What could have been a great side-scroller is marred by its insane ease and short length.
You start off fighting that most famous of Batman enemies, the Joker. Anyone familiar with Batman will have a fangasm right off the bat for this most beloved of villains. The action is standard beat em up, with a mix of batman powers to keep the action varied and fun. Youll find the most popular of his equipment available to you in the batarang and his grappling hook. Like any old side-scroller you fight your way through a throng of faceless henchmen to get to the boss at the end of the level. Really youre not given anytime to get tired of the combat because the game ends to early to give you a chance.
Each level is varied, offering different locations and enemies to vanquish. The nice twist(which I read is the hallmark of the animated series) is that in each level Batman will find a new ally with different powers . You switch between Batman and these allies with a touch of your stylus adding a little more depth to the combat and platforming. Different heroes you will meet, such as the Green Lantern and Aquaman, give you new powers that you will need to use to get through the levels. At the end of each level you will have a boss fight with the antagonist of said level, usually a bunch of no name villains new for the series I imagine but mixed in with staples such as Catwoman and Scarecrow. The boss fights are mind numbingly easy as is the combat throughout the game which really takes away from any sense of accomplishment.
The graphics are nice and the visuals seem to stick to the style of the series. As you progress through the game you will earn points that allow you buy new equipment and make batman stronger which adds a nice RPG like aspect to the game. In the end though the lack of any challenge whatsoever and the extremely short length of the game really detracts from what could have been a special game on the DS.
At the end of the day though if youre a gigantic fan of the series or of Batman their is some joy to be found in this game. Anyone with very young kids especially would find this to be a good purchase since I think a Daschund would have no trouble in beating it.