Stealth action games don’t get any meaner, moodier or more magnificent than Batman: Arkham Asylum, as you’ll find out for yourselves later this month. Until then there’s the small matter of a sizeable demo to deal with...

That baby lands this Friday (7th) on Xbox LIVE, the PlayStation Network and Windows LIVE, and if it’s even half as good as the extensive hands on sesh we had with the game recently you’d better be double-sure to check it out as quickly as your thumbs and fingers allow. Seriously!

In terms of what you can expect from the main game, well, without giving too much away you should prepare yourselves for brutal dust-ups with the best (i.e. worst) of the Dark Knight’s multifarious foes – including Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, Bane and, of course, the Joker, as sinisterly voiced by Mark Hammill. Action-wise, the ‘FreeFlow’ combat and shadow-lurking gameplay may remind you of the Splinter Cell series. Finally the visuals are a true feast, and simply ooze a creeping atmosphere from every pixel. Put simply we flipping loved it.

The demo itself opens with Batman and Commissioner Gordon returning The Joker to Arkham, only for the badfella to spring a trap unleashing the Asylum’s lunatic occupants on our unsuspecting heroes. Well, it wouldn’t be any fun if he took his punishment quietly, would it?

Batman: Arkham Asylum is released on August 28th and is sure to be a fine addition to any collection – keep an eye out for our review soon. Meanwhile www.batmanarkhamasylum.com has loads more info, pics and details about the PC demo download.