Batman Begins [Xbox]

When word of the new Batman movie hit the streets, the reaction was generally positive. Finally, the franchise was being given a chance to "reset," to wipe the slate clean. Sadly, the Batman Begins game doesn't fare quite so well. For all of the game's technical achievements, Batman Begins fails to rise above mediocrity.

Following the events of the film nearly blow for blow, the game practically redefines linear. Whereas some licensed titles take the time to expand on the franchise and allow you to explore events that weren't shown on screen, Batman Begins sticks close to home the whole way through. Oddly enough, this actually hurts the flow of the game, as there is little to connect each level aside from some tightly edited movie clips. If you have not seen the film, the jump from section to section can be somewhat jarring.

From a purely technical standpoint, Batman Begins does most things right, with a solid graphics engine and excellent voice acting. All of the main characters are voiced by the same actors from the film. Level designs match the look and feel of Gotham City as inspired by Frank Miller's early comics, and the "fear effect" drug makes Batman look downright demonic. Unfortunately, it takes more than just pretty visuals and a good soundtrack to make a quality game. Once you delve beneath the surface, there is little depth to Batman Begins.

The biggest problem with the game is the pure linearity of it. Rather than giving the player freedom to explore and tackle various problems, the game forces you down one specific path. Trying to deviate means instant death. Not exactly an enjoyable alternative.

No matter which version of Batman you follow, the one common thread is that the Dark Knight is an excellent fighter, master of hand-to-hand combat. So it's disappointing then that the combat engine in Batman Begins is extremely basic. You get a punch, a kick, and a special attack -- that's it. Oh, and special attacks can only be used those when the icon flashes on the screen.

Aside from reducing all of the fighting to button mashing, the restrictive special attack implementation also kills any attempt at tactics. You might think that throwing a smoke grenade or a flash bang into a group of enemies would be a good way to distract them before jumping into the fray. Not possible here. Batman can only throw a grenade at an opponent after he has landed a punch or two in close combat. It's not only counter-intuitive, it's just plain dumb.

In addition to the poor combat, the game also suffers from a restrictive scripting engine which is designed to trigger events within the game. The problem arises when you try to do something before the game expects it or when the scripting fails altogether. For example, at one point you enter a booby-trapped room that's filling with gas. To escape, you much grapple to a vent on the ceiling. However, the vent can only be interacted with after the gas starts choking Batman.

In other sections, you have to defeat a group of armed opponents. The only way to do so without getting gunned down is to destroy something in the environment, such as a scaffolding, to sufficiently frighten them before attacking. More than once, the game would fail to trigger the fear response, resulting in an undefeatable group of enemies. The only option was to reload from the last checkpoint and try again.

On the PlayStation 2, Batman Begins also suffers from an unstable framerate that causes unsightly choppiness. It isn't unusual for the game to freeze for a split second if you turn too quickly or for the framerate to drop anytime you are fighting more than a pair of enemies.

Perhaps the most enjoyable sections of the game are also the shortest -- the two Batmobile levels. You will race through downtown Gotham City in the tank-like Batmobile while trying to take out criminals or cops, Burnout-style. Once completed, it's possible to replay the two Batmobile levels at any time.

Requiring only five to seven hours to finish, and having virtually no replay value, only the most dedicated fans should own Batman Begins. In the world of superhero games, Bruce Wayne could use a little help from Peter Parker.