Batman: Vengeance

Well, it was good for 2001.But today, make way for Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and the upcoming Arkham Origins. But, we are not here to talk about that, oh no. We are here to talk about this pretty solid, fun, yet irritating game, straight from the imagination of Bruce Timm and the outstanding Warner Bros crew that created Batman: The Animated Series. This video game is based upon these series and it was pretty well adapted on PC. We got the same imaginary world of Bruce Timm, even the same voice actors, Kevin Conroy (Batman), Mark Hammil (Joker), Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn), Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (Alfred), Michael Ansara (Freeze) and others… the story idea is pretty much usual, as many of the animated episodes that we saw. You are Batman and you feel pretty much like him during game play, you have a set of gadgets at your disposal as well as fighting skills. You can beat the crap out of your opponent and you can subdue him with bat-cuffs. The game is pretty much enjoyable, but, maybe that's just me, there were hard moments in the game that drives you mad. I never finished this game, because there were very hard moments! Especially with your vehicles. Oh, yeah, you can ride a Bat-wing and Batmobile, but it's too freaking' hard! The controls and camera angles are horrible. Real pain in the neck. So, you can take the console or your PC, and enjoy yourself, if you are a fan of Batman, or just Bruce Timm's Batman.

The fact that Batman: Vengeance is purley based off the hit cartoon series does give the game some chance to actually appeal to some people.With the recent attempts to make a good Batman game,and the recent failures,some fans look at Batman: Vengeance and think that its gonna be really bad,but when you exclude all the flaws that Batman: Vengeance has,you would actually see that its a good game.Hopefully this review is helpful to you.

Visuals:9/0 The graphics are just plain beautiful,all the cinematics look wonderful and rich.What I liked most about the graphics ,is that it maintains the cartoonish feel,Batman the Joker,and Batgirl dont look like they're serious,they look like they just came right out of the cartoon.The graphics deserve an eight because the character models are a bit jaggy,but nonetheless,the CG scenes look outstanding.The animations are really good,mostly because all the mouth movements look very realistic,and the movement of Batmans cape is pretty cool.I should also add that explosians,gun effects,and stuff like that look really good,but the explosions is really what got my attention.Take my word for it,the graphics are really good,except for the fact that the character models suffer from some jaggies.

Sound:10/10 I probably like the sound most of all,all the stuff like shootings,explosions,and Batman's wird tools sound really great.The people who made this game seemed like they wanted to keep the cartoon quality alive in this game,and it they did,what I mean by that is,is that Batman has different tools and weapons,and one of his weapons is the hammer,when he smacks the enemy in the back of the head,it makes a loud,unrealistic ''DING!'' sound,but thats not a bad thing,its a good thing.Another thing that was really great about Batman: Vengeance,was that all the voice actors from the cartoon series returned for the game,and all of them did a great job,they havent lost any of thier talents from the cartoon series,they can still do the voices after all this time.Like I said,some of Batman's weapons sound cartoony,but the only one of his weapons that sounds realistic is his handcuffs,I dont know why,but I love the sound of the handcuffs.

Gameplay:7/10 People may think that this game is the same ordinary Batman game that has the same type of gameplay as all the others,but it doesnt.The gameplay is just plain fun,and whats also fun about the gameplay,is the fact that you can explore the big environments,even though there isnt much interactivity to go along with the game.The one thing that I dont really like,but I dont care for it,is that you cant really do all the stuff that Batman does in the cartoon series,like you really cant drive the Batmobile,you cant use the batgrapple anywhere you want,and so on,but tell you the truth,I dont really care for the Batgrapple,and the Batmobile,the game could have been more fun if you could use the grapple whenever you want,but the game is fine the way it is.I would have probably given the gameplay factor an nine,but I took two points off because the game was so hard and frustrating,that I nearly broke my Gamecube controller.I hated the fact that if your kind of far in the level,that if you lose,you have to restart,that really pushed me to the point to where I hated the game for a short time.

Story:9/10 The fact that this is a Batman game saves the story,but I dont really like the fact that theres some plot twists in the story.There are a couple different storys in the game,depending on which villain you have to find.The storys in the game seems like there all just cartoon episode,because again,Batman is dealing with the Joker,and the Joker has kidnapped a small child,Poison Ivy has poisoned I think the Mayor,and storys like that.Long story short,the storys that are in the game seem like they have been taken out of the cartoon.

