Batman: Arkham Asylum

Credits: www.gamespot.com

Two weeks ago, I bought Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3) as it was on sale ($39.90). Reviews for it were also great (9.0 on Gamespot) so I got it without much hesitation. It's actually quite an old game, being released in 2009.

I am only at 13% of the game, but I am already sucked into its plot and gameplay. Combat is simple but not too easy, and I love the way they make his fighting more fluid as he moves from punching one thug in the face to countering a kick from behind, and then to jumping across the hall to grapple another thug to the floor. Stealth tactics make the fun a lot more fun, and these are usually a necessity if the opponents are armed with handguns (Batman is afraid of bullets, unlike Superman). Being able to use the environment to your advantage only serves to make the game more interesting. There are countless ways to takedown an enemy - direct combat, silently from behind, silently from above (where Batman grabs his enemies when they pass beneath him and leave them hanging in the air in ropes), detonating a wall when someone walks past... the list goes on. 

Batman also comes with an arsenal of gadgets, like the Batarang, Bataclaw, and explosive gel, and as he pummels more thugs and gets more experience points, he can unlock new moves and upgrade his armour and weapons. This gives the player an incentive to string combos together to gain more experience points. The game is also peppered with optional awards and riddles (thanks to the Riddler), and whenever Batman solves one, he gets more experience points.  

Last but not least, the voice acting is superb, especially the Joker's. He is voiced by Mark Hamill, who is actually most well known for his role as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.

Update as of 7th Oct 2011: 
Finally completed the game, unlocking all the riddles (with the help of the internet, of course). This is especially apt since the Riddler actually accused Batman of using the internet after I unlocked around 80% of his riddles.