There are few games this year that have made the hype machine churn as much as Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3/Xbox 360). Excited banter is often to the detriment of the game itself when it fails to live up to its billing. That’s definitely not the case with Arkham Asylum, which is a fantastic licensed game (which are generally few and far between) and a superb game in its own right.

Licensed games are generally awful because they sell well regardless of quality. They’re the kind of games that parents give kids for Christmas and birthdays because they don’t know anything about video games. But because Arkham Asylum wasn’t based on a recent Batman TV show or movie, developers Rocksteady Studios were allowed to run with their own vision. They created a fantastic game that adds to the Batman universe and plays incredibly well.