Batman Begins

Written by Nick Doukas  on July 11, 2005

Review: Swear to God? Swear to me!!

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Batman Begins was definitely the return to form for the Dark Knight that I was hoping for. It was a great film, with appropriate depth and tone, and lots of cool Batman moments. Not to mention the fact that Christian Bale nailed the character perfectly, and the Batmobile was supremely badass too. So, how does the game stack up? It has its shortcomings, but for capturing the mood and feel of the film, and the simple joy of being Batman, BB gets it right.

Basically, you're dealing with a game that plays like a dumbed-down Splinter Cell, but with Batman instead of Sam Fisher Ц and Batman can't use his tools whenever he wants. It's very linear and it leads the player around by the nose, but I found myself having a blast with it. While it's true that there's pretty much only one way to approach a challenge, the game still manages to be quite a bit of fun, and as you pull off the scripted events that herald the Batman's arrival, which also creates fear amongst the goons waiting for you in the next room, there's a definite feeling of actually inhabiting the character.

You'll move Batman with the left analog stick and control the camera with the right (despite an occasional hang-up, it's actually very well implemented).Clicking in the left stick will put him into stealth mode, which is accompanied by a cool stalking animation of Batman purposefully hunting for his victims. Use the D pad to access gadgets, and the back button for your data screens (mission information, notes and objectives).The D pad is also used to target any interactive objects in the room. The fighting engine is simple, but well done, and it captures the brutal, effective combat style of the film nicely. You can block and evade by using the right trigger, and punch with X. Kicks require you to use the Y button, and the B button is utilized when performing special attacks (if you're surrounded by foes, Batman does a spectacular helicopter kick and smashes them all to the ground, giving you a moment to regain the advantage). The black button allows you to use the Batarang, while the white button is mapped to whatever gadget you want to use (but only when it's applicable). Things like flash bang and smoke grenades - as well as electronic hack tools - are available, and you can replenish gear by finding military crates scattered around the environments. You'll also find health kits, and you can open them to find varying amounts of medicine to replenish your life bar. Finally, the A button is used to jump, double jump, and you can make Batman glide to the ground by jumping, and then holding the A button.

All of the Dark Knight's animations and moves look great, and the brutal ass-kickings you lay on the various thugs and loonies throughout the game are extremely satisfying. As well, the simple act of stalking foes through warehouses, high-rise buildings, and the dark, eerie Arkham Asylum is great fun, and scaring the bad guys, as well as sneaking up on them for violent stealth put downs is well worth the price of admission. The environments are smartly designed, and you can shimmy high above the floor on pipes, as well as climb up chains, scaffoldings, and steel girders. You can also use Batman's grappling hook to gain higher ground in certain areas, and dropping in on a gang of thugs and beating them senseless is par for the course here. Area Fear represents how much your sly presence has unnerved the enemies you're up against, and the more you scare them (with context sensitive traps, or grenades) the quicker they'll drop their weapons and become easy pickings. Batman can't take much in the way of lead poisoning, so it's crucial that you approach armed foes with caution, scaring them, or simply sneaking up on them in stealth mode to take them out quickly and cleanly. Radar pops up whenever there are enemies in the immediate vicinity, and the armed baddies are represented by red dots, unarmed by green (though even they may have a pipe or length of wood). Once those guns are history Batman simply destroys those in his path, and you can perform cool finishing moves, as well as interrogate enemies for valuable information.

The game follows the plot of the movie pretty closely, and is made up of 10 levels, including Gotham Docks, The Narrows, and Falcone's Black Market club. Two of the levels are Burnout style racing missions featuring the incredible new Batmobile. These are simple time trials (and of course, you should create as much destruction as possible while you're at it) but they're a lot of fun and serve to break up the on-foot action well, while not overstaying their welcome. Also, as you progress through the adventure there's unlockable bonus content such as movie footage and interviews - nothing amazing, but a nice plus nonetheless.

Visually, Batman Begins looks wonderful on the Xbox. Razor sharp textures featuring stellar bump mapping are evident in all the different locales, and the character models look great. More than once I stopped in the middle of some gloriously lit hallway and spun the camera around Batman, taking in the coolness factor and just checking out the game's good looks. The lighting and shadow effects are excellent, and all of the animations look spot-on. Aurally, you're in for a real treat, as the main characters from the film reprise their roles here. Of particular note are Bale as the man himself, and Michael Caine as Alfred. Both sound fantastic, and lend huge authenticity to the proceedings. The music is great as well, and the overall presentation of the game is quite impressive. Taken at face value, Batman Begins fires on all cylinders.