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Step into the shadows of Gotham's perilous criminal
underworld as DC Comics' legendary Dark Knight in the
Batman Begins™ video game. Slated for release
day and date with the Warner Bros. Pictures film, Batman
Begins challenges players to use fear as their ultimate
weapon.
The game explores the origins of the Batman legend
and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good
in Gotham. Gamers will play as both Bruce Wayne and
his alter-ego, Batman, hunting evil-doers from the shadows,
using strength, intellect and an array of high tech
gadgets to fight the sinister forces that threaten the
city, including classic villains the Scarecrow, Ra's
Al Ghul and Carmine Falcone.
Turning traditional stealth-based gameplay on its ear
- by allowing gamers to play the hunter, rather than
the hunted - Batman Begins delivers the Batman universe
as never before. Stalking criminals from the shadows,
gamers will discover new ways to paralyze thugs with
fear before engaging in hand-to-hand combat, or interrogating
them.
From the halls of Arkham Asylum and the alleys of Gotham
City to an ancient monastery high in the Himalayas,
Batman Begins the video game delivers a thrilling interactive
companion to Christopher Nolan's reinvention of the
Dark Knight in Batman Begins.
- Fear is Your Weapon: Stalk and
terrorize enemies, or strike from above to pick off
prey one by one. Use the environment to turn enemies
against each other and defeat them before ever joining
the fight. Take out an enemy with an attack from above
and watch the fear level of his fellow thugs increase.
- Interactive Environments: Gamers
must use their environments, from scaling buildings
and gliding between rooftops, to triggering explosions
and unleashing the insane inmates of Arkham Asylum
against their enemies, to bring justice to Gotham.
- Cinematic Combat: Mixed martial
arts combat and devastating finishing moves developed
exclusively for Batman Begins are faithfully recreated
in the game with the assistance of the film's stunt
coordinator.
- The Bat Utility Belt: Delve deep
into the ultimate arsenal of high-tech crime fighting
gadgets, including the Batgrapple, Batarang, Optic
Cables and Lock Picks.
- The Batmobile: Tear up the streets
and rooftops of Gotham in the Batmobile. Fight crime
in multiple levels of lightning-fast vehicular combat.
- Experience Gotham City: Batman
Begins brings gamers into the Batman universe, allowing
them to experience the origins of the Dark Knight
as both Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego Batman - from
the alleys of Gotham City and depths of the Batcave
to the twisted halls of Arkham Asylum.
- Epic Storytelling: Featuring a
game script by JT Petty, the acclaimed writer of Tom
Clancy's Splinter Cell , Batman Begins allows players
to delve even deeper into the universe masterfully
depicted in Christopher Nolan's film.
(Courtesy of the Official
Warner Bros Batman Begins Game Site) |
REVIEW
Based on the blockbuster hit Batman Begins, Electronic
Arts and Eurocom breathes new life into the Dark Knight
as portrayed in the movie. Unlike other movie based
games that tend to look somewhat putrid next to the
glamour of the movie, this title not only reigns as
one of the best Batman games up to date, but also one
of the most surpassingly well-adapted movie based games
of the year!
While most superheroes bear a special talent that makes
the character 'super', Batman has none. He may have
high tech gadgets, and deep pockets, but underneath
it all he's still a man. Knowingly, EA games utilizes
this fact to present a new method of playing a superhero
game. You will not be able to get him to scale a wall
like the way Spider-Man could or place him in the middle
of ten men with machine guns and be able to take them
out one by one like you would with Superman. Keeping
with the comic mythology, Batman uses stealth, cunning,
and deception to take down his enemies, combined with
atheletics and gadgetry to get around.
Much like in Splinter Cell where you can dispatch special
stealth knockouts on unsuspecting enemies. However,
none of his techniques are fatal as Batman does not
kill. Therefore the challenge is to find another way
to take down the enemies stealthly, affording as little
skirmish as possible. There are functions to peek at
enemies to eavesdrop on conversations, or wait for the
right opportunity to take them down. Good camera views
are important, and though the game allows for free control
of the camera, sometimes the camera views are limited
in tight spaces.
