Games

Batman Begins

Platform: PS2, Xbox, Gamecube
Price: £39.99
Publisher: EA Games

It's rather alarming to think that the only Batman videogames worthy of the character are the 1994 SNES platformer, The Adventures of Batman & Robin, and the old 1986 isometric 3D adventure on the ZX Spectrum.

That's a pretty poor hit rate for a character so perfectly suited to videogames and so, just as fans pinned their hopes on Christopher Nolan's recent film to redeem the movie franchise, gamers have had their fingers crossed that EA could use that movie as a springboard to the first truly great Batman game.

While Batman Begins does an admirable job of bringing the film to interactive life, and delivers arguably the most immersive Bat-game to date, it's not without problems.

Following the movie plot more closely than most film adaptations, the atmosphere is boosted considerably by the vocal presence of the blockbuster cast. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman all supply new line readings and the graphics do a pretty good job of making their polygon alter egos look the part as well.

While movie games have never been hotbeds of innovation, the cribbing from other franchises is astonishingly cheeky here. When you're on foot as Batman the game is Splinter Cell, right down to the focus on creeping up drainpipes and dangling from overhead walkways. When you hop (briefly) into the Batmobile for some driving interludes, it's Burnout from the boost system to the slo-mo crash replays.

Now, both Splinter Cell and Burnout are admirable franchises and if you're going to "borrow" ideas you may as well borrow from the best. But Batman Begins doesn't do anything with these second-hand elements. It doesn't build on them, it just copies the basics leaving you feeling like you're playing a watered down mish-mash of other, better games.

However, there's no denying that you get a buzz from swooping out of the shadows and clobbering goons with your cape flapping. As corny as it sounds, this is superb wish fulfilment for comic geeks. In the games strongest moments, you really do feel like Batman.

Unfortunately, there's not much meat here. The game is very short, and worryingly linear. Despite Batman's array of gadgetry, you're given no freedom in how you use it. Batarangs can only be deployed on level hotspots to trigger pre-determined effects. Smoke grenades can only be thrown when you're locked onto a target that the game wants you to throw a smoke grenade at. The same applies to the stealth element. There's only ever one correct way to get through each level, and any deviation results in failure. If there's a pipe you can climb, or a grate you can open, then you can guarantee that's the way you need to be going.

As you crouch on a rooftop surveying a gang of crooks below, it's frustrating to know that progress is simply a matter of triggering the right sequence of events to reach them, rather than improvising your own route to success. There's no improvisation, no room to think your way around a situation, and as his tactical mind is a core element of Batman's appeal, that's a devastating omission.

Things are livened up slightly by the addition of "fear", a concept that both movie and game dwell on. In gameplay terms, this means you can soften up enemies by putting the frighteners on them before revealing yourself. Sadly, your options are limited here as well. Knocking specific objects over from the shadows is your usual course of action, and once again there's only ever one target that will work.

Once enemies are suitably scared you can engage them in fisticuffs, safe in the knowledge that they'll have dropped their guns in fright. Combat is a two-button affair and, some target lock-on quirks aside, it's satisfyingly beefy stuff.

Ultimately the Batman Begins game is much like the Spider-Man 2 game. It lets you experience the thrill of submerging yourself in the hero's signature style (be it creeping in darkness or swinging from skyscrapers) but gameplay limitations dull the attraction far too soon. Well worth a rental, but there's nothing here you'll want to experience over and over again.