Like most people who have picked up Batman: Arkham Asylum, I’ve enjoyed the hell out of it. Great atmosphere, wonderful writing and voice acting, and the fact that it’s actually fun to play certainly helps matters. Well, Game Informer recently sat down with British developer Rocksteady for a little post-release interview, and one of the more surprising tidbits of info to come out of it was how the combat evolved to where it is now. Originally the combat was supposed to be rhythm-based of all things, and one prototype they were working on involved the aspect ratio switching to 2D and hitting buttons in time with on screen prompts.

As Walter from The Big Lebowski would say, “The beauty is in its simplicity”, and Arkham Asylum’s combat as it stands now is simple, visceral, and highly satisfying. It would be easy to send your thanks to the man upstairs for making sure Rocksteady didn’t stick with this plan, but I must say that I am intrigued by the idea and would be interested in seeing somebody create a brawler/rhythm game.