The overall game is pretty solid, but this game is too short.
Like the film, the game follows millionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), showing how he became the crime fighter Batman. So far as I know, some part of the game is actually more of a flashback because the first level of the game consists of Batman trying to fight Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy), aka the Scarecrow, but he is sprayed by the Scarecrow's fear toxin and falls into the streets of Gotham. After that, you follow the basic plot of the movie: Wayne goes to the Himalayas to learn with Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), and then returns back to Gotham to take on crime lord Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), Crane, and Ducard, who is revealed to Ra's Al Ghul, as Batman.
Like the movie, the main aspect of the gameplay in this game is fear. Batman uses this to, of course, bring fear to those who prey upon the innocent. This is actually pretty essential too because you learn from Ducard that it is smart to take down enemies who have weapons first because in this game, if you take on a group of enemies with weapons, you're pretty much dead and that Batsuit isn't bulletproof. So, to take care of this dilemma, you can either A.) sneak attack the goons who have weapons without being seen or B.) cause an event like an explosion (again, while hidden). Then, the goons will drop their weapons and give you the right moment to kick their ass. There are also a few HUD meters that appear on screen that are associated with this style of gameplay. The main meter in the game is the Reputation meter, which shows basically how much of a name Batman has made himself. Another meter shows a targeted goon's heart rate. This will go up thanks to the Caped Crusader and I don't think I have to explain what you can do to cause fear.
There are two main types of levels in the game. The first is the main style of gameplay which has Batman going throughout the various environments of the game taking on the crooks of Gotham. Batman is able to climb pipes and chains to help him stay undetected. Batman has a number of weapons at his disposal to help him. There is the Batarang which isn't used in combat, but is used by Batman to hit objects from far away. In combat, Batman can use Smoke and Flash Bang grenades to stun the enemy. After taking down an enemy, there are some instances where you interrogate them to find out some key information. Another form of the 'sneak attack' has Batman taking out enemies from above which is pretty much guaranteed to keep you hidden even after you knock a guy out.
The other part of the gameplay has the player driving the Batmobile through Gotham City. This is actually only used in two levels but the overall gameplay is basic: you either have to drive to a certain location or take down some enemy cars either by crashing into them or using weapons but mainly you just ram into cars. It's pretty simple and like I said there are only two levels where you drive it.
That would lead, I guess, into the first complaint I have with this game. Even though these stages have been generally criticized, I think that they are actually pretty fun to play and it's really cool to drive the Batmobile. But, it would've been cooler if there were more levels where you could drive. Another complaint I kind of have is that these weapons you have can only be used at one part of a single level (when you're supposed to take down a truck). That's the only time in the entire game when you can use those weapons so like before, it would've been cooler if there were some more times where you could use the weapons on the Batmobile. Instead, all you can do basically is just ram into enemy cars and let's be honest, that is both A.) boring after a while and B.) hazardous to the armor system on the Batmobile. I know that it would be a bad situation if one of those weapons takes out a regular civilian's car, but you have a lock-on system so what's the point of having weapons if you use them only once.
So that leads into my main complaint with the game: the game's rather short. I checked the guide for this game on IGN and apparently there's only like 8 main levels and like I said, only 2 Batmobile stages. The plot did follow the overall movie, but look at a game like Spider-Man 2. That followed the movie too, but added more in to make the game longer. I'm sure it could've worked out fine here. Also, there aren't any collectibles to find in the levels so once you complete the game, the only rewards you have are different Batsuits to wear in the main game. It's cool to see Batman in these costumes, but there's nothing else.
One final complaint is that the sneak attacks could've been more elaborate. It's pretty much the same attack every time you do it. Again, like with the overall length of the game, it would've been better if they added more to this. Although I have to say, the sneak attacks from above are pretty cool and unlike the regular sneak attacks, don't get boring after the tenth time.
Yes, those complaints do keep the game from being perfect. However, I have to say the rest of the game is pretty good. First off, the graphics and overall design of the game are amazing. The game designers did a really good job in designing Gotham City. For a 2005 game and a GameCube game, the graphics look very good. Now, while I was describing the plot of the game, I listed the actors who were in the film. That's because they also did the voices for the game too and that's a good thing in my opinion for a movie based video game. The fighting system for the game probably is similar to some other fighting game, but it's easy to pick up and doesn't' get difficult.
So compared to other movie based video games, Batman Begins is better than most. But, it's too short and can easily be completed in about 4 hours or so. Even though the game is relatively too short, everything else in the game is pretty good. The graphics really represent the movie well and the game in general is a solid platformer. I wouldn't recommend you own this title, but it's a solid game for renting. If they do make a video game for Dark Knight Rises (the next Batman movie), hopefully they can take the overall gameplay of this title and make it better.