Batman: Arkham Asylum Villain Guide: Part 1

The critics agree. Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of the best superhero games to come out in years. Part of this is thanks to a selection of bosses ripped straight from Batman's rich history of imposing villains, including such enemies as the Scarecrow and Bane. These villains can give Batman a run for his money, but this guide will make defeating them a cinch.

This one is during the tutorial stages and so is easy. The game instructs the player to have Batman flank Mr. Zsasz by using the gargoyles to move behind Mr. Zsasz, and that is exactly what is required. Simply move to the gargoyle directly behind Mr. Zsasz, then use a glide kick to dispatch him.

The encounter with the Scarecrow begins immediately after a whirl-wind of creepy sequences involving the Medical Center's morgue. The Scarecrow encounter basically turns the game into a stealth platformer. Scarecrow, transformed into a gigantic monster through his fear gas, revolves like a lighthouse in the middle of the level.

Batman's goal is to sneak around the outskirts until he reaches a bat-signal, which Batman can then use to destroy Scarecrow. The trick is to not be seen. Scarecrow's field of view is quite obviously indicated by the devilish red glow he casts on the areas he is looking at. Simply stay out of this glare while moving between wall sections (which hide Batman from scarecrow) until the bat-signal is reached. Be careful, because being caught in the gaze of Scarecrow is instant death.

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The encounter with Bane takes place in a confined boiler-room. Bane has four basic attacks. He has a melee attack that will trigger when Batman gets too close, a charge attack, an area-of-effect ground pounding attack, and a throw attack. His melee attack only triggers when Batman is close and his area-of-effect only happens after Batman makes a successful attack, so they are not the main threats. The charge and throw attacks are both dangerous, but they can be avoided by double-tapping A to dodge.

Bane is immune to melee most of the time, but he is vulnerable to Batarangs when he charges. This is the key to defeating him. Hitting him with a batarang during a charge will disorient him, and while he is disoriented he is vulnerable to melee attacks. Attacking him in melee while he is disoriented will eventually trigger a sequence in which Batman jumps onto Bane's back and takes out some of the Venom tubes which give him his massive strength. This will eventually result in his defeat.

The battle is spiced up by thugs who will come to assist Bane. These thugs can make it harder to dodge Bane's attacks. But Bane's attacks can also be used against them. Try to line Bane up with the thugs when he is charging or throwing and he'll take care of the thugs for you.

Having been dispatched in Intensive Treatment, Mr. Zsasz is back in the Mansion and this time threatening to kill a character key to the plot. This encounter, like the last one, isn't going to last long.

Mr. Zsasz has taken the plot character hostage and drags the character with him back into a office. He threatens to kill the character if he sees the slightest hint of a bat, and if he does so its game over. Unlike before, there is no way to flank him. Instead you'll need to use the cover corner along the side of the doorway. From this hidden position, Batman can throw a Batarang at Mr. Zsasz, knocking him out. Mr. Zsasz uses the hostage as a human shield, however, so the key is to wait until Mr. Zsasz exposes his head and then immediately throw the Batarang.

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The second Scarecrow encounter uses the same stealth platform mechanic, so the objective remains the same. Batman must avoid the gaze of Scarecrow while moving around the level to reach the Bat-signal and defeat Scarecrow. There are some twists, however.

One twist is that Batman will need to use his Batclaw on various objects in the level in order to pull them down and create cover. This is required even at the beginning, where Batman must pull down two boxes to cover a long stretch of open ground which is impossible to cover normally.

The other twist is that Scarecrow will occasionally spawn skeleton monsters that attack Batman. These skeletons look like nothing else in the game, but they use the same AI as the thugs and so fighting them requires the same tactics.

The last twist is that Scarecrow no longer rotates like a lighthouse. Instead he spends most of the level standing over an area of ground which Batman is covering while his gaze moves back and forth. The only real difference between this and the earlier encounter is that there is less time for Batman to cover an area before Scarecrow's gaze returns.

This is it for the first half of the Arkham Asylum Boss Guide. The second section will cover the rest of the game, including another Scarecrow encounter and such famous villains as Poison Ivy and Killer Croc.