With the sporadic rush of blockbuster movies coming out in theaters, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll see videogames based on those films. Batman Begins is one such title, inspired by the summer flick of the same name. However, like other movie-based games, it seems as if the game was released prematurely in an effort to generate profit by capitalizing on the movie’s success. While Batman Begins has its bouts of engaging gameplay, the majority of its adventure is frustrating and tedious, making for a game that is playable but extremely difficult to recommend.
"...the majority of Batman Begins’ adventure is frustrating and tedious..."
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As the game’s name implies, you are placed in the role of the superhero Batman, who is tasked with fighting crime in Gotham City. That is the initial premise of the story that can be understood easily, but the events that occur beyond the Prologue are loosely tied together and may seem confusing if you haven’t seen the movie yet. Nevertheless, it’s not expected of Batman Begins to have a strong storyline anyhow, but rather enjoyable and action-packed gameplay.
That, however, isn’t the case. Even though the gameplay really isn’t terrible, Batman Begins is plagued by quite a few problems that make the experience more frustrating than it should be. The level design is awkward, so you will be hurt and will die in more ways than you’d expect. Also, enemies are inconsistent; some can be handled using regular methods, but others have ridiculous abilities that will allow them to kill you with annoying ease. Another important point to mention is that there is a severe lack of checkpoints along the way, which leads to large amounts of time replaying levels over and over again. A good amount of patience is required to complete the game.
"A good amount of patience is required to complete the game."
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Along with mostly action sequences, Batman Begins blends in some stealth elements as well. Though the stealth portions are simple and repetitive, where you hide in the shadows, wait for a guard to pass by, then come out and continue on your way, they are more or less slightly entertaining.
Of course, Batman wouldn’t be complete without all of his gear. Luckily, his interesting gadgets can be useful to some degree. The Batarang, which is the primary weapon in the game, is a projectile that can be thrown to stun enemies and destroy obstacles, and the Batgrapple can be launched to get you to higher places. The other tools are diversionary devices, such as a flash and smoke grenade, as well as a swarm of bats that can be summoned with the Bat Transponder. Each of these objects has some helpful function, and can help get you past some tough parts in the game.
Technically, Batman Begins is, at most, a half-hour to an hour-long game if played perfectly; there are only seven levels included. However, its length is superficially extended due to seemingly-forced and constant deaths, so you will be playing the same levels and restarting at rarely-appearing checkpoints repeatedly. The only incentive that might make you want to replay the game would be to collect all of the bat symbols that show up in different areas throughout the levels, but frankly, that notion isn’t very enticing.
"Batman Begins’ length is superficially extended due to seemingly-forced and constant deaths..."
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The visuals of Batman Begins are fairly distorted and pixilated. The character models are blurry, and there are almost no details in the faces. All in all, the graphics work, but they are not very appealing to the eye. As for the sound, its only redeeming aspect is the music, which is actually quite good. There aren’t many sound effects, and the voices, when heard on occasion, are muffled and unclear.
Although there are select few portions of enjoyable gameplay in Batman Begins, most of the game is annoying and tedious. For that reason, and coupled with the issue of the game’s very short length, Batman Begins is a mediocre action title that should be avoided.
