EAG 2014: First Impressions: Batman

First Impressions: Batman

I was generally surprised to see this sitting under the Namco Bandai booth actually. A Batman game that is based around the driving, what is this madness!? Anyway it’s a part of EAG so it’s going to be one of few times I’ll get to practice on it for free.

The basic premise of this game is that you are driving around in the bat mobile stopping various crimes on the move. You have a choice of 8 batman vehicles ranging from the original Batman to the Dark Knight movies. They don’t drive too differently but there is minor differences including handling and top speed, in the end though all cars can finish the level so choice does not hamper progress. Weapons are collected like temporary power ups through the level ranging from auto cannons, missiles, drones and battering rams. Each of them significantly improves your chances of finishing a level restively unscathed and appears generally frequently.

Game progress involves having 3 boss routes to choose with both a hard and an easy mode version. The bosses are Mr Freeze, Bane and The Joker, and you fight the one selected at the end of 5 stages. Within each level, you have to complete the objective given before the time runs out. If you don’t, you get an objective failed but not a game over. After 5 stages you will fight the boss and have to complete a series of objectives until the game ends. Harder routs have harder objectives and less time but they are still doable.

The game is also open world, similar to Burnout Paradise, so while the game will lead you to your objectives, you can take shortcuts to avoid enemies, collectibles or just to get to a location faster. This really does changes things a lot from the typical arcade game while it shows off quite a bit of character. The only time it is not open world is when taking on bosses, which makes sense.

Armour bars are on the right hand of the screen indicate how much health you have, one attack does not mean one marker come off (You start with 5 green ones) but different attacks can mean one can come off completely. Being continuously attacked can easily lose you one armour mark so avoid obstacles and enemy fire is important. However in this game, it’s really hard to know what you are taking damage from. When you take damage, the screen has a window crack animation play while it’s blurs red making it incredibly hard to see what’s coming next, especially with multiple targets on screen.

The controls were interesting for a driving game, all it needed to make a tight corner is a quick swerve and the game will automatically right itself when taking the corner and by pressing break and performing a sharp turn will cause the car to 180. These two control schemes give the game a very different feel compared to any other driving game on the arcade. An excellent way to differentiate itself from racers while giving itself that unique feel.

Overall one of the better games at EAG International 2014. It's high adrenaline, thrill seeking ride and really makes itself different from the rest. I’m hoping to see more of in the arcade near me, it holds a lot of promise.