Rating: 3/5

Batman: Arkham Asylum is a stealth game. And in almost all cases, you really have to be stealthy. Rushing into a room with guns blazing punching and kicking might work for unarmed henchmen. But just wait till you encounter those with guns, and you’ll be stopped cold in seconds, literally. Or till you encounter some of the big drug-infused brutes who can quickly crush you. And this is actually leads to one of the funnest aspects of the game as your lurk in the shadows, stalking the enemy taking them from behind, plucking them or swooping down on them from above. And if a fight really cannot be avoided, you have to use your wits,  your gadgets, and the environment to win it. This applies even to bosses such as Bane, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, The Scarecrow, and the Joker.

Experience, which is gained by defeating enemies and solving puzzles, give Batman upgrades for his fighting skills and gadgets. Things that definitely make things just a bit easier. To supposedly add to the fun factor and experience, dispersed throughout the game are puzzles left by the Riddler and Amadeus Arkham that you can solve if you choose to. They probably can help getting more experience, and therefore upgrades, at the higher difficulty levels. Or maybe for gathering trophies, if you’re into that. But to me, they seemed to be too much of a bother and I didn’t really make an effort to solve them.

Although the game does not follow the alternate Batman universe of Batman Begins and Dark Knight, it is sufficiently dark and moody as a Batman product should rightfully be. And most importantly, it is fun!

Rating: 4/5

1. Walking Hotspot – Turns your phone into a wireless router and share your HSDPA signal (if you get one).  I found it easier to use than Joikuspot
2. Opera Mobile – A niftier mobile browser than even Opera Mobile. It is standalone so it requires more memory and processing power. Can match any desktop browser in handling complex websites.
3. Fring – reach out and talk to your friend via you can interact with friends on all your favourite social networks Skype, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, SIP, Twitter, Yahoo!, AIM, and more!
4. YouTube – Watch YouTube videos on your mobile phone. You need a fast network connection though.
5. Google Maps – Turns your phone into a navigation device complete with map. It even shows your location with GPS or without (via cell site)! How cool is that?
6. Nokia Messaging for Email - You can configure your email to check Ovi Mail, Yahoo Mail, GMail, HotMail, and  POP, and IMAP. And you can view your email in HTML glory!
7. Google Sync plus Mail for Exchange – allows you to sync your Google contacts and calendar with your phone contacts and calendar. No tasks syncing, unfortunately.