Gameplay
The player controls Batman, usually from a third-person perspective, traversing environments that combine platforming, combat, stealth, gadget-use, and occasional vehicle or aerial sequences. Most of the time, player can run or walk, jump, climbs ledges and, from height, can use the cape to glide, enabling traversal across rooftops or through the environment. [3] [4]
Movement is complemented by a variety of gadgets which players can cycle through. In other perspective, the game can switch to first-person view, particularly when aiming and firing gadgets such as the grappling hook to climb the building or batarangs to hit the enemy, or when performing ranged takedowns in order to simulate the versatility of Batman’s crime-fighting repertoire.
Combat in Batman: Vengeance shifts into a beat-’em-up style such as melee attacks, punches, kicks, blocking and, more powerful special moves are unlocked as the game progresses via in the main menu. Encounters frequently combine ranged gadget use (to disarm or distract enemies) followed by close-quarters hand-to-hand combat, and once foes are incapacitated, Batman can handcuff enemies to prevent them from further threat. [5]
Beyond platforming and combat, the game includes other types of gameplay modes including driving segments (using the Batmobile), flying sequences (with the Batplane in dogfight), and even free-fall rescue missions where Batman must catch falling civilians before landing. There are also levels requiring puzzle-solving and stealth, which includes sneaking against walls, peeking around corners to avoid detection, or navigating laser-fence puzzles requiring key-cards or codes.
While the variety of gameplay modes is a strength, offering a fairly comprehensive “Batman experience”, the game tends to be rather linear, with limited freedom of exploration, and some frustration in precision platforming due to camera limitations or control sensitivity. On the whole, it offers a mixture of platforming, stealth, gadget-usage, melee combat, and occasional driving or flying, a multi-faceted action-adventure aiming to reflect Batman’s full crime-fighting repertoire.
Game Boy Advance
In the Game Boy Advance version of Batman: Vengeance, the gameplay alternates between several different styles, primarily 2D side-scrolling action platforming for Batman, overhead-view puzzle/action stages for Robin, and occasional driving or flying segments using the Batmobile or Batwing. [6] It presents a hybrid experience: mixing action-platforming, simple combat feature, gadget use, light puzzles and occasional driving or flying stages, all which combined to approximate a “Batman-style” game that fits the limitations of a handheld platform.
In side-scrolling stages the player can walk, run, jump, perform a cape-glide, crouch, climb, and grab ledges or vines when prompted. Combat moves include punches, kicks (with a more powerful jump-kick), and the player can also use gadgets: thrown Batarangs (flying straight forward), smoke bombs, health sprays, and a grappling hook which works when specific on-screen prompts appear. Taking damage depletes a health bar; falling into pits or losing all health causes a game over screen. Checkpoints and unlimited continues can somewhat ease repetition, and there is a password system to resume progress. [7]
Robin’s stages diverge from Batman’s: played in overhead view, they emphasize puzzle-solving and navigation rather than action. Robin moves boxes to open paths, collects key cards or passwords, and sometimes uses a remote-controlled device (the “Batcrawler”) to access areas otherwise unreachable. [8] These overhead levels occasionally include light combat (usually throwing jabs or Batarangs), but the focus remains on puzzle solving.
Interspersed with these are vehicle and flying segments for added variety. Batmobile levels adopt a top-down perspective: the goal is to reach a destination before a timer expires, maneuvering around traffic and obstacles; the Batmobile can sometimes fire an electric projectile to clear certain obstacles. Batwing stages play out as side-scrolling shooters: the screen scrolls automatically, and the player shoot enemies, and to avoid hazards and use a limited-use shield (which recharges over time) to survive.
After completing the main “Story Mode,” an “Advance Mode” becomes available via passwords. In Advance Mode, stages are tweaked, often adding timed objectives and hidden collectibles (such as data disks) to collect before reaching the end, increasing the challenge compared to the straightforward Story Mode.
Combat and controls have drawn criticism: while basic movement and platforming are considered serviceable, Batman runs and glides smoothly and movement is responsive, melee combat can feel awkward, especially during encounters with multiple enemies or when enemies use grabs which cannot be dodged. The toggle between third-person movement and first-person aiming for gadgets like Batarangs or the grappling hook has also been described as clunky.
Plot
Batman saves a woman named Mary from a bomb placed by the Joker at Gotham Chemicals, who is holding her son hostage for ransom. Using a transmitter, Batman tracks down the Joker and Mary to a partially demolished Gotham Bridge, where she is unmasked as Harley Quinn and the kidnapping scheme is revealed to be a plot to trap Batman. Batman defeats the Joker, but the latter falls off the bridge to his apparent death. Suspicious that the Joker survived, Batman lets Harley escape in order to monitor her using the transmitter.
