It’s a given. You see a movie tie-in and your first instinct is to avoid at all costs. They are simply money-making devices, built in a fraction of the time it normally takes a game studio to build their titles with a movie plot-driven story that is ill-suited to a game environment.

Batman: AA is actually a book tie in, one I’ve had for many many years – it’s actually one of my favourite books. I was quite pleased to see the game adopt some of the more adult qualities from the book. The graphic novel still remains one of the most violent comic depictions of Batman and the game similarly takes its cues from the more dark characteristics of batman, rather than the camp.

There are two great aspects to this game. Apart from the fantastic use of some key, Batman technology, the combat scenes and the hunter/hunted scenes are some of the most absorbing to date. Swooping down on an inmate, dragging him and tieing him to a gargoyle before any of his friends notice is hugely satisfying. When you’ve got 8 guards to dispatch, you can sometimes spend up to a good 30 minutes patiently dispensing of them, one by one, each method becoming even more elaborate than the last. In contrast, if you want a plain old punch up (not recommended for armed assailants) then the combo system is brilliant, each successful attack adding to a multiplier than increases your effectiveness and strikes each time.

Replay value as yet unknown – I’ve completed it and will no doubt revisit it for its challenge mode, but otherwise a pretty good PS3 basher for short term love.