Batman Begins

"Batman Begins: a missed opportunity"

Some games seem destined only to be rented, played, beaten and returned in under 3 day's time; regrettably, EA's Batman Begins is just such a game. Although there are a few moments of interest and excitement to be found in this game, the overall experience of Batman Begins is one comprised mostly of level design mediocrity, a boring fighting system, and beautiful-but-wasted environmental renderings and lightsourcing. In short, you've got a nice looking cape and great cityscapes . . . and not much else.

Game play (6/10)
The game play is, at best, a mixed bag. On the plus side there is the inventive (at least to me) feature in the game involving a reputation meter that builds every time Batman effectively scares a baddie and, as the meter fills, it actually affects how well Batman can defeat his enemies. There are also opportunities for some lock picking and computer hacking, but these are far too simple and infrequent. The two levels that require the driving (piloting?) of the Batmobile are actually quite fun and are obviously designed to mimic the auto-destructive mayhem of Burnout 3 . . . itself another (better) EA game. The Batmobile's controls are tight and responsive and there really should have been more use of it in the game.

On the negative side, there just aren't nearly enough Bat-toys and gadgets. Plus, you are only allowed to use them in a very limited capacity and only at specified times within the structure of the game. You can never, for example, hang from the rafters and toss a Bat-flash grenade down into a group of bad guys; the game simply won't let you do it. You can only use the weapons and gadgets precisely when the game tells you to do so. In other words, the game basically takes you by the hand and forces you down an incredibly linear and non-satisfying game progression path. The fighting system isn't really very intuitive and it is limited to only a smattering of punches, kicks, and the occasional finishing move. In my admittedly humble opinion, button mashing should never be rewarded and yet, that is exactly what is going on here.

Graphics (10/10)
This is clearly the game's best feature. The version that I played was for the PS2 and the game looks simply amazing. The detailed and textured environments provide a very believable and interesting Gotham City for Batman and his enemies to inhabit. The Batmobile also looks good and it is a shame that it is so underused in this game. The flowing effects rendered on Batman's cape are also done quite well and are engaging to look at.

Sound (5/10)
The sound design is another of the game's shortcomings. The music is sparse and the orchestrations are limited and uninteresting. (This may have been a conscious choice made by the composer(s) but it doesn't mean that it was a good one.) The sound effects are average and uninspiring. There is enough going on here to provide a little spooky ambiance here and there but not nearly enough for my taste.

Replay value (5/10)
This game is far too short and easy and therefore, there really isn't much replay value to be found here. There are quite a few bonus features to unlock (some bonus costumes, some movie clips, and some actor and developer interviews) but none of them affect the game play in any way.

Overall (6/10)
Certainly there are some good things happening here and there in the game, namely the innovative use of the fear factor directly affecting Batman's ability to take down the bad guys, the two Burnout-esque racing sequences involving the Batmobile, and the outstanding visual design of the game's dark and dreary color palette. However, the good aspects of this game are balanced out by its less exciting and more distracting gaming elements including the game's incredibly short length, its completely linear level design, and a huge lack of variety in its Batgadgets.

Even if you are a huge Batfan (like I am) this game is definitely a rental-only. Oh well, at least Blockbuster and Gamefly will make some more money.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/23/05, Updated 07/11/05