Batman: Vengeance

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!

Before I get into everything that I love about this game, I want to get my problems with it out of the way. First of all... the music was alright.. but I missed Danny Elfman's theme from the animated series. it was nowhere to be found. I can understand that it was probably missing because of licensing issues or something like that, but I still would have much rather had it than the music that was there. my other big problem was the design of the joker... when batman the animated series first came out the joker looked fine. he actually had eyes, and his red lips. then he got redesigned when the show moved from the fox network to the wb saturday morning lineup along with all the other characters. while I liked all of the other redesigns I did not like the joker's at all. he has empty eyes for some reason. and his lips aren't red. and something about his hair doesn't look right at all. then when batman beyond: return of the joker came out, they again redesigned the joker for the flashback scene. this was my favorite animated design of the joker yet, and when I saw him in this game I was disappointed to see that they instead used the first redesign... it just doesn't look right to me.

other than that, this game was amazing. the plot drives the plot of the last two live action movies into the ground. the voice talent is the same from the cartoon which was great.. especially kevin conroy, michael ansara and mark hamill. these guys really bring the characters to life in a way that I don't think any other voice actor could. the controls are simple enough to understand and use. I would have liked a few more gadgets in batman's arsenal, and the sound effect for the batgrapple just wasn't right. it was just kind of a "click" and that was it... in the cartoon it has more of a punch to it. these are just a few minor gripes... nothing that really kept me from enjoying the game. two things that almost did were the length and the challenge. it felt like it ended too abruptly and it was pretty easy for the most part. I would have liked a few more in depth hand to hand boss battles. oh well.. all in all I LOVED this game and I can strongly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of batman. I played the gamecube version, so I'm not sure how other versions may compare.

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.

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.