Batman Vengeance - Xbox

Amazon.com In Batman: Vengeance, the gritty underworld of Gotham ignites as Batman becomes the target of a nerve-rattling conspiracy. After the Joker plummets to his death in an attempt to kill Batman, Gotham's criminals quickly escalate their schemes to gain power. Batman discovers subtle links in these seemingly unrelated crimes, but is forced undercover after being framed for an attack on Commissioner Gordon. Hunted by the police, the Dark Knight must pinpoint the unseen enemy weaving this sinister web before Gotham City falls to a fiery demise.Batman: Vengeance introduces the most versatile 3-D Batman game yet, with more than 500 animated movements, special fighting moves, and a multifunctional cape with its own AI. For the first time, players can journey through a fully rendered 3-D Gotham City with Batman's sleek weapons and devices at their fingertips, including the BatGrapple, BatScope, Batarang, BatLauncher, flash bombs, and more. There is a huge array of gameplay modes: exploring, fighting, first-person shooter, driving, flying, freefall, and puzzles. The Gotham City environment, reconstructed in full 3-D, contains 19 playable maps, including the rooftops, Gotham Industrial Research, and the Batcave. There are also more than 40 minutes of cinematics featuring the original voice cast of TV's The New Batman Adventures. The game's original story line was collaboratively written by Warner Bros. and DC Comics from the files of The New Batman Adventures. The Dolby 5.1 surround sound soundtrack features original music inspired by the TV series. Note: This product description refers to the PlayStation2 version. Review There have been more lame Batman games created in the last decade than there are tights-wearing felons in Gotham City, but thankfully Batman: Vengeance hits the Bat-target with the golden Batarang. Because the game is based on The New Batman Adventures (an animated series), the visuals are 3-D versions of the cartoon's very stylized designs. This can sometimes cause the backdrops to be rather lacking in detail, but generally it's an interesting and unusual look. The gameplay is similar to Soul Reaver, with plenty of Batgadgets to play with, and even a few Metal Gear-esque elements sneaking around. There's also an excellent 3-D combat system and a bunch of driving and puzzle subgames of varying quality. A few obvious flaws do get under your tights, such as the oversensitive controls, the intrusive loading times, and the often frustratingly obscure level designs, but this is easily the best Batgame yet. --David JenkinsNote: This review refers to the PS2 version of this game. -- Amazon.co.uk