Penguin's BatMan Vengeance Review

[BreakABone]

Well since no one else is doing it, and I thought it was a pretty cool game a review on BV for the GameCube.

Batman Vengeance is a port of the PlayStation 2 game by the same name. It stars Gotham's Caped Crusader or Dark Knight, Batman.

The game had to overcome one of the biggest pits in videogames. The crappy super hero genre. Almost 85% of superhero games released were crap and most BatMan games weren't immuned to this problem.

UbiSoft had a lot of work ahead of it if it wanted to make Vengeance a good Batman game and for the most part they were able to succeed.

Vengance sports some nice visuals and about 30 mins of beautiful CG movies. The game most visual treat is the treatment in which Batman's cape got. The cape has it's own set of animations that can be seen whenever the Dark Knight is gliding, blocking or just walking. The game isn't too shabby and sports some nice clean visuals and texture. Nothing too bland in the game.

The plot is one of mystery and deciet. It all starts off one night when BatMan gets a distress call from a woman,Mary, who son has been kidnapped and ransomed by the Joker. BatMan goes to help the woman but finds out that it has all been a plot to kill the Dark Knight by Joker and his partner Harley Quinn. Things go bad for the Clown Prince of Crime as he is accidently killed by the Bat or is he? The world of Gotham is then turned upside down by Mr.Freeze and Poison Ivy. Is there more to this outbreak of crime then the Bat knows? Ofcourse or else there would be no game.

The sounds in the game are also top notch. Featuring voices from the animated show for BatMan,Alfred, Batgirl, Mr.Freeze and Poison Ivy. The music itself is nothing too special but is able to do the game justice as it sets the mood for the game.

Now sound and graphics would mean jack if the gameplay sucked, but UbiSoft saw fit to make the game enjoyable. For the majority of the game you will play as BatMan in either the 1st person view or the 3rd person. You will mainly use the 3rd person as the 1st person is mainly used for his special gadgets. The 3rd person view is used for the majority of the game and most hand to hand combat sessions. You are able to toggle between the two modes with the simple press of a button.

The combat system in this game is rather basic and leads itself to that of games like Streets of Rage. BatMan walks around, finds an enemy, engages in battle, punch and kick and the battle is pretty much over. That repeats itself for most of the standard enemies, but to spice it up just a bit BatMan is able to learn special combos. He is able to gain these abilites but earning points for doing specific things throughout the game such as handcuffing badguys or finding the 5 cheat folders hidden throughout the game.

The first person view is used a bit more often for long range attacks and most of the boss battles. This is the only view BatMan is able to use his special gadgets such as the Batarangs and BatGrapple.

The game also spices up the variety by offering Batmobile and BatPlane sequences. This offers a nice little change from the main game but since there is only one of each not much. It admits to fun little levels but maybe if they had added some more.

All in all BatMan for GameCube is a rather enjoyable game and will be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys BatMan or a good action game.

Hmm don't know what the criteria are for the reviews so I'll wing it....

Graphics-7/10
The game sports some nice visuals but not really up to the level one expects from GC games but till pretty.

Sound-8/10
The game features some nice voice work but the songs in the game are really nothing to write home about.

Gameplay- 8/10
The game is rather fun and the Batplane and Batmobile sequences add to the overall experience but they should have included more, and certain points in the game you don't have to beat to continue such as the WaterWorks puzzle.

Fun Factor- 8/10
The game is enjoybale but is over to fast and well will leave some players feeling short changed.

hmmm

Penguin's Overall
8

[N8]

Originally posted by BreakABone
8

agreed

good review.