It’s been a little over five years since we last saw the Dark Knight on the big screen and although he has had several video games since, like most superhero games they have all sucked. The DC characters are the most notorious when it comes to having bad video games- just look at Aquaman, Superman, Catwoman, and even Batman himself. DC Comics really wants to make 2005 their year with the release of the highly anticipated Batman Begins film and the much hyped Infinity Crisis comic mini-series. DC plans to put the proverbial boot down on Marvel this year in films, comics, and games and they have a very good chance of doing the first two, but with Marvel releasing both Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men Legends 2 for the Xbox this year, the chances of DC besting Marvel in the realm of games is unlikely.

Gameplay

Batman Begins is a rather simple game- basically you go to point A to point B by way of the shadows. The game plays a lot like Splinter Cell minus the complexity of everything. Batman Begins does a decent job capturing the feel of being a superhero, but not quite as well as Activision did with Spider-Man 2. This is due to the game being a lot more linear and containing little inaccuracies like not being able to throw the Batarang whenever you please or the fact that a clip of machine gun bullets will take you down in seconds (isn’t Batman’s suit supposed to be bulletproof)? Batman Begins also has a “fear” mechanic to its gameplay, which is a great concept for a Batman game, but the execution could have been a lot better. Basically when you walk into a room with your enemies unaware of your presence, you can throw a Batarang at some boxes or barrels to frighten your enemies so you can dispose of them with relative ease. Of course after about the fourth time this just becomes more and more of a gimmick.

Speaking of gimmicks, you will also find yourself in a segment or two where you will get to drive the new pimped out Batmobile, which looks like a cross between a Hummer and a stealth fighter jet. Driving the Batmobile is a lot like playing a dumbed-down version of Burnout 3. In the driving mode, you chase after a bunch of criminals and attempt to take them down (the same way you perform "Takedowns" in Burnout) while you make your way to a location. The only downfall to this is that taking down criminals is way too easy to pull off- all you need to do is just boost towards them and they’ll fly off the road. Complaints aside, Batman Begins is surprisingly good and one of the better movie-based video games to come out in awhile.



Watch out Tom Cruise... you're next!


Control

The game does a nice job of keeping everything simple in terms of control. You’ll punch and kick with the X and Y buttons, jump with A, and B will perform special finishing attacks. The black and white buttons will act as your gadgets such as tear gas grenades and your trusty batarang. Unfortunately you can’t use your gadgets whenever you please, as you have to wait till an icon appears on the screen until you are able to use it. Also the camera can be your worst enemy at times. I found myself targeting the wrong enemy many times due to the, at times, wonky camera. Aside from the camera’s occasional mishaps the controls are responsive and easy to get used to.

Sound/Graphics

The presentation in Batman Begins is easily the strongest point of the game, as everything is put together quite well. The graphics, while not great, are good and do the Dark Knight justice, especially since all the actors from the film have lent their likeness to the game as well as their voices. The animations are also for the most part top notch- Batman’s cape will move realistically and all of his combat movements are smooth and slick, with the exception of climbing up pipes and ladders (Batman looks like an ape when he does that). The voiceovers are just top notch and really help throw you into Gotham City. Unlike other movie-based games, this one truly looks and sounds like the film it is based on.



Yes, this guy is the villian. No, he's still scary.

Overall, Batman Begins is a good movie based video game and one of the best games based on the Dark Knight, but that isn’t saying a whole lot considering the track record for movie-based games and Batman games in general. If companies continue to put out games like Chronicles of Riddick, Spider-Man 2 and Batman Begins, then movie games will at last be enjoyable. If you like Batman or just simply enjoyed the film then you should definitely give this game a rental, but it isn’t quite good enough to warrant a purchase at the current price unless you’re a Batman fanatic.