Batman Begins is an action adventure game mixed with some stealth elements, featuring Bruce Wayne, otherwise known as Batman. So, is Batman Begins the classic Batman game we've longed for years for, or is it yet another poor movie-to-game transition.
From the beginning of the game, it is clear that EA have attempted to create a completely different Batman game that has been developed before, for this we applaud EA, as it really seems like they wanted to make a name for Batman.
Batman Begins features real film footage that progresses the storyline, the film footage is gradually unlocked for viewing later. The film footage is of extremely good quality and ranges from being about five seconds long, to about a minute long.
One of the best aspects of Batman Begins is the authenticity that the game provides. The storyline is extremely similar to that of the movie, following Batman from the Himalayan Monastry to the Arkham Asylum and ultimately, to Gotham City.
The facial expressions are great.
Following on from the authenticity, EA have voiced the characters with the stars who act as them in the movie. Christian Bale is Batman and Michael Caine is Aflred, it is a great addition that very rarely happens with movie licensed titles.
Aside from wanrdering the Dark Knight around Gotham City, EA have included two Batmobile missions. These missions feel a little tacked on, but do provide a bit of much needed variety.
While the presentation and features of Batman are great, without decent gameplay they might as well be absent, and the game play is the department that Batman Begins fails.
Batman moves around a little more clunkily than we hoped, controlling Batman will sometimes seem more like a chore. The game doesn't move as quickly and naturally as we had hoped. At times it is a little difficult to become immersed in the world as the game stops and starts a lot. Each mission is littered with in-game cut scenes, hints, film footage and game play prompts.
Carrying out a basic command is also often a lot more difficult than it should be. For example, opening a door isn't as easy as walking up to it, you need to approach the door, look and see if there is anybody on the other side of the door, and press a button to open the door. This wouldn't be so irrirating if there were enemies behind the door, but a lot of the time their isn't, and you've wasted time just looking for enemies.
Guess who this is?
The gadgets in the game are really good and serve a purporse, rather than just feeling like they are their for novelty. Some of the gadgets include optic cables, bataranges and hack tools, Batman is well equipped.
The difficulty of the game is also a bit of a hit and miss affair. There are three difficulty settings, but Batman has an infinite amount of lives. Dying will simply take the player back to the last checkpoint, with a full health bar, for this reason if you can just have patience with the game it isn't overly difficult to complete. This isn't aided by the fact that the game takes about five hours to complete.
The game itself is very linear, there is no real reward for exploration, and the environments are really small, this is a downfall of the game, as one you've finished it, there is little reason to return to the game. The unlockable film content is great though and will please avid Batman fans.
The graphics in the game are incredible and are definitely one of the highlights of the title. Faces are well mapped and the environment looks great, however, the environments are small, which is why they look so good.
The graphics are the best part of the game
The sound in the game helps to create atmosphere, the authentic voices are great. The background music is soft, but does the game justice, as it is not interfering, just atmospheric.
Batman Begins is a title that had a lot of potential, and we feel that a lot of it has gone unrealised. We appreciate that EA have at least developed a title that will appeal to the Batman fans but there are a few big ommissions that we question.
The city is far to small, Gotham City is huge in the movies, and has such an incredible amount of atmosphere, and none of that is present in this game. Batman is also an entirely single player affair. There is no 2 player mode or Xbox Live support, which could have at least made the game a little more enjoyable.
The lifespan also has to be seriously questioned. Just when the game begins to lift up, it is over, there are a few unlockable costumes and some bonuses, but we really wanted more missions, even some derivative from the movie isn't necessarily a negative.
Batman Begins is a title that appeals to the masses, it directs the player where to go, has an infinite amount of lives, and only takes six hours to complete. The only thing the player has to do is occasionally press A or B to attack, and we like our games with a little more variation.
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