Batman: Arkham Asylum

from igdb.com

After the Joker assaults Gotham City Hall, he is caught by Batman and taken to Arkham Asylum, which temporarily houses many members of the Joker's gang, who were transferred after a fire at Blackgate Prison. Believing the Joker allowed himself to be captured, Batman accompanies him into the asylum. The Joker's plan is revealed as Harley Quinn takes control of the security and the Joker escapes into the facility, aided by a corrupt guard who kidnaps Commissioner Gordon. The Joker threatens to detonate bombs hidden around Gotham City if anyone tries to enter Arkham, forcing Batman to work alone. Tracking Quinn to the medical facility to rescue Gordon, Batman is exposed to the Scarecrow's fear toxin and hallucinates, seeing Gordon's death and the corpses of his parents talking to him. After fighting off Scarecrow, Batman finds and subdues Quinn before rescuing Gordon. The Joker then directs Batman to the captured Bane, who has been experimented on by asylum doctor Penelope Young. The Joker frees Bane and Batman is forced to fight him, during which Quinn escapes. Afterward, he goes to a secret Batcave installation he had hidden on the island, where Batman restocks his gadgets.

There, Batman learns that the Joker returned to the asylum to gain access to Young, who has been developing Titan—a more powerful version of the Venom drug that gives Bane his strength—intending to use it to help patients survive more strenuous therapies. Young learned that the Joker had been funding her research to create an army of superhuman henchmen; her refusal to hand over the formula precipitated Joker's return to the Asylum. While searching for Young, Batman is again attacked by Scarecrow and the fear toxin, and hallucinates the night of his parents' deaths. After he recovers, Batman destroys Young's Titan formula and rescues Young from Victor Zsasz. An explosion kills Young and the Joker obtains the completed batches of Titan.

At the Penitentiary, Quinn releases Poison Ivy from her cell before being imprisoned by Batman. Quinn accidentally reveals that Joker has a Titan production facility in the Arkham botanical gardens. Batman travels there and learns that Titan is created by genetically modified plants. He enlists Ivy's help to create an antidote and learns that it can only be made from spores found exclusively in Killer Croc's lair in a sewer. En route to Croc, Batman is again attacked by Scarecrow and overcomes several doses of fear toxin. Meanwhile, Joker injects Ivy with Titan, enhancing her powers. Ivy begins ravaging Arkham Island with giant mutant plants. Pursued by Batman into Croc's lair, Scarecrow is attacked by Croc and dragged underwater. Batman recovers the necessary spores and subdues Croc before returning to the Batcave, but can only synthesize one dose of the antidote before Ivy's plants breach the cave and destroy his equipment.

Batman returns to the botanical gardens and defeats Ivy, halting the rampaging plants. The Joker announces that the preparations for his party are finally complete and Batman travels to the asylum's visitor center where the Joker's applauding henchmen welcome him. The Joker reveals he has recaptured Gordon and tries to shoot him with a Titan-filled dart; Batman leaps to Gordon's defense and is shot instead. Batman attempts to resist the change, and an upset Joker takes an overdose of Titan, mutating into a massive monster. In a makeshift arena on the building's roof, the Joker challenges Batman to a fight as Titan-induced monsters in front of news helicopters. Batman refuses to transform, uses the antidote on himself, and defeats the Titan-affected Joker and his henchmen, knocking his nemesis unconscious with an explosive gel-enhanced punch. In the aftermath, those affected by Titan begin to revert to normal, including the Joker—who is restrained and taken into custody as police officers retake the asylum. Batman overhears a call about a crime led by Two-Face in progress and flies back to Gotham City in the Batwing. In a post-credits scene, a crate of Titan formula is shown floating in the ocean near the asylum when a hand surfaces and grabs it.

