by Croc and pulled into the water. Batman retrieves the spores, subdues Croc, and returns to the Batcave, but only manages to make one dose of the antidote before Ivy's plants overrun the cave and destroy his equipment. Batman returns to the botanical gardens and defeats Ivy, stopping the plant invasion. The Joker declares his party is finally ready, and Batman heads to the asylum's visitor center, where the Joker's henchmen cheer his arrival. The Joker reveals he has recaptured Gordon and attempts to shoot him with a Titan-infused dart; Batman jumps in front of Gordon and is hit instead. He struggles to resist the transformation, and an enraged Joker overdoses on Titan, mutating into a monstrous form. In a makeshift arena on the rooftop, the Joker challenges Batman to a fight in front of news helicopters, surrounded by Titan-affected monsters. Batman refuses to transform, administers the antidote to himself, and defeats the Joker and his henchmen, knocking his enemy unconscious with a punch enhanced by explosive gel. In the aftermath, those affected by Titan begin to return to normal, including the Joker, who is subdued and taken into custody as police reclaim the asylum. Batman overhears a report of a Two-Face crime in progress and flies back to Gotham in the Batwing. In a post-credits scene, a crate of Titan formula is seen floating in the ocean near the asylum when a hand emerges and grabs it.
