Nvidia's PhysX technology dramatically improves the mood in Batman: Arkham Asylum for the PC
Batman: Arkham Asylum is the first PC game to use Nvidia's PhysX technology to good effect.
We've criticized PhysX in games like Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter where added explosion debris was the only noticeable benefit, but the extra debris is only one PhysX effect among many in Batman: Arkham Asylum.
The Physx-enabled fog adds an effective layer of gloom to many environments throughout the game. You can use Batman's detective mode vision filter to see through the fog too, so it doesn't become annoyingly obstructive.
Smoke and fog-effects also move convincingly around characters as they pass through.
Without PhysX, the sheets of paper flying around this scene are replaced by stacks of paper that just sit there.
By increasing the volume of brick debris, the PhysX effects give this scene and other wall explosions greater dramatic impact.
Exploding floor tiles don't come up quite as often as we'd like (perhaps our aim is off), but the effect is satisfying when it occurs.
The only badly done PhysX element in the game is the cloth banners draped around various locations. Even if Arkham Asylum won every prison league football championship, these feel out of place.
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