As in the movie, the game introduces the aspect of
fear. Most battles also do not take place instantly
on sight, as mentor Ducard suggests - take advantage
of your environment. As Batman, the player has to master
theatrics such as dropping beams, exploding pipes and
smashing crates to portray the presence of a wraith.
While the theatrics result in fancy cut-scenes, they
serve a greater purpose - that is to induce fear into
Batman's enemies. When fear is put into effect, most
enemies will drop their weapons and to be more susceptible
to attacks so you're able to take them down more easily.
We are also introduced to a reputation bar that increases
the more fear you create. The higher your reputation,
the easier to take down certain guards because they
have heard the rumours and are scared silly of you.
You can also pick up flashbangs and smoke grenades from
the occasional military crate to add additional fear
in an environment. However the stun weapons can only
be used when a frightful event has occurred, not before.
Batman is equipped with a punch, a kick, a catch-all
defend button, and an occasional special move button
that will appear on screen for as long as he is in prime
position. The interrogation function is a fun addition,
and can be used at certain points of the game when the
next map needs unlocking.
While superpowers may make Superman super, gadgets
propel Batman on to perform some amazing feats, that's
how it is also in this game. The most commonly used
gadgets are the grapple gun (to reach high places),
glider (to make distanced jumps), optic cable (to peek
through doors), electro-hack (to operate machinery,
or tap into security cameras) and batarangs that act
like japanese shuriken. But no, you won't be taking
enemies out with batarangs. They are only for cutting
ropes, activating hard-to-reach buttons and knocking
open loose hatches.
For racing fanatics, two of the game's levels are driving
missions which run like Burnout 3's road rash mode.
There's a linear path to follow indicated by large neon
arrows, together with several checkpoints along the
way. To complete the mission, objectives must be achieved
such as reaching a certain point within a time-limit,
avoiding helicopter spotlights and taking down an enemy
truck. To spice things up, there is a boost button for
added speed with capsules on the road to replenish the
Batmobile's boost capabilities, instant slow-down replays
when surrounding thug cars crash, and even a jump button!
The only gripe I have is that there is no drift function,
which would've improved the racing of the massive vehicle.
There are in total 6 main locales to visit, all of
them massive and detailed. From dream-like wind swept
clouds in the Himalayas to distanced twinkling city
lights above the swaying waves of Gotham Docks and streams
of light peeking through cracks in walls, and trees.
The scenery is definitely an eye-popper, especially
at moments when Batman is suspended at extreme heights,
you tend to feel the intense depth below him. It definitely
adds much to the thrill of the game.
The game's story follows the film almost exactly with
slight tweaks to the plot, and further exploration of
some scenes. The game takes about seven hours to complete,
following in a completely linear fashion with usually
just one solution per puzzle. Often when checkpoints
are reached, you are unable to backtrack as doors lock
behind you to urge you onward. But that is not always
a bad thing, as you will not be lost as to what to do
next, especially while an arrow indicator is often available
to point the way to the next clue or puzzle. As well
as a mini map on the bottom corner of the screen to
alert you if enemies are nearby.
The music is well suited, not taking away but contributing
to the excitement and intensity during every mission.
Sound effects from the believable impact of explosions
and gunfire to the thumps and thuds of hand-to-hand
combat and are also sharp and well rendered. And the
voice acting is excellent, each character reprised by
the actor that played the part in the movie.
The characters are also very successfully modeled to
appear like the actors they represent. Though the animation
in the game can get stilted at times, but generally
the character designs are good and fit the game's brooding
theme. There are also occasional cutscenes taken from
the movie to indicate the start and end of a chapter
in the game, each blending flawlessly with the game's
little tweaks to the script. With all these factors
inter-woven into each other, what becomes prevalent
in the game is that you're experiencing a seamless extension,
or even elaboration, of the movie itself. An aspect
of the game that defines the makings of a successful
movie-based game. |
