During our tour of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's section at E3, we came across a little gem you might have heard of, called Batman: Arkham Asylum.  Senior producer Ames Kirshen was present and gave us a hands-on demo of the upcoming Batman third-person action adventure title, and we finally got a chance to see what the hype is really all about.

Kirshen introduced the game, showing off some of that FreeFlow combat we've been hearing so much about, and the physics look great.  This method of hand-to-hand combat visually captures the essence of what it means to be Batman, a superhero who has achieved such notoriety despite having no super powers -- just brains, a killer bod, and more money than God.  Bats has always relied on his wits, fists, and wide array of gadgets, all of which the player will have at his / her disposal in Batman: Arkham Asylum.  As Kirshen went through the basics, I pestered him with questions.

The demo takes place early on in Batman: Arkham Asylum, so we see various situations designed to ease the player into the game.  As Joker runs off cackling, you get to test out the FreeFlow combat on groups of inmates, then encounter prison guards trying to deal with the rampaging villains. 

At this point, the visuals hardly seem worth mentioning because there's already enough footage and screenshots out there doing all the talking for me.  Every surface in the game literally looks shiny, and the characters themselves are beautifully rendered, in greater detail than the grim environments.  Something that did throw me off was the way characters just kind of stared off into space during this one cutscene where Bats is speaking to a guard, their faces devoid of emotion.  Now Batman has an excuse -- the universe would die if he ever stopped scowling -- but I expected a little more emotion from everyone else.  Well, this is just a demo.

We learn that while certain scenarios only allow one course of action, there are times where the player gets to choose for himself, like in a hostage situation; Bats can either charge in without any regard for innocent lives or take an indirect approach by sneaking through the shadows for an ambush.  It's an integral feature in story-driven games that many of us have come to take for granted.

I'd say the biggest selling point here is the combat, given how beautifully Batman fights when the controller is in capable hands.  You'll be able to pick from multiple takedown attacks or finishers, including dropping from the sky, cape out, and bowling your enemies over with a flying kick.  

That's not to say the game is all about punching bad guys in the face.  A game starring the "World's Greatest Detective" wouldn't be complete without cool gadgets and irritating puzzles.  Batarangs, the Batclaw, explosives, sonar resonator and the line launcher are all tools of the trade, available for you to test out in any given situation, no matter what your preferred approach is.  And with villains like Riddler on the loose, you'll definitely encounter a few brain teasers.  In the demo, Harley Quinn locks Batman in a room, and it's your job to get him out of there using an alternate path, which can be easily uncovered if you've got a sharp eye like Bruce Wayne.  Don't worry though, because the game tends to lend a hand in these cases.

Some readers have been asking about Batman's allies, like Nightwing and Robin.  Unfortunately, Dick Grayson and Tim Drake won't be making appearances, but the Oracle (Barbara Gordon) will be a constant presence in Batman's ear, kind of like Cortana and Master Chief... without any guns.

For DC fans, Batman: Arkham Asylum will be difficult to resist.  Here we are given the opportunity to step into Batman's shoes, explore Gotham's infamous correctional facility, and duke it out with familiar villains in what promises to be an accurate video game portrayal of the Dark Knight and his world.  The fact that Warner Bros. hired Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series) back to whip up an original story specifically for the game definitely adds to its credibility.  Hey, canonical material is important to some gamers!  Here's hoping the final product will be just as enjoyable.

Anyway, expect to see Arkham Asylum in August 2009 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.