Forgotten Game Greats: "Batman Begins" (2005)

- by Ninja Ross, 27 August 2014

Na na na na na na na na BATMAN!!! He’s freaking everywhere you look! I’m pretty sure DC has cancelled every book that doesn’t have Batman in it. They’ve also declared this year to be Year of the Batman. We even have a few very awesome and very successful Batman video games.

Not all of them have done as well as the Arkham series, of course. Some of them have been... Well, let’s not get into that. But one game went largely unnoticed not long before the Arkham Games - Batman Begins.

The cover.

Yeah, a movie tie-in. A movie tie-in that scored fairly average reviews and went largely unnoticed. But, as movie tie-in video games go, this is probably one of the best. One that didn’t get nearly as much credit as it deserved.

It kicks off with Batman running around kicking ass and taking names. You’re given a brief rundown of the combat mechanics as enemies come at you from all sides. These combat mechanics are pretty simple, even more so than the Arkham games. Punch and kick.

After some flaming Batman, we flash back to his time with Ra’s al Ghul. Here, we’re introduced to the stealth mechanics. This is where the game really comes into its own.

The stealth isn’t anything particularly special but it’s well put together. You sneak up behind enemies and take them out, for the most part. But, as the game progresses, you’ll need to use the environment a bit and get up onto different levels.

And this is where things get REALLLLY interesting! Batman Begins uses a pretty nifty intimidation feature. So, if everyone has guns and there’s no way to get to each of them without getting shot, you’ll need to use your tools and the environment to scare them so bad they drop their weapons. You’re even given a little “Area Fear” bar to monitor just how badass you are.

These are the graphics you deserve... But not the ones you need.

While these sections are pretty simple and don’t allow for much freedom, they’re still a lot of fun to play and it’s good to see the origins of some of the Arkham series’ best features.

The game follows the movie very closely, rarely changing anything. But it does go a little more in depth in places, showing an almost “behind the scenes” version of the movie.

Kung Fu fighting!

The game switches between the stealth and beat ‘em up sections constantly, and throws in the occasional platforming puzzle just to shake things up a bit. These platform sections are nothing especially challenging, but they do break the game up a bit, preventing things from getting stale.

Oh, and it also has Batmobile levels. That’s right, you can drive the Tumbler! These scenes are sometimes infuriating, especially with the time limits but, for the most part, they’re a lot of fun.

Besides being an incredibly fun game, there are also a lot of unlockables. There are videos, art and even some classic costumes, like the Blue one. And the black and grey one. And another blue one! Nothing that affects the character model too much, basically. But it’s nice to play a game that doesn’t make you BUY alternate skins (I’m looking at YOU, Rocksteady!).

Dancing with the Devil in the pale moonlight.

The graphics are what you’d expect from something released in 2005, made just to promote the movie. Occasionally, Batman looks somewhat like a clown, especially when climbing ladder and the fear on the enemy’s face is kind of hilarious. But it’s definitely not a terrible looking game.

This is the game that showed us what Batman games can be like. It was almost like a beta version for Batman Arkham Asylum. It’s well made, especially considering it’s a movie tie in. It’s worth a play, especially leading up to the release of Arkham Knights.


Have you played "Batman Begins"? Enjoyed the throwback? What Batman game is your favorite? Let us know! 

Tagged: video games, Forgotten Game Greats.

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