Another Superhero game review! I hope you're not sick of them yet, because this is my first (and most likely only) one! And were back with Gotham's Guardian again, Batman! This time in a title that gets little coverage these days despite depicting one of Batman's most popular and critically acclaimed iterations: Batman Begins. Releasing day-and-date with the North American premier of the eponymous Christopher Nolan film, this game has gotten a bit lost in the shuffle. Upon incurring lukewarm reviews back in 2005, the game was sent straight to Blockbuster rental shelves to be tireless confused with the DVD copy. And while there are a few retrospectives up on YouTube, the game has been largely overshadowed by the fantastic Batman Arkham series, much like how the film itself was overshadowed by it's sequel, The Dark Knight. And since movie-tie games have a bad rap for being rushed, sloppy cash-ins with very little effort or time put into them, there's little impetus to look back at a presumably bargain bin PS2 game.
So why am I writing this review? Well, I happen to be one of those kids who did rent it out way back when, back when our family still hadn't purchased a memory card for our system yet. So while I have no nostalgia for the film, (I actually still haven't seen it in full yet, just clips) those first 2 or 3 levels of the game are ingrained in my mind after repeating them over and over again hoping to clear the next check mark before bedtime. So much so that 20-odd years later I bought a physical copy to finally finish, and close off a small chapter in my life. And as it turns out, I think Batman Begins has a lot more going for it than your average movie-tie garbage. In fact, I believe it's very much a game worth your time if you're a fan of either Batman or stealth-action game play.
Story
You are Batman. Specifically, you are Batman in his first year patrolling the sordid streets and rooftops of Gotham. His beginnings if you will. If you aren't familiar with the film, the plot follows Bruce Wayne's origins, answering the questions of how he got so good at prowling, why he wants to be a vigilante, why he has his no-kill rule, and what convinced him to dress up in a goofy bat-suit to begin with. It's all done with a very grounded and gritty tone, with allusions to mobster movies, true crime, military paraphernalia, and Himalayan ninjas for some reason. And as Bruce fights his way through Gotham's criminal underground, he works his way up to encounter foes like the criminal kingpin Carmine Falcone, the psychopathic Dr. Jonathan Crane, and eventually the mastermind planning to throw Gotham into total chaos.
In game, the team did a neat trick where we start with Batman's first encounter with the Scarecrow, then flashback to Bruce's training with the League of Shadows. From there, the game loosely follows the plot progression of the movie, but with the concession of extra filler scenes to stretch out the game to a reasonable length. The in-game cut-scenes are all done well enough, and as a bonus you get some rapidly cut together clips from the movie in between levels. Even better, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, and Morgan Freeman all reprise their roles with new voices lines solely for this title. Genuinely an all star cast!
However, the most impressive part for me writing-wise came from all the thugs and goons you beat-up. See, in lieu of having detective work mini-games or detective vision, this Batman gathers all his info from eavesdropping or interrogating criminals. Almost every enemy has spoken dialogue which slowly fills you the player in on the inner workings of the gangs and tips on how to progress, colored thorough the colorful speech of Gotham's low-lifes. For the mediocre budget and oppressive time restraints this project most likely had, this level of detail is outstanding and adds a lot of character to the game.
Presentation
I can't say that this game felt like it was directed by Christopher Nolan. The pacing is too methodical, the action a bit formulaic, and there is only really one twist at the end which isn't as presented as well as the film's equivalent scene. The game did however nail the atmosphere of Batman Begins. All the steamy sewers, half-built high rises, and condemned buildings you'll be scouring through look like they've been stripped straight off the silver screen. Prepare for heavy use of the Bank Gothic font throughout the whole user interface as well, giving it that early 2000's serial crime drama look that I appreciate.
Graphically all the texture work and character models look great, save for perhaps Batman himself: his likeness of Bale isn't all that well done compared to Freeman's or Neeson's models, and his bat-suit tends to look cartoonish at times due to it's jet-blackness masking all its details. Speaking of black, the game has a brightness slider, but really needed a contrast slider as well. There were multiple times where I could not see were I was going due the multitude of blacks on display all blending together into a mess. The bloom effect glazed over the whole screen doesn't help matters either, as its Vaseline haze makes it all feel a bit more cheap.
The music on the other hand is top notch. I can't really tell which tracks are game-specific and which come from Hans Zimmer's score, which is great because they coalesce into truly cinematic experience. The music dynamically shifts according to what's happening on screen: dour background mood when navigating narrow passages can swing into nerve-racking strings when sneaking up on enemy, then crescendo into full on battle music when you're surrounded. It's great, and I admit to getting giddy whenever Batman's full theme is blaring, because that's when you know you've got them cornered.
