[Paul]

Batman: Arkham Asylum Was Almost a Rhythm Game



The Game We Know:

Watching Batman movies and reading Batman comics is great and all, but if you really want to feel like you are the Dark Knight, playing Arkham Asylum is probably as close as you can get without becoming a billionaire and having your parents murdered. What makes the game so great is that it features all the elements of being Batman: detective work, awesome gadgets, martial artistry, chasing crazy people, wearing your underpants on the outside, and so on.

Don't pretend you don't do "the voice" while you're playing it.

But It Was Almost:

On the other hand, here are some things that are not very Batman-like at all: Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, getting jiggy with it. That's why it's so baffling to think that Arkham Asylum started off as a "rhythm action game."

"I'm going to express my sadness and anger at your deeds in a medium fit for all ages."

Early versions of the game were apparently a lot more colorful and upbeat from what we know. According to the developers, whenever you got into a fight the screen would switch to 2D, and from there the rhythm game would take over, involving "colored circles bashing into each other," like the notes in Rock Band or something. The idea was that the fight would unfold depending on how well you hit those notes.

"Is that 'Nevermind' again? Seriously, asshole, learn another song."

This wasn't a crazy idea that they joked about and tossed right away -- at a different stage in development, they even considered making Arkham Asylum a "full on rhythm action game." The game's director Sefton Hill puts it like this: "We went off in some slightly crazy directions to begin with. In fact, one of the earliest versions was like a rhythm action game and saw you judging when to hit the 'notes' (i.e. punches), which was an interesting idea but never really worked."

Maybe because you'd be dressed as the goddamn Batman, which is way too restrictive in the groin area.

As bizarre as that seems, he also points out that the final game isn't that different from this version: "When you're fighting enemies there's a kind of rhythm to it. I'm a big kung-fu fan and when you watch the fights in those films there's a lovely natural rhythm to it. That's something we wanted you to feel when you were playing Batman; that you're in control at all times. We wanted it to look choreographed, but with you being directly responsible for every move and attack."

Pirouette, punch, angst, neck break, press X to pretend you're a seed.

If you've played Arkham Asylum, you know this is true. It's all about timing your movements correctly -- pressing the punch button at precisely the end of the previous hit on an enemy, or the counter button whenever an enemy shoots electrical wires out of his head. The special combos in Arkham Asylum are basically like note combinations in Guitar Hero; the main difference is that you don't look like that much of a dork while playing it.

We do wonder what the soundtrack would have been like in this version. Here's a strong possibility:

http://www.cracked.com/article_19457_6-b...es_p2.html