Batman Begins

"A bit too linear? Perhaps, poorly made? FAR from it I can assure you."

Batman has never really had a great history in Video Games sure it's better than Superman's but it's still not that great. (Then again DC comics in general have had a pretty bad history in general when it comes to Video Games.) Granted Konami did make some good efforts with Batman back in the early 90's but they pretty much went under the radar compared to the likes of their absolutely classic X-Men Arcade game. This game is far from being the first one for the Gamecube. However all of those titles have generally been rather lukewarm at best. How does EA's take on the very well received 2005 film of the same name go? Actually, pretty darn well if you ask me…

The idea of EA giving a franchise like this a pretty good revival is hardly anything to be skeptical about. How many people actually pictured Lord of the Rings actually getting a good game before EA came in? This game is indeed a genuinely good change of pace. Based on the critically-acclaimed 2005 film of the same name, the gameplay engine of this game is highly based on what Batman does best. Stealth and putting fear into the hearts of criminals everywhere, EA's handiwork is already impressive on how they did do a great stealth gaming engine which is surprisingly not overly derivative of the Metal Gear Solid series. You go through the various story arcs in that ever-so aforementioned Batman movie (with occasional clips from the film as well) while playing the role of the infamous Caped Crusader. The gameplay engine maybe innovative but the game itself takes the old fashioned route of genuinely letting you truly get the hang of how the game goes as you progress. Namely on how you'll only do the more basic of attacks at first but quickly get into more complicated moves a little later on as you progress as the plot thickens more & more. As you sneak up to your foes you can do a sneak attack on them for an automatic KO. But sometimes you'll have to fight them off anyways in which you can do regular punch/kick combos. Though occasionally you can go ahead and grab them and interrogate them to get as much info from them as you can. Control factor is generally smooth while the Challenge Factor is for the most part nicely moderate. (Though the Camera Angling is average at best but fortunately it's nothing dizzying.)

However not everything is grand amongst this stealthy title. How can I say this you ask? Simple, lets just say Hideo Kojima won't have too worry about more steady competition out of this game for this simple reason. It's absolutely linear; to be fair EA did try to give it a good reason to be linear. But still you'd think that in a game starring the DC-claimed “World's Greatest Detective” would remotely feature any back tracking. Not too mention be more able to go through various certain obstacles in more than one way. (There are various things you can do to stop crime but generally you can only do it when the game wants you to. Heck the only way you can restore your life is when you find Medical kits in a few places in each stage.) So the bottom line is that its faithful to the movie but it might be a bit too faithful. Which is namely on how its for the most part awfully short as well.You can occasionally be in the BatMobile in which they tried to do some “Need for Speed” type of racing. It's a nice way but it didn't quite work here. Control is not as good and its trying to utilize your gameplay options here are more bothering than fun not too mention to try to handle the more annoying missions you'll have to do. But fortunately this game has plenty of quality to back up what shortcomings it might have. Namely on how there is one truly fun aspect in this title's stealth gaming and that's “Area Fear”. Wanna spook a bunch of crooks into thinking some accidents occurred? You can do that in several ways featuring Cranes, making alarms “malfunction”, blowing things up, all sorts of fun ways to make the thugs you fight be completely paranoid. The genuinely creative bits of variety in how to take advantage of awfully emotionally unstable felons is highly regarded one of the main spices of this game and understandably so. Whether you're a big time crime boss or a simple low-life thug nobody is safe from the Bat. And of course you'll have special utilities to aid your quest against evil such as Smoke bombs, grappling hooks and the ever so traditional Batarang and the like. So not only is this game recommended for Batman fans and fans of stealth gaming, its also recommended with just about anyone with a subtle devious sense of humor. So lets just say while Joker is completely absent from the game, you just might know how his jaw feels like after a good victory to put it mildly.

The graphics in this game are nicely above average, they may not be absolutely high caliber visuals in this title but they generally serve its purpose well and not look horribly outdated in the process. The music in this title is pretty good and fitting with the overall theme of the game but its nothing special at all. Though fortunately we get very good sound clips throughout the game from the cast of the movie. Whether their from more current talent such as Christian “Batman” Bale or from more seasoned veteran actors such as Michael “Alfred” Caine and Morgan “Lucious Fox” Freeman its all good. And its gameplay does have a couple of nice extra features. Fortunately this game gives plenty of checkpoints that you can save your work and comeback later to. And do you have short-term memory problems? You'll be getting clues from people to interrogate/overhear and if you do you might end up forgetting something. But fear not for that in the data screen that you'll just have to push the start button to get to, there is a notes section that you'll get to check over the clues and lets just say it'll definitely come in handy. There is not a lot of other material to unlock but it does have a pretty good feature known as the “Gallery of Fear” in which you pay Arkham Asylum a good visit and taking a look at the several prominent criminals in the game. They give you a nicely detailed look at each and every one of the crooks in there but you'll have to beat the game in order to have them all there.

Overall this is a genuinely good achievement on how to do a Batman game right. Granted EA still has some kinks to work out in future Batman games but let's just say its one of those games that has more pluses than misses. Despite what shortcomings it has its still quite recommendable to fans of its target audiences in many levels and is even pretty good for casual players as well. There have been current games lately that have excellent potential to be much better in sequels for this upcoming gen on consoles such as Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi and Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks. Let's just say this game is most certainly one of them.

+ Great stealth gameplay with a variety of things to do
+ Especially trying to do “Area Fear” stunts that are often clever and sometimes hilarious
+ Genuinely above average graphics, challenge factor and control
+ Good voice clips from the movie's cast
+ Gallery of Fear is a very nice addition
- Linear gameplay progression
- The Batmobile stages are not all that fun
- Aside from the Gallery of Fear there isn't much else in unlockable bonus material
- Rather Short
- Sub-par Camera Angling

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/30/05