Game Play
Another thing that was popular back in the 2000's besides Batman was stealth-action, which Batman Begin certainly aspires to accomplish, though it's not quite as systemic as its contemporaries (Splinter Cell, Metal Gear, Hitman). All the hallmarks are there: crouching, vent crawling, stealth take downs, environmental distractions, hacking mini-games, enemy radar, and grappling hook action like you would expect from the comics. The game is extremely linear however, leading to really only one way to solve each encounter. Levels feel more like strings of puzzles rather than playgrounds which can feel limiting for some. For the scope of this title though, I believe they did an excellent job with the puzzle/level design. While the beats might be familiar, they never repeat same encounter twice, and they do a great job ratcheting up the tension throughout. Not only do you feel like the predator, but also the prey at times, and often you'll need to rely on your quick-thinking to escape near-death situations.
The combat is where I start deducing points. It's fairly basic brawler combat from a sideways perspective, kind of like a fighting game. Square is punch, Triangle is kick, however the issues lies with Circle. You see, Circle is ends up being the context-sensitive button, so it's mapped to every other move in your arsenal. Defense Break, Multi-attack, Ground attack, Jump Attack, Vault Attack, Grab, and most importantly Finish Attack are all mapped to circle, and will only come up when they feel like it. For One-on-one fights it's not a big problem. However, that means if you might need a multi-attack to push back 3 or 4 guys surrounding you, you could accidentally do the super long wind-up on the defense break and get stun-locked. Or you might be trying to finish one enemy (which is mandatory, enemies won't stay down until they're finished) and another jumps into the way and makes you completely whiff. My first play-through was on Challenging, and my second one right before this review was on Easy. Changing the difficulty only effects enemy health, and I finished my easy run in a third of the time as Challenging, and I swear that all came down to combat.
A core theme throughout the film is the use of fear as a weapon, and that theme carries over to the major gimmick of this title. Since this game is about a relatively untested Batman, you have to build up his reputation amongst the criminal underground. You do so by instilling fear in them. This is done triggering environmental destruction to make enemies drop their guns, or exploiting a thug's phobia extract information from them. Since the game is quite linear you'll almost always need to use these intimidation tactics to advance, so your Reputation Meter tends to serve more as a progress meter through a given level. Fear extends to combat, where next to an enemy's health bar is there is there pulse. The higher their pulse, the more prone they are to attacks. If it hits max, they'll enter a panic state where they're completely vulnerable. You can collect gadgets like smoke bombs or HF generators that can elevate an enemy pulse in a fight if you need the upper hand, though honestly it's hardly necessary.
I guess I should also mention the Batmoblie. 2 out of the 10 total levels are short racing segments where you drive the Tumbler, my favorite incarnation of Batman's signature vehicle. Unfortunately in this game it handles more like a standard race car rather than the indomitable tank it should. These segments compose of roaring through Gotham at ridiculous speeds trying to knock rival cars out and into scrap heaps (with conveniently zero casualties, according to the Bat Computer). These parts can be a bit confusing as there is timer warning you up to speed up, but no indication of how close to the goal you are. You'll often fail with little feedback with what you could have done better other than "be faster." Otherwise, not a terrible addition to break-up the game's pace, but not the best either.
The Wrap-Up
Batman Begins is a fairly short game, my latest play-through lasting about 3.5 hours. There are some bonus costumes, interviews, and galleries you unlock after beating it once, but nothing really tempting you to go back and replay it. And yet, much like good film or a comfy novel, I did return multiple times to this game. It's a strong performance for a game that must of had very little expected from it, by both the publisher EA and the public. Eurocom, the developer, attempted a sequel for the next film, but it was canceled. Either due to the video game rights reverting to Warner Brothers, or the muted reception to the first one. But for me, Batman Begins was a title worth completing. Perhaps on the easier difficult due to the issues with combat (especially when you fight katana wielding ninjas in the later levels). In any case, it's an excellent film adaptation, which I feel is a rarity in our medium, and paved the road toward bigger and better titles for the Caped Crusader. So here's to you, Batman Begins, if for nothing else than having Christian Bale do a better Batman voice than he does in the film. Seriously he actually sounds intimidating in this one, and not like an inebriated warthog coughing up a lung.
Pros
- + All Star Cast
- + Color-coded Subtitles
- + Immersive
Cons
- - Context Sensitive Combat
- - Batmobile is a bit lame
- - Contrast issues
7
out of 10
Overall
A short yet engaging experience that boils down the essence of the film into an enjoyable video game. Mainly marred by questionable combat and lack of graphical polish that is to be expected with the burden of a short development cycle. Like seriously, they probably put this together in less than 18 months.
