Batman: Dark Tomorrow

"Although it sports a few flaws, Dark Tomorrow proves to be the greatest Batman video game ever made!"

Batman has existed for close to 65 years now. In the latter 20-or-so-years, we've had a plethora of Video Games. From the first being on the old Commodore 64, to the latest being on the next-gen systems. In particular, The Nintendo Gamecube. Most have been somewhat enjoyable, and captured the feeling of Batman well. But none of them have ever captured both the feeling and the spirit of Batman.

Until now.

Although there are a few problems that can aggravate, they can be overlooked, because once you ignore them, you have the best Batman game ever made, and possibly the finest there will be for a long, long time.

Story: 10/10

Dark Tomorrow has the best storyline of any Batman game, hands down. It was crafted by the masters at DC Comics, ensuring authenticity and quality. What begins to look like just a normal night out quickly becomes un-normal when Gotham City Police Commissioner James W. Gordon is kidnapped, and only a stack of playing cards--sans the Jokers--remains in his place. But before it's all over you will discover the true maniac, discover his plans, and hopefully foil the plans. For the sake of the entire world.

Graphics: 10/10

Absolutely stunning and awe-inspiring. Despite the recent games being based on the Emmy-winning Batman Animated Series in design and look, this game returns to Batman's roots: the comic books. Here, everything takes on the look from the comics, and the histories and continuity from the comics remain as well. Everything is detailed as can be. But even more visually-striking, however, are the FMV cutscenes. They look astounding, and will constantly surprise and delight you. Faces are fully poseable, allowing for a vast range of expressions and looks, and all textures in the FMV's look almost real. Skin looks astoundingly realistic, lips, teeth, hair, buildings and materials, light and dark, absolutely amazing. If the rest wasn't so excellent, the graphics could certainly carry the game easily. It the way of in-game graphics, they are almost equally impressive. Water is amazingly beautiful, amidst the dankness of Gotham and such. Snow clouds your vision and shadows are cast in the eeriest of places.

Music: 10/10

The music in the game consists of an entirely newly orchestrated soundtrack. No cues from the films or cartoons are re-used. It's all new, original, and has a central theme song, which is intermixed in all other cues. The main theme is perfect for Batman, as good as the theme song composed by Danny Elfman for the first two films. Each track fits the level well. Arkham Asylum sounds eerie, and can have your nerves, seriously, on edge. Most of the time, the game is silent, however, with the action cues picking right up during a fight. The credits have a wonderful song, unfortunately, it's not available to the mainstream market.

Sound: 10/10

One of the best parts of the game is the voice-acting. It's an all-new cast. No one is re-used from the Animated Series, or the games based on the latter. The voices are all befitting of the character behind it. At first, you may be shocked, noticing the difference, and prefer the voice cast from Batman: Vengeance, but after hearing them more, you will fall in love with the new voices for each and every character.

Gameplay: 9/10

This game can be thought of as Metal Gear Solid meets Batman. The game is one which requires you to, most of the time, be sneaky, so you can sneak up on villains and take them out before they can get back-up and overwhelm you. Batman has a number of weapons at his disposal. Batarangs, Smoke Bombs, A Grappling Gun, A Swinging line, A Lock-pick and electronics-scrambler device, and handcuffs. Like Batman: Vengeance, Batman, after bringing a foe down, should handcuff him so that he will not get up and start attacking Batman again. Which does indeed happen. In your quest to defeat the main enemy, you will face many famous Batman enemies along the way, either as mini-bosses, or as ''big-bosses''. All have some kind of strategy, something that makes it just that much more important to be careful. And it's a great touch. The levels themselves can either lead you in circles, or confuse you. Because the game requires you to think like Batman. Sometimes, the way out of a room might just be the air-vent, or maybe you should search a guy you beat up for the key to a door. In the way of the controls, You occasionally might get mixed up and press the wrong button, causing confusion. This can be remedied by simply practicing and getting the hang of everything. Batman can punch, kick, and use tools. He can pull off combos, crouch down, look through nightvision goggles, and generally kick butt. The only problem with the overall game is this: The infernal camera. Yes, the camera, a true enemy to games everywhere. Dark Tomorrow has a terrible camera. It sits in a fixed position, until you round a corner or go far enough down a hallway, and then it changes position, causing massive confusion. However, if you are patient, you can get used to the camera in a matter of a few minutes or so, and begin to appreciate this game.

Overall:10/10

This is definitely the greatest Batman game ever created. Kemco, despite a few mediocre games in the past, really shines with this gem. It's the greatest embodiment of the Dark Knight thus far, and will keep you entertained for hours-on-end.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/09/03, Updated 07/12/04