Extreme Incarceration

Batman: Arkham Asylum Guide - Walkthrough

Extreme Incarceration

You get the Riddle: “All alone in your cell? Why don't you break the ice with the most dangerous prisoners?” as you enter. You get a CS and you now need to fight several waves of thugs before you get to take down Harley Quinn.  This is where knowing how to fight with the combo system is going to make your life a lot easier – if you are a button masher, well, not so much.

Your best strategy for this fight is double-sided: you need to pay attention to the floor, and you need to keep your eyes out for shock batons.  I am going to explain that because if I do not, you will end up being frustrated by this fight.

The Floor: is divided up into three zones, top left, top right, and bottom.  Each of the zones has electrified flooring, but the electricity is not on at the same time.  I think Harley controls that.  The doors that the thugs come through are in the top left and right floor areas – they alternate spawning or at least that is how it worked for me.  When the floor starts to charge it lights up – and if there are any thugs on it at the time, they will run for the rail and jump to a different floor in the zone.  You need to do that too, because if you stand on the electric floor that is active, you get fried.

Shock Batons: you should know already that you can NOT engage them while the have the baton – stun, attack, any combo, does not matter, because you will take damage.  You have to disarm them first, and that will be tricky because they are with the other thugs, who you have to dodge and fight in the process, so BEFORE the fight starts, select the Batgrapple as your weapon of choice for this fight.

Basic strategy: As the fight begins, prepare yourself – select the Batgrapple now.  When the first wave spawns on the top right or left, run towards them and climb the fence to that floor zone and engage them.  The reason you are doing that is – one: it gets you into action faster, and two: when the other set spawns they will have to drop down and come up to where you are, giving you more time to take out the original thugs.

Spot the guy with the baton and grapple him immediately, pulling him towards you to disarm him.  Once he is in motion, the disarm sequence starts, double-tap A to dodge away from him so that you do not get hit by the baton – which can happen – before he is completely disarmed.

Now go into melee combo mode – or mash buttons if that is what you do – and take out the thugs.  By the time you have them down to one or two the next wave should be arriving, so finish off the originals as quick as you can, orient on the next wave, and disarm the baton wielder.  You may need to change floor zones at this point, because Harley will be mashing buttons of her own!

Obviously this fight is difficult – it is a boss fight after all – and I tried it both ways, using the combo system and button mashing, and I have to observe that button mashing is almost completely luck, and being truthful, I was not able to win this fight button mashing.  Using the combo system I was able to win the fight in one try, which says a lot for how workable the combat system is in the game despite what the critics have said!

Once you take out the last thug, you get a CS in which Harley attempts to flee – and you catch her and remove a list of names from her dainty woman bits, and scan her fingerprint and DNA off of her hand.  You then lock her in a cell, and she gives away the Joker's location without meaning to.  You are now well on your way to the end game, so pat yourself on the back and enjoy the Achievement you just earned: 'Solitary Confinement' (25 GP) for capturing and locking up Harley Quinn!

Before you head on your way – remember the Riddle for this area?  Walk over to the pointy icicles sticking out the the edge of the floor – stand facing the ice on the far wall in front of those and scan it for the solution to the Riddle.  Excellent bonus points and away we go!

Turn towards the wall with the doors and the cage control booth Harley was in and take the door in the middle on the map – a few steps inside and you will see a desk on the left with a map – grab that.  Now continue on and around to the left and take the stairs up to the control booth Harley was in and grab the last Patient Interview tape for Mr. Zsasz and give it a listen.

By the way you should have picked up the Bio for Mr. Freeze from that last Riddle we solved – I know I did :)

Inside the control cage on the left is a control box for you to hack – once you hack it a nearby door is opened revealing a Trophy so go ahead and run down and up the ramp to the other side and grab it from Cell 5 for 200 XP and an upgrade!  I chose Auto Proximity Detonation as my next upgrade.

There is a weakened wall in this cell as well, so use your gel to blow it, and then scan the stone in here for the seventh Spirit of Arkham message.

As the door to this cell has closed on you while you were inside, look up and you will see a zip point that leads to a narrow ledge with another weakened wall.  Spray on your gel and drop down to detonate it, then zip back up to make your escape – well done!

It is time to leave now, so retrace your previous route – if you have not already killed the pair of Dancing Teeth in the main entrance to the control wing do that on the way to the door to Controlled Access, then kill the three Dancing Teeth that are around the corner just inside Controlled Access.  Continue along this route through the door to the Main Cell Block, and then take an immediate right turn and go through the door here that leads to a hall that has a Lunatic in it.

Take out the Lunatic and continue on into the Cell Access area, and finally make the jog around that hall where another Lunatic will drop out of the ceiling on you – and you take him out too.  As you head for the exit of the Penitentiary to Arkham Island West if you are in Detective Mode you should see another Lunatic crouching down in the floor duct waiting for you – and as you approach he will pop out to attack.  Just be ready with Counter (Y) and then do a quick and painless ground takedown on him.

I do not know about you but it was a relief to get out of here for me!