Batman Begins
U.S. Release Date: June 14, 2005
The GameCube Archives Score: 7.2/10
Baton Rouge has one locally owned video game store, Gameware, which has two locations in town. I've befriended the employees in the mall location because I've got to be one of the only people buying retro video games from them at this point. I enjoy that section of the store mostly being in stasis, as I can plan my game purchases far in advance. However, sometimes, I'll just buy a game on a whim. I'm not sure why my last my last purchase from Gameware before the COVID-19 Outbreak was a movie-licensed GameCube game from 2005. Maybe because I haven't seen
Batman Begins since a memorable trip to the theater nearly 15 years ago, and I was looking for an excuse to watch it again. After playing through this game, I did watch the film again, and it is a pretty good flick...but how about it's GameCube adaptation?
There used to be an old rule that any Batman game that was released was
a bad game that was released. I never quite understood that stigma--I absolutely love Sunsoft's
Batman for the NES, even if it's damn near impossible. Whatever the cause, the stigma was decimated in the late 2000's and early 2010's by the Batman: Arkham games, which puts 2005's
Batman Begins in a bit of a Batman video game no man's land.
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| I have no home!...well, Wayne Manor. And the GameCube...and er, the PS2 and XBox...and would you believe, the Game Boy Advance?! |
One thing becomes immediately apparent as soon as
Batman Begins starts spinning in your GameCube--EA went all out on the production values. The characters models and animation are solid for a game from this era, with Batman's billowing cloak a major standout.The graphics have the wonderful, 128-bit GameCube vibe, Gotham City grimy, highly-detailed, and with a general lighting aesthetic of both candled amber and dirty fluorescent. Strangely, the game feels visually akin to the GameCube's Resident Evil games. This isn't that far off from the film's aesthetic, but
Batman Begins definitely leans deep into the movie's "fear" element. Even the music often feels like the soundtrack for a horror game, full of scary ambient soundscapes, though it is punctuated with some bombastic, orchestral action cues.
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| Um...what type of game is this, again? |
Fear is also a major aspect of
Batman Begins' gameplay, as the game often feels cut more from the
Splinter Cell stealth/spy cloth, than the straight up action-platforming of Batman games past. This actually works toward making the game feel more like the movie, though. Batman will enter some area which corresponds very closely to the plot of the film, and sneak around taking out foes, while doing other things to create a general sense of unease in each level's enemies.
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| So that he eventually looks like this to them |
For instance, one stage begins with a cutscene of Batman ramming his car, the famous Batmobile, through a wall, and leaping out, at which point the player suddenly takes control of the Caped Crusader to fight a large group of thugs. Once the bad guys are taken out, the player will have Batman climb into the building's duct-work, to hide out hidden in the ceiling above another group of foes. The player can then throw a Batarang at a shelf of barrels, causing fear and confusion in Batman's enemies. The game has a fear meter, and once Batman has raised it enough, enemies will start dropping their weapons in confusion. Batman can quickly and stealthily swoop down and take out one or two foes at a time before smashing down among who's left to beat them senseless. If the player is able to get the fear meter high enough, it turns red, and whatever individual foe Batman faces at that moment becomes so terrified, they crouch into a fetal position, becoming simple prey. Or the player can just skip all that, charge into the room, and likely get shot to death in two or three seconds.
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| Mind if I drop in? Er...sorry. |
The controls for all of this are pretty streamlined--the one element that really pegs
Batman Begins as a licensed game. While the controls for sneaking around and fighting are pretty intuitive, the game does hold the player's hand to a fault. For instance, while fighting, the player can have Batman punch, kick, block, and jump freely, with responsive controls. Each of these actions have their own respective button on the GameCube controller, and each blow lands with a satisfying crunch. However, there's a context sensitive button, as well. Batman can jump up and roundhouse kick foes that have encircled him, perform a defense-break punch when an enemy is blocking, and kick an enemy hard in the back when he has jumped over their head, but this can only be done at the game's prompting, using the context sensitive button. This gives the combat a little bit of an on-rails feeling that simply isn't necessary. These moves could have easily been mapped to the GameCube's controller, to use at the player's discretion.
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| I want to beat you to a pulp in whatever way I choose! |
The same goes for some of the actions Batman takes when getting the jump on foes. The player is of course in charge of movement, as well as commanding Batman to crouch, sneak, and jump. There are few things as satisfying as jumping Batman from a great height, and then unfurling his cape to glide to the ground. However, if the player wants to throw a smoke bomb, or use the grappling hook, or toss the batarang (essentially a throwing star in this game), they can only do so at select moments that the game allows, again with a context-sensitive button. The player may have an original idea on how to surprise a room full of bad guys, but unless the action happens to go along with the context sensitive moments written into the game's script, there's no way of enacting it. While this does make it more difficult to use all of one item before you really need it, ensuring that the game's big scripted moments land, and doesn't completely take control away from the player, I died several times thinking I'd thought of a good plan of attack, only to discover that the game wouldn't allow it. I'm supposed to be Batman, the freest superhero of them all! Let me be a vigilante!
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| Dammit, now I've got to go off and brood |
Thankfully, these moments don't completely suck the joy out of the game. Combat is still fun, and creeping on and terrifying henchman is still a good time. I just wish the game allowed more player freedom. With the graphics and sound, including voice work from every one of the film's major cast members but Gary Oldman (even Michael Caine is here!), the sheer joy of controlling Batman, and the general gameplay when it doesn't simply become a Quicktime Event,
Batman Begins is an immersive experience. However, though you'll journey from Batman's training in the Himalayas, to his takedown of criminal boss, Carmine Falcone, to his battles against supervillains, Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul,
Batman Begins is not a long game (around ten hours through the first time). That just means it never overstays its welcome, and truthfully, some of the levels are quite long and challenging, despite the hand-holding. Thankfully, save points abound (and you can save to your memory card from any savepoint). Also, some of these levels are...Batmobile stages!
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| My other car is another Batmobile. |
Yes, to add a little more diversity to the gameplay, the developers have included two Batmobile driving stages, one involving an event from the movie, the other a developers' invention to give the player a second chance to get behind the wheel. These two levels aren't overly challenging, generally just requiring the player to smash into enough enemy vehicles, or get the Batmobile from Point A to Point B within a certain time limit, but they're both a blast. EA has perfectly captured the thrill of driving the Batmobile, as the bulky Christopher Nolan version of the iconic car moves incredibly fast and controls tightly, yet feels like a tank smashing through Gotham's highways. These stages run smoothly (as does the rest of the game), and everything generally looks and sounds great.
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| Isn't that right, idiot? |
In addition to this added bonus, the game also rewards the player's progress with unlockable cutscenes and trailers from the film...
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| I miss 2005 |
as well costumes from different eras of Batman's history. There's also the bonus option to visit Arkham Asylum, where you can see the major foes you've defeated up to whatever point you are in the game. Rather archaically, though,
Batman Begins doesn't feature a level select, outside of one for the Batmobile levels. This means the only levels the player can choose from are from are whatever save points they've stored on the game's six allotted memory card spots.
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| World's Greatest Detective laying the smack down |
Overall, while the game has some considerable flaws, I had a great time playing through
Batman Begins. The dark atmosphere is rather brilliant, evoking not only horror game vibes, but the movie itself--integral to any licensed game,
Batman Begins actually feels like it puts you in the film. That's more than many of the other licensed GameCube games in Gameware's bargain bin can say.
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