Ubi Soft delivers its best Batman game yet with quality animation, authentic sound effects, and an impressive cast of popular Batman characters and villains. However, this is a straight beat-em-up action game where the fun is in endless fisticuffs and button-mashing. If you're looking for an in-depth adventure game, you’ll be disappointed with the simplicity of this game. You can play solo or team up with a friend as you choose from Batman, Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl to face off against endless waves of thugs and some of Gotham's fiercest villains, including the evil Sin Tzu. You battle through each level using a variety of attack moves while earning credits to unlock other moves and weapons. Conquering the Challenge mode helps unlock special features, such as cinematics, 3D character models, and comic book art. The graphics are faithful to the retro style of the animated Batman series. Special effects, such as the Scarecrow’s reality-warping scare bomb and the fluttering of a flurry of bats, create yummy eye candy. Impressive cinematics advance a compelling story line, and sharp voice acting, sound effects, and variations of the Batman theme tell a solid story faithful to its comic-book roots. The controls are simplistic, making it easy to pull off the various combos and moves. This game is strictly for action junkies and can be completed in a quick weekend rental. However, the quality of the graphics and gameplay hints at the potential for deeper, more compelling Batman games to come.
