Batman Begins First Look

The Batman Begins movie marks the rebirth of one of the most enduring comic icons on the big screen after a lengthy absence. The game Batman Begins is doing roughly the same thing, although the Dark Knight hasn't been missing as much on consoles, since the last few years have seen several games featuring the tireless crusader of justice. However, much like his last few cinematic outings, Batman's games have been hit-or-miss affairs that have left fans wanting something meatier and more authentic, but also much like its big-screen cousin, Batman Begins aims to bring the costumed crime fighter back into the spotlight with a sleek debut. Reps from EA and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment popped by today to demo work-in-progress PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game, which is currently in development at Eurocom in the UK.

For the bat-obssessive, Batman Begins closely mirrors the plot of the highly anticipated movie with some dramatic license taken to flesh out the experience and make for a more satisfying game. For example, Arkham Asylum, the famed madhouse that's home to the Gotham City criminals who've been caught by the police, makes an appearance in the film that's considerably extended in the game. For those looking for more on the narrative, we provide this primer: Batman Begins is a tale in the vein of many of the classic comic stories. The movie and game will both follow the troubled life of millionaire Bruce Wayne, who, after being orphaned when his parents are gunned down by a thug, vows to fight crime wearing a costume modeled after a bat in order to strike fear into the hearts of evildoers. As you'd expect, becoming a costumed vigilante with the skills and gear to fight crime doesn't happen automatically, nor is it an easy job, so Batman Begins will let you play through a slice of Batman's formative years as he faces off against the skinny master of fear, The Scarecrow.

Now, while previous games starring Batman have focused more on his skill as a user of gadgets, Batman Begins aims to show off every facet of his unique skill set. In the comics, Batman is portrayed as a master detective, a highly trained fighter, and an Olympic-level athlete who augments his natural skills with his gadgets and suit. Batman Begins is attempting to encompass all of the above with its unique gameplay that is equal parts stealth action and brawler. While the early descriptors bandied about for the game have likened it to a Metal Gear or Splinter Cell game--the latter comparison due in part to the large number of team members who worked on the first two entries in Ubisoft's acclaimed series and Batman's Sam Fisher-esque move set--they're not exactly accurate. While it's true that the core gameplay in Batman Begins relies heavily on stealth and sneaking, even including such handy tools as optic cable for spying under and through locked doors, the game's pace is much more fluid. Though you'll be able to walk, crouch, sneak, jump, hang onto ledges, climb, hug corners, and slink around the shadows in your environment to avoid detection and take out enemies which are stealth game staples, there's a bit more to the action in Batman Begins.

First off you'll notice a Knights of the Old Republic-style reticle that will clue you in to what you can interact with in the environment. You'll be able to cycle through targets by using the directional pad on the controller. The reticle will change depending on what it's focused on, so, for example, places where you can use your grapple will feature a different icon than objects that require some investigation. When you highlight enemies you'll be provided with some crucial bits of information that will come in handy as you decide the best way to handle them. You'll also be clued in to whether or not they're armed, as denoted by a specific weapon icon next to the info box in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, and you'll be given their pulse rate. In our demo, the average enemy maintained a heart rate of 60 beats per minute and was packing a pistol or a knife.

Although you may think the weapon information is key, it appears as though your foes' pulses will rank right up there on the list of important things to be aware of as you play because of the unique fear mechanic, which is one of the pillars of the experience. As longtime fans of the comic, we have to say we're especially pleased to see Eurocom incorporating such a feature, as the Dark Knight is a whiz at intimidation and messing with people's heads in his many book and comic appearances. Based on our demo, it appears that the fear mechanic comes in to play in a number of ways. Thanks to Batman's status as an urban legend, he has a terrifying effect on evildoers when he appears. However, his boogeyman status can be augmented by proper timing and interaction with the environment. So before making an appearance and scaring criminals silly, you'll be better served by strategically knocking things over and raising their level of anxiety before making your grand entrance. For example, while you could just surprise some thugs milling about a warehouse, you're better off knocking over a weak support near the ceiling that will send boxes crashing to the ground and unsettle the hoodlums. Once they're good and nervy, you can pop down and really make them wet their pants.

One Dark Knight

The fear mechanic ties in nicely to the game's combat system, which is a Tekken-style mix of punches and kicks. Included is a context-sensitive attack that will vary depending on the situation. The more frightened your foes are of you, the easier the battle will be. While Batman clearly isn't a wuss and can throw down with just about any thug he meets, it never hurts to have an edge, especially when confronted by mobs. The context-sensitive attack is an interesting and smartly implemented control, and in the demo, we saw that it has several uses. During most fights it let Batman perform a finishing move that takes out an enemy once he has been properly softened up. In another segment it let Batman perform a ground sweep that cleared the area around him as he rose after being knocked to the ground.

When the odds get too tough, you can rely on one of the many items on your utility belt. We saw a smoke bomb put to good use, disorienting some thugs before Batman dropped down to kick some butt. In addition, we witnessed some batarang action that saw the bat-shaped projectiles being flung at one of the aforementioned weak struts in a warehouse. During the demo we saw a host of other handy gadgets available for use from Batman's utility belt, so we don't expect there will be a shortage of tech gadgetry to help you fight crime. You'll also be able to use your cape to glide to areas that would otherwise be inaccessible.

The graphics in the game are shaping up to offer moody and atmospheric visuals on both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. We saw only two environments during the demo: Arkham Asylum and a slum area in Gotham called The Narrows, which seems to be made up of decaying buildings. We were pleasantly surprised by the game's faithful take on Arkham, which has had numerous incarnations in the book through the work of dozens of skilled artists over the years. The asylum had a nice eerie look to it that certainly conveyed the institution's unsettling innards. The color palette and detailed textures paint a fine disturbing picture. The Narrows was an interesting locale that may remind some fans of Gotham circa the No Man's Land story arc. The decaying buildings are enhanced by some nice particle effects and sharp lighting that is exceptional even in this work-in-progress state. The game will feature clips from the film as well as in-game cinematics to move the story along. As for the specifics for each console, the Xbox version features the best performance of the two at this point in development. The textures in the game were crisp, the lighting was impressive, and the shadows were nicely done. The PlayStation 2 version fell short of the Xbox game's clarity but was still extremely impressive and showcased some eye-catching visuals. The game's frame rate, although inconsistent in a few places, is shaping up well and moves smoothly on both platforms.

The audio in Batman Begins, while still very early in the games we saw, was shaping up well. The score suited the action well and had just the right amount of menace to it, and the voice offered a taste of what to expect from the film, thanks to the presence of Michael Caine as Alfred and of Christian Bale, arguably the best actor to wear the cowl. The chatter from thugs was animated enough, although nothing to write home about.

Based on today's demonstraton we're intrigued by Batman Begins. The game's faithful adherence to the Batman mythos and its ties to the promising movie are reason enough to have hope that it's headed in a positive direction. Fans of the comic will be pleased to play the most faithful version of the Dark Knight in a game to date, while action fans will surely be pleased by the game's pacing, which is less methodical than Splinter Cell or Metal Gear. Batman Begins is currently slated to ship this June for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. In addition, PSP and Game Boy Advance games are slated to hit at the same time.