Batman the Animated Series was quite possibly the best thing Batman ever released.
It just understood what Batman is and supposed to be and got that feel down.
Batman should be dark and few things showed this better than the Animated Series.
And Batman: Vengeance tries to do just that.
The game is actually set in the universe of the follow-up to the Animated Series, called
the New Batman Adventures.
The game has the art style down.
From the look of the characters, to the gadgets, and even Gotham City itself.
It’s great to see this art direction come to life, and it really feels like the cartoon.
It even has Kevin Conroy doing the voice of Batman, a great touch to make the game feel
complete with one of the best Batman’s out there.
The game is broken down into separate sections, that feel like separate episodes, even down
to each having a separate title that falls right in line with others from the series.
Each episode features a separate villain with there being the Joker, Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze,
and Poison Ivy.
Each has their own diabolical plot of how to make Gotham their own, and it is up to
Batman to stop them.
The levels are fairly straightforward, with a mostly linear route for Batman to take.
It’s the getting from point A to B is where the fun is.
As you could imagine, Batman comes with plenty of different moves and gadgets that he will
use to stop the villains.
He can use his cape to glide to different areas, and also use his full arsenal of gadgets.
Batman has batarangs, and his Batgrapple, and Bat-Launcher to deal with the environment
and enemies.
Bad guys and henchmen are everywhere and are waiting for the world’s greatest detective.
Batman has a full array of moves that help with the combat.
After you knock an enemy down, you have to handcuff them or they will get back up later.
The only problem is, you only have so many handcuffs, so expect to fight the literal
same enemies again and again.
And one thing that is disappointing are the levels.
While they are big and open, they all feel very empty, and not very detailed.
Textures are completely smooth and open area are left feeling blank, taking you away from
the great location of Gotham City.
And while Batman has many moves, the combat feels repetitive quickly and becomes tiresome.
While all the elements for a great Batman game are here, they just don’t come together
perfectly, leaving the appearance of Batman, but one that is not very deep.