Batman and Batgirl are alerted to Mr. Freeze attacking Gotham Industrial Research to kill scientist Isaac Evers, the creator of the miracle drug Promethium for cryogenically frozen people. Freeze seeks revenge against Evers for a promotional Promethium video he believes Evers sent to mock him, due to having already used the drug on himself and his wife, Nora, but to no avail. While pursuing Freeze, Batman uncovers Evers' dealings with the Joker, who funded his research after his initial government funding was cut because of Promethium being unstable. After saving Evers and defeating Freeze, Batman discovers Poison Ivy has created a new species of super-plants infested with deadly worms, and tracks her down to the remains of Gotham Chemicals. There, he finds Mayor Hamilton Hill, who explains Ivy blackmailed him and other wealthy socialites by poisoning them with her worm-infected plants, which were created from a mysterious chemical. Batman defeats Ivy and obtains an antidote to save her victims.
Batman witnesses the Joker's goons hijacking a blimp and speaks with Harley, who informs him that they have been operating on their own since the Joker's apparent death. After foiling their plan to send explosive Joker toys into the city's sewers, Batman finds an abducted Issac Evers. He explains that he had hired the goons to destroy Gotham Industrial for the insurance money, having been unable to collect on the damage left by Mr. Freeze without revealing his deals with the Joker. The goons then turned on him to carry out their plan to destroy Gotham using the toys. As Batman hands Evers over to the police, Commissioner Gordon is hit with a batarang. Framed for the attack, Batman escapes from the police and concludes that Harley is behind everything since the Joker's apparent death. Disguising himself as a drifter to avoid police attention, Bruce Wayne investigates the Joker's former hideout and finds evidence hinting at his survival.
After tracking the stolen blimp to the Gasworks, Batman confronts a still-living Joker, having faked his death to exact his true plan. He reveals that he secretly manipulated Evers, Freeze, Ivy, and Batman into fulfilling his goals to mass-produce a flammable Joker venom developed from Promethium, which he intends to spread throughout the city's sewers. Batman shuts off the city's pipe network to stop the flow of the toxin, while the Joker attempts to escape in the blimp and spread the toxin himself. After subduing Harley, Batman stows aboard the blimp and stops the toxin from being released. As a last resort, the Joker tries to crash the blimp into the city, but Batman destroys the blimp and saves the Joker from falling to his death.
The villains are incarcerated at Arkham Asylum. Batman meets an apologetic Gordon, as it was discovered Harley threw the batarang, and thanks Batman for saving Gotham. Batman retreats to look out over the city, when the Bat-Signal appears behind him.
Reception
Batman: Vengeance received "mixed or average reviews" across all versions of the game, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Jeff Lundrigan of NextGen said of the PlayStation 2 version, "While it has a number of things going for it, Batman Vengeance still comes up short in a few key areas." [37]
Jon Thompson of AllGame gave the PlayStation 2 version three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that it was "hampered by its linear nature and lack of mental challenge, but the game is still heads and shoulders above all other Batman titles released in the last few years. Those looking for an entertaining action game as well as those who are huge fans of the Dark Knight will definitely get a kick out of the experience." [44] Later, Chris Holowka gave the GameCube version a similar score of three-and-a-half stars, saying it was "truly an interactive cartoon, beautifully mimicking the simple, bold animation style that made the animated television series so groundbreaking." [45] However, Brett Alan Weiss gave the Game Boy Advance version three stars out of five, saying, "The simplified Metal Gear -type gameplay is marginally appealing and helps tie the package together as an entertaining mixture of well-known play styles with a Batman theme." [46] Computer Games Magazine gave the PC version two stars out of five, saying, "There's a few clever puzzles scattered throughout the levels; unfortunately, there's also a few incredibly painful flying and driving sequences as well." [47]
Pong Sifu of GamePro said of the PlayStation 2 version, "With some fine tuning, Batman Vengeance could've been legendary. Though many gamers may be put off by the game's shortcomings, Bat-fans looking for a fun-filled romp above the streets of Gotham will be delighted by the film-noir visuals and engaging story line." [48] [c] The Man in Black said of the Xbox version, "There's much to praise about the effort behind this rough-hewn but imagnative game. If you're a fan, you might tackle this tale of the Dark Knight with a Vengeance." [49] [d] Michael Lafferty of GameZone gave the Game Boy Advance version 8.4 out of 10, saying, "The graphical elements are very well done, the animation is solid and the various challenges will keep players intrigued." [50] Carlos McElfish gave the Xbox version seven out of ten, saying, "The gameplay as a whole is lethargic and inaccurate." [51] Lafferty later gave the PC version a similar score of seven out of ten, calling it "a year-old game newly ported to the PC that plunges players into a world of bad camera angles and overwrought control elements." [52]
The game was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Original Musical Composition" at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, which ultimately went to Tropico . [53] The PlayStation 2 version was also nominated at The Electric Playground 's 2001 Blister Awards for "Biggest Disappointment of the Year", but lost to the Xbox version of Shrek . [54]
By the end of 2001, sales of the game had surpassed 540,000 units. [55] Its sales surpassed 670,000 units by the end of March 2002. [56]
