Something different...

I haven't been a gamer since my Sega Mega Drive and Streets of Rage (which I rocked at!), so whilst I was aware of the Batman: Arkham video games, I'd never played them. Then yesterday I stumbled across a fan-made movie edit of this game. The plot is that Joker has allowed himself to get caught by Batman and taken to Arkham, so he can access research by one of the medical science staff and create a private, venom-fuelled army. And he's trapped Batman in there with him.

The main voice cast is Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as Joker, and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn (for her second to last time). It's so good to hear Conroy, Hamill, and Sorkin interacting again. Plus there's Kimberly Brooks as Oracle (offscreen), communicating with Batman via radio throughout. As well as Joker and Harley, inmates include Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Bane, Poison Ivy, and Victor Zsasz. At two hours long, whoever made the movie version put a lot of effort into it - including the addition of some of Zimmer's The Dark Knight Rises score. Occasional character movements do give away that it's a game (sudden, right-angle changes in direction when walking or running, random pauses, and a few unnecessary jumps/rolls), as well as some repetitious dialogue; but overall it flows well, with great atmosphere (and character designs). I can't say whether it's a faithful adaptation, but I enjoyed it. All credit to the original game designers, and to the person behind the movie version.