Using a great variety of gadgets you must make your way around the island, and the asylums halls to find and stop the joker. The game uses a 3-button combat system, but with a great number of gadget abilites which Batman can unlock. This makes for a very cinematic combat experience when fighting the Joker's goons.

from IGDB.com

All Time Lists

Publication List Year Rank
EP Daily Top 100 Games & Movies Of All Time! 2013 5
Collider The Greatest and Most Influential Video Games of All Time 2020 1
Digital Trends The 50 best video games of all time 2023 21
Game Informer The Top 300 Games of All Time 2018 52
The Top 200 Games Of All Time 2009 104
Gamereactor Game Reactor top 100 2011 89
GamesRadar+ The 100 best games of all time 2011 22
The 100 Best Games of All-Time 2015 34
The 50 best games of all time 2021 40
GamesTM The 200 Greatest Games of All Time 2018 33
GamingBolt Top 98 greatest video games ever made 2013 89
Hyper The 200 Games You Must Play 2018 1
IGN Top 100 Games of All Time 2015 91
Jeuxvideo Les 100 meilleurs jeux de tous les temps 2011 5
PC and Tech Authority 100 games to play before you die 2013 1
Polygon The 500 best games of all time 2017 210
Slant Magazine The 100 Best Video Games of All Time 2020 60
The 100 Greatest Video Games of All Time 2018 55
WhatCulture 30 Best Video Games Of All Time 2019 30

Decade Lists

Publication List Year Rank
Fellowship of the Screen The Best Video Games of the 2000s 2017 18
WhatCulture 25 Best Video Games Of The 2000s 2019 5

Miscellaneous Lists

Publication List Year Rank
The Guardian The 50 best video games of the 21st century 2019 34
Eurogamer Games of the Generation 2013 20

End of Year Lists

Publication List Year Rank
BAFTA British Academy Games Awards 2010 2010 1
D.I.C.E. Awards Game of the Year 2009 2010 2
Destructoid Destructoid Game of the Year 2009 2009 2
Digital Spy Top Ten Games Of 2009 2009 3
Game Developers Choice Awards GDCA Game of the Year 2009 2010 2
GamesRadar+ The Platinum Chalice Awards 2009 2009 1
Giant Bomb Giant Bomb's Game of the Year, 2009 2010 2
Goomba Stomp The Best Games of the 2000s (2009) 2021 1
IGN Best of the Decade (2009) 2013 3
Spike Video Game Awards Game of the Year (2009) 2009 2

All Time Lists

EP Daily
Top 100 Games & Movies Of All Time!
5
2013
Digital Trends
The 50 best video games of all time
21
2023
Game Informer
The Top 300 Games of All Time
52
2018
Game Informer
The Top 200 Games Of All Time
104
2009
Gamereactor
Game Reactor top 100
89
2011
GamesRadar+
The 100 best games of all time
22
2011
GamesRadar+
The 100 Best Games of All-Time
34
2015
GamesRadar+
The 50 best games of all time
40
2021
GamesTM
The 200 Greatest Games of All Time
33
2018
GamingBolt
Top 98 greatest video games ever made
89
2013
Hyper
The 200 Games You Must Play
1
2018
IGN
Top 100 Games of All Time
91
2015
Jeuxvideo
Les 100 meilleurs jeux de tous les temps
5
2011
PC and Tech Authority
100 games to play before you die
1
2013
Polygon
The 500 best games of all time
210
2017
Slant Magazine
The 100 Best Video Games of All Time
60
2020
Slant Magazine
The 100 Greatest Video Games of All Time
55
2018
WhatCulture
30 Best Video Games Of All Time
30
2019

Decade Lists

Fellowship of the Screen
The Best Video Games of the 2000s
18
2017
WhatCulture
25 Best Video Games Of The 2000s
5
2019

Miscellaneous Lists

The Guardian
The 50 best video games of the 21st century
34
2019
Eurogamer
Games of the Generation
20
2013

End of Year Lists

BAFTA
British Academy Games Awards 2010
1
2010
D.I.C.E. Awards
Game of the Year 2009
2
2010
Destructoid
Destructoid Game of the Year 2009
2
2009
Digital Spy
Top Ten Games Of 2009
3
2009
Game Developers Choice Awards
GDCA Game of the Year 2009
2
2010
GamesRadar+
The Platinum Chalice Awards 2009
1
2009
Giant Bomb
Giant Bomb's Game of the Year, 2009
2
2010
Goomba Stomp
The Best Games of the 2000s (2009)
1
2021
IGN
Best of the Decade (2009)
3
2013
Spike Video Game Awards
Game of the Year (2009)
2
2009