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Related Reviews 
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| Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker | |
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Blech! |
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Batman Beyond is confusing from the get-go. Rather than using the X button like every other game on the PlayStation, this game goes its own way and confuses the gamer by using the O.
And it’s all downhill from there. Well, not quite, Batman Beyond makes a couple of brief rallies with its use of the rocking soundtrack from the television animated series, and Batman does have a number of different costumes, into which he can change at any time (Offensive, Defensive, Nimble…), that change how he performs, almost like having a variety of characters to choose from. Then it’s all downhill; steeply too. One player only in a scrolling beat-em up button mash? Unheard of. This style of game works best with two gamers distracting one another with banter as they repeatedly pump on the punch and kick buttons; “Hey Timmy, d’ya see Batman Beyond yesterday?” punch, punch, punch “Ya, I love that show, Batman kicks…” kick, kick, kick “Leave me that power-up, I’m nearly dead…” punch, punch, punch “Oops, sorry…” kick, kick, kick “Bastage…” punch, kick, punch By yourself this sort of thing gets bored and lonely fast, and the game doesn’t even have any animation from the animated series. Activision has done a great job of games like Tarzan, based on Disney licenses, by including great cut-scenes from the properties they are working with. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker has static comic book-style cutscenes with pop-up diologue. They couldn’t even spring for voice talent. Besides being a lonely affair, Batman Beyond’s gameplay has some issues. Batman is artificially limited to portions of the environment during combat, unable to walk to the other side of the room until he has defeated the current enemies and the game says he can “Play On.” Keys and powerups spawn slowly after the dull pattern-based enemies that carried them are defeated, so Batman may arrive at the end of an area and have to retrace his steps to find the pass-key he didn’t see spawn. And worst of all, there is no way to save your game in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. If you want to get to the end of this one, you’ll have to do it all in one perfect setting. Very frustrating, to say the least, and difficult to understand. Young, inexperienced gamers who are big Batman Beyond fans –the Batman pjama-wearing kind- may find enough thrill in controlling their animated hero, but anyone looking for quality gaming should look elsewhere. |