Fun factor:8/10 How fun is this game?well,that depends,if your a person who doesnt get mad easily,you will find this game very fun,but if your a person like me,you will find this game just plain fun,but not very fun.I think this game delivers lots of fun gameplay,but the difficulty somewhat bogs the fun factor down a little bit.I think that the fun factor is the biggest part of a video game,and this game is pretty fun.The fact that you can handcuff villains,and blind them is pretty cool.I think that Batman: Vengeance is a very fun game,but it does get a bit repetitive if you have already beaten it.

Replay value:5/0 If you have already beaten Batman: Vengeance,but you didnt get all the ''envelopes'',you might go throgh the game agian.Once you have gotten all the envelopes,and have tested all the secret stuff out,you will most likely not play through the game again,since there is nothing else to do.I gave the reaplay value a five because the only unlockable thing is the envelopes that contain stuff like infinite health,and infinite items/weapons.

Difficulty:10/10 You could literally destroy your Gamecube console because this game is so hard.The first couple of levels arent really much of a challenge,but the later levels are.In some levels,there are so many enemys,to where you dont stand a chance.Some of the boss fights arent really hard at all,but I'd say that the Mr. Freeze fight is the hardest.What I hated most about the dificulty,(I mentioned it before in this review) was the fact that if your far in the level,and you lose,you have to start from either the beginning of the level,or far from where you were. Please people,do not take the difficulty level as a joke. The only thing easy about this game,is that its not hard to find your destination.

Visuals:9/10 Sound:10/10 Gameplay:7/10 Story:9/10 Fun factor:8/10 Replay value:5/10 Difficulty:10/10

Best feature:Great graphics,and outstanding voice acting.

Worst feature:TOO DAMN HARD!!

Also try:Batman Returns on SNES.

Final statement: Despite the fact that this game will nearly make you break stuff,its still a good game.

Overall score:8 out of 10.

Batman: Vengeance was one of the very first PS2 games I ever got. And though it does hold a special place in my heart, as a critic I'm more aware that while the game is good my diet for video games has come to understand, appreciate and demand far more than what Vengeance could have offered me at the time. That's not to say anything against the game though; the product itself is fun to play, getting t kick ass as Batman is immensely satisfying: though it's somewhat sloppy because of the sometimes rigid controls that don't really offer you complete flexibility while in play. It's not entirely surprising because this historical nugget paved the way for the likes of the Batman: Arkham games and that's saying something special about it. And the voice-cast of course reprises the actors in their respective rolls: Kevin Conroy's Bats, Mark Hamill's Joker, Arleen Sorkin's Harley, Michael Ansara's Freeze, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.'s Alfred: everyone's at the top of their game delivering a script that may have made for some truly compelling Batman: Animated Series episodes.

All said and done, this game's worth it if you're a Bat-fan and/or gamer into the history of the medium and are into seeing how franchises have evolved over the generations.

Let me say right off the bat (no pun intended): this is, without a doubt, the best Batman video game ever produced. I'm not much for PlayStation or PlayStation2, but this game absolutely rocks. It remains completely faithful to the animated series, with all the same actors and actresses providing the voices, and original music that sounds as if it's right out of the show. The controls take a little getting used to, especially thanks to the ever-changing camera position, something I've never been fond of in video games of recent years, but a tap of one key automatically repositions the camera behind Batman, where it is best used. The game starts with two training levels to let you get use to the controls: the first has you looking for and rescuing a woman from a building that's about to be destroyed by a bomb, and the second is a run through the Batcave training exercises.

I've only rented the game so far, so I'm unable to review a whole lot. The training levels are very useful, and the rooftop chase level is exciting. The fight with the Joker atop the bridge is rather difficult, as he swings back and forth on a wrecking ball, and you can only damage him at certain times, and you must do so before he destroys the top of the tower and causes you to plummet to the bay below.

Everything else is top-notch, from the acting by the voices we all know and love to the straight-from-the-show set design and lighting. Playing this game, you sometimes think you're actually watching an episode of THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES. First Batman was given his best incarnation as an animated series. Now he's been given his best video game incarnation, and it will be the one for all others to top.

Batman: Vengeance on Playstation 2 is a beautifully dark, computer animated trip in the unparalleled world of Timm and Dini's Animated Batman. The story is superior to that of nearly every movie that I've ever seen. The voice-acting is top-notch just as it was it the Batman: The Animated Series because they have all the original voice actors! Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Diane Pershing, Michael Ansara, Efrem Zimbalist, and Bob Hasting all return for perhaps the final stand for the Animated Batman saga.

This is my favorite fighting game ever and definitely the best Batman game. At 60 fps, you can see the Playstation 2 at its best. Also, the original music is good enough to warrant a soundtrack. Batman: Vengeance is a dream come true for all fans of Batman The Animated Series!