Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Reviewed by Thomas Brush
Graphics: 6
Sound: 5
Control: 6
Fresh Factor: 5
Gamelife: 4
Considering the insane amount of censoring that is supposedly going
on with the movie this game is based off of, it's no surprise the game
comes across as a jumbled mess of ideas and concepts.
Batman Beyond is the story of the new Batman, Terry McGinnis, who
became a student of the original caped crusader, Bruce Wayne. Terry's
Gotham City is a future gone wrong, where crime has taken over and no
one is safe. Although there are new enemies for the bat-student to call
his own, Bruce Wayne's most notorious rival has somehow been resurrected
from the dead and now holds the city in his grip. With Joker's attempt at
taking Bruce Wayne's life almost successful, it's up to Batman Beyond to
bring the ageless demon down, once and for all.
So begins our first portable journey into the future Dark Knight's world.
With a huge amount of hype and rumors surrounding the movie release,
it's safe to say that the Game Boy version will be left far behind. Batman
Beyond:ROTJ uses a hybrid of the classic side-scrolling beat'em up engine,
with a bit of exploration and stealth tossed in for good measure. As you
move through the stages, you'll be able to eavesdrop on conversations,
find power-ups, and of course, pummel some bad guys. An interesting
little play device the game uses is stealth, which is never mentioned
in the instruction booklet. Rather than just run in and tackle enemies,
you can sneak up on them, and if you're successful, you'll only need to
take out the one enemy instead of 10 of them. I'll deal with the mechanics
behind this in the FAQ, but I would still like to know why it's never
mentioned anywhere in the game or in the booklet, since it aids the
player in saving health for the boss fights.
Along with this ability, Terry will be able to find Bat-devices that will
help in his quest, like Nunchaku, a staff, and more. Oddly, most of these
don't come in to play, at least I never felt like I had to use them. Most
of the game can be tackled with your regular attack, which causes the
game to get a wee bit repetitive. Many of the enemies can be taken out
with minimal effort, and even the bosses will succumb once you figure
out the pattern. The control isn't that bad, but there are some minor
problems in detection. You have to be pretty exact to climb up ladders
and destroy crates, as well as avoid spikes while fighting. Here's where
a major gripe comes in; invincible enemies. I love it when your character,
who is in a full suit of armor, takes massive damage from stepping on
the corner of a spike plate, yet the creature your about to fight is
standing on the same plate, getting hit by the laser coming from the
wall, and is in range of his accomplice, yet is untouched, much less
damaged. If you're going to have a game of this type, you better damn
well make enemies susceptible to their own environment, or the game
gets unfair very quickly.
From a graphics standpoint, there's not much to talk about. There's just
enough animation in the characters for them to do their jobs, most of
the backgrounds share the same 6 sprite images pasted in different ways,
and each location pretty much looks like the last. I'm not exactly sure on
the level layout ideas, though. The back of the box lets us know that the
Joker has set all these nefarious traps for us, but would he really have
that much access to Wayne Enterprises? I mean, it IS owned by Bruce
Wayne. I'm sure he'd be looking out for the safety of his workers and not
allow someone the time it would take to install laser beams, electrified
floors, and giant machine guns in the building. But that's just me.
During the game you'll be treated to image stills of the cartoon characters
as the story unfolds. These are done decently, but they skipped a lot of the
film's storyline to keep the game short. One of the main story elements,
which involve Tim Drake (the newer Robin), is reduced to about three
sentences and two pictures. While it was probably cut short because of
it's rather dark and very cruel imagery, it should have still been handled
better than it was. Actually, the movie's entire back-story is summed up
in the same cinema. This leaves the player with very little to fight for,
since you already know the outcome by default of you being the good guy
and the good guy always wins.
As for the sound, it's a Game Boy. 'Nuff said.
There's not much to keep this game beyond (pun intended) the initial
play-through. Some may want to go back and find any passages they may
have missed, but other than that, it's a one-trip wonder. If you feel like
pummeling a few thugs and want to work your way through a level or two,
by all means grab this title. Everyone else will need to find their gaming
pleasure elsewhere.