14 August,2016 09:36 AM IST | | Jaison Lewis
The new Batman from Telltale lets the investigative side of Bruce Wayne shine. This is a welcome change from the usual beat-em-up variety of Batman games
Batman gets the Telltale treatment and it is as glorious as you would imagine it to be. Sure, there is none of the regular action that you get with the other games of the Batman franchise, but the story makes up for the lack of real fighting.
It starts off with a heist that has been hijacked by Catwoman, which Batman successfully thwarts. A fight follows, where you can experience some of their underlying chemistry, sort of a tango with grappling guns and claws. Needless to say, Catwoman gets away. Don't worry she comes back later, for an interesting twist.
The voice over for most characters is decent. We, however, didn't like the voices for Batman and The Penguin. The character design for Bruce Wayne has a very 'Archer' (the espionage based cartoon series) look about him and every time he opens his mouth we expect a deep voice, but what we get is not as commanding.
The Penguin's character Oz is another place Telltale has thrown out the rule book. He is actually Bruce Wayne's childhood friend who lost his fortune with the city's declining moral fiber. He is upset, but his story is not in the forefront during the first episode of this game. The audience knows he is connected, but you can't figure out how, just yet.
Harvey Dent is also in the game, not as Two-Face, but as District Attorney Dent who is campaigning to become the mayor of Gotham city. Considering the twist in Penguin's character, we don't know if he will turn into Two-Face, but there are indications that Harvey is willing to play the political game to make sure he wins.
The highlight of the game is the story. It unfolds brilliantly and at the end, you will want to play through the rest of the episodes as they are released. The investigations and fight planning is also an area where Batman shines. You can link evidence to uncover how the crime took place - a nice way to bring point-and-click adventures to a newer audience.
The fight planning is also interesting. Instead of going in guns blazing, or controlling your characters every move, Telltale lets you plan the combat and then unfolds the entire thing, requiring you to press a couple of buttons to initiate the actions.
Overall, this is a great first episode. At around 90 minutes, the game is short, but you have to remember this is just episode one and there are several more to come. Highly recommended for Batman fans.
Batman: The Telltale Series
Rating: 3.5/5
Developer: Telltale Games
Platform: PC, XBO, PS4
Price: PC (Rs 619); Console (Rs 1,799)
