There have been so many video games based on comic book characters, and while a few have been pretty good, most have been disappointing. Part of why we love super heroes so much is because we wish we could experience the rush of having so much power, and of (well, usually) using it for the good of mankind. What would it feel like on your skin to fly through the air at a few hundred miles per hour? How would it feel emotionally to save a school bus full of orphans from plummeting off a cliff into a lost valley full of ravenous dinosaurs?

Sadly, most video games about comic book characters consist entirely of walking around and punching people — hardly the full super hero experience. What makes Batman: Arkham Asylum so amazing is that you actually feel like Batman when you play it. Until someone invents a super vigilante fantasy camp, this is the closest to being Batman we’re going to get. (Note to self: go on Shark Tank to pitch a super vigilante fantasy camp).

Okay, sometimes Batman does walk around and punch people, but it’s not like Batman Returns for SNES style or even Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage for Genesis style. This Batman takes thugs down quickly and brutally. My favorite is when somebody comes at Batman from behind with a kick and he catches their leg then smacks them with the back of his fist. In large groups it can get pretty hairy, but unlockable moves like throwing batarangs and shooting dudes with a grapple can spread people out a little. One of the greatest moments in the game was when I saw three thugs taunting me from an upper ledge and I shot all three of them with a triple-grapple, then pulled them off the ledge knocking them out.

But the most Batman-esque moments are when you need to clear out a room of armed baddies without being seen. Unlike most stealth games where you need to hide because you’re scared of being killed, in Arkham Asylum you hide because you want to inflict maximum fear in the superstitious and cowardly lot of criminals you’re facing. You can hide in vents, under floorboards, up on ceiling-adjacent gargoyles, etc.

Here’s my awesome Batman anecdote: In one room I waited on a gargoyle patiently until someone walked underneath, then swooped down, grabbed him and strung him up by his ankles, and quickly swung away. The three other henchmen came over to investigate, and when they got close enough I threw a batarang to cut the rope and drop their comrade right at their feet. Batman can detect the heartbeats of everyone around him, so you can watch in fiendish delight as their Condition goes from “Calm” to “Nervous” to “Terrified.” The remaining dudes decide to stick together, with two facing front, and one walking backwards. I watch from another gargoyle until they pass underneath, then snatch up the guy at the end of the group. “Where is he?! How is he doing this!?” they cry. Now they’re really freaked out and firing their guns at every little sound. When they walk under a low ceiling, I detonate some explosives I’d planted there and take them both out at once. AWESOME.

There’s also a great story, with Batman, the Joker, and Harley Quinn portrayed by the same voice actors from Batman: The Animated Series. There’s “Detective Mode,” which enables Batman to find fingerprints, blood, pheremones, etc., and track them from room to room. And of course the optional Riddler Challenges (essentially 240 collectibles, with a puzzle-y twist), where you need to… well, I don’t want to give away everything. If at any time in your life you fantasized about being a super hero you simply must play Batman: Arkham Asylum for yourself.