Back at the dawn of gaming (for me), there was a Batman game by Ocean software on the Amiga that blew all the other cynical movie tie-ins away with its clever mix of platform/ beat ‘em up action and driving game thrills. And at long last after a string of disappointing Batman movies and licensed games, this brand new effort by quality developer Eurocom comes just as close to capturing the essence of the movie and the coolness of the main character.
This is a new, darker and dare I say it meaner Batman (played by the excellent Christian Bale in the movie), less aided (and some might say encumbered) by gadgets, improbable weapons and powers so typical of all the other superheroes. This Batman keeps reminding you that Bruce Wayne is an ordinary guy, who happens to be a millionaire who fights crime in Gotham City (whilst wearing a bat mask, tights and a cape).
The main part of the game plays as a 3D sneak & beat ‘em up, similar to a simplified Splinter Cell or Manhunt – and as you click the left stick and sneak around the gameplay gives you the same satisfaction when you figure out how to approach a level, and turn the hunters into the hunted. In order to keep the game accessible though, it’s all a little too linear for the hardened gamer and some more freedom would have made the game considerably better. Three difficulty settings mean there is plenty of challenge there though.
As in the movie you get to see the origins of the Batman legend, and throughout the game fear and reputation play a part in disturbing the enemies’ confidence and making them easier to tackle. Fear is your weapon, and this ain’t as complex as it might sound and mainly involves you being able to unsettle the enemy by knocking an object over (usually with your Batarang) or collapsing something so that they get spooked – this will often result in armed enemies dropping their automatic weapons, which is just as well because when you go up against a guy with a machine gun you soon find out how un-super Batman really is. Raise the “area fear” level high enough and the last man standing will see you as a demon, rather than just a guy in tights who’s going to kick his ass. Much like Brothers in Arms flanking manoeuvre, this idea that “fear is your weapon" is kind of overused though, and gets a bit tiresome – why on EARTH would scared crooks constantly drop their Uzis? – Nope, I don’t know either.
The game constantly reminds you that Batman is an ordinary guy, and going head on into heavily armed bad guys is a really bad idea, you have to look around, use your ‘smarts’ and figure out ways of circumnavigating them until you can spook them or split them up. Batman is agile and a good climber, and can double-jump and glide with his cape for short distances. He can pick locks and hack electronic doohickies, and when he has to resort to fisticuffs he has a few different punch/kick combos (X and Y), but it’s all pretty simple and you just batter an opponent until the ‘grab’, ‘multi attack’ or ‘finish’ icon appears, at which point you just press ‘B’ and Batman will interrogate or dispatch them with a satifyingly violent finishing combo. The only weapons you have are your fists and various non-lethal grenades, as well as your Batarang for smashing things from a distance and your Batgrapple to hoist yourself to raised platforms or across un-glideable gaps.
Batman Begins also features a couple of driving sections, and if the main game is diluted Splinter Cell/Manhunt, then the driving is watered-down Burnout/Spyhunter. Simple “get-to-a- checkpoint-before-the-time-runs-out” racing is what it’s about, and it’s good fun, fast as hell and breaks the game up nicely – I mean who didn’t want to drive the new Batmobile the moment they saw it?
BB looks pretty darned good in places, with decent draw distances, smooth animation, accurate character models (just look at the digitised Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson below), and our hero Batman looks great with his flowing cape too. The game features some excellent flame and smoke effects. The bad guys even have some basic ragdoll effects attached to them too, but it’s disappointing that they disappear so quickly after being beaten up.
This is one of those games that seems to be greater than the sum of its parts, and I really enjoyed playing it through and went straight back and played it again (wearing one of the 4 different unlockable Batsuits of course). It seemed to be just the right length for me, good fun throughout and highly cinematic, this is a rare movie tie in that does both the movie and the hero in question justice.
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