Bruce vs. Bats:
The Batman series – in all its myriad mediums – has always been a story of Bruce Wayne versus the Bat. Both from a thematic standpoint – the violent actions of Batman versus Wayne’s political dance, and Bruce’s successes and missteps as to when he plays one role over the other – as well as a narrative one.
The latter is a more difficult tightrope to walk: Bruce Wayne is, for better or worse, a plot device, one that keeps things moving and grounded in human drama, whilst audiences love Batman for his no-nonsense, bone-crunching response to threat. Telltale continues to struggle with this balance in Episode 2 of their series.
Story:
Whilst episode one’s pacing felt considered at every turn, with even the slightest reveals being treated with smart, careful writing, episode two becomes wreckless and haphazard. Friends become enemies in the blink of an eye and vice versa, sometime with only a single awkwardly written line of dialogue attempting to explain the change, at others nothing at all. I genuinely thought I’d missed something when one villain’s plot jumped so far ahead without any explanation. Whilst I wasn’t necessarily a fan of the plodding feel of the series’ premiere – often feeling it coddled the player a bit too much – this is wild step in a strange direction.
Gameplay:
When the game’s action scenes are running at full tilt it’s nothing short of spectacular. Fights are choreographed beautifully, but, more importantly, carry a distinct comic book vibe. The animation is fluid – almost liquid, really, with character models seemingly stretching and warping in unnatural ways that give the sense of superhuman punches, kicks and awesome acrobatics. One scene in particular which saw Batman facing off against a lumbering giant of an opponent felt like a comic book brought to life in a way I’ve never seen come close to before, especially in the medium of videogames, and left me agape at how far Telltale had come from the awkward fights of their earlier titles.
The choice system in Telltale games needs a bit of a shakeup. It’ll be alright for fans of Batman coming to the genre fresh for the first time, but for fans of Telltale themselves, like myself, each choice that’s offered to you is the same as what’s come before. Not only in the options themselves – which are always either political (choose who to side with!) or life or death (choose who to save!) – but in their execution as well.
Wide, dramatic sweeps between two characters, slow zooms on a grinning villain who’s just offered a risky truce. There was one choice however that mixed things up: you’re given the option to tackle a situation as either Bruce Wayne or suit up and go as Batman. It surprised me in both its execution and its repercussions, and it fit so well with the Batman mythos that I was pleasantly surprised.
Presentation:
Children of Arkham is a hiccup in what has been a new leaf for Telltale. For a while now each game they’ve released has been flawless, but I suddenly ran into problem after problem when playing through episode two. Scenes that only rendered silhouettes (and no, this wasn’t awesome Frank Miller art direction), heavy slowdown on scenes that didn’t seem especially taxing, and buggy eyes popping out of characters heads. It was all a bit ugly. Admittedly I played this an hour after it came out, but I’ve still come to expect more from Telltale this year.
When it was running well, Batman is probably Telltale’s best looking game. Overly dramatic lighting, that same brilliant noir vibe from the first episode, it all just works. I just hope that going forwards Telltale get their ducks in a row before shipping the game, as when its working, it really works.
Conclusion:
Batman is a promising series that hasn’t hit its stride just yet. I’d definitely say for Batfans this one is worth it, but for fans of Telltale expecting something fresh it might be worth waiting a little longer. I’m in it for the long haul, I just hope Bruce Wayne gives me a reason to believe.
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