When it comes to Batman games, I am an apologist. That said, I know the difference between a good game and a bad one, and Batman Begins Mobile is fun game. Batman Begins is able to take the movie’s emphasis on stealth and implement solid action and controls into the gameplay to create an enjoyable experience.Batman Begins Mobile, like many cell phone games, puts 16 bit graphics and somewhat-mindless gameplay onto the cell phone. In this case, Begins is a better example of the type. Begins features the standard control set used by other mobile action games: use the numeric keypad or if you have one, the joystick on your phone. As you might expect, using the joystick is a much better control option. The controls work fairly well, but I encountered problems during several instances that required more agile control.
You take on the role of the superhero as he looks to bring down Carmen Falcone, the gangster boss in the movie. Although the game’s five missions can be completed quickly, the levels keep you moving, and if you’re familiar with side-scrolling action games of the 16-bit era, you’ll have a good sense of what to expect. Instead of killing your enemies, once you knock them down, you can tie them down to disable them. You have access to several of Batman’s tools, such as batarangs, explosives, and his grapple. You can also glide from building to building once you unlock the ability later in the game.
Stealth is emphasized in the gameplay, and while it isn’t critical to succeeding in a mission, you’re given some interesting options to take down enemies. One move, taken directly from the movie, has you hanging over an enemy, and you can drop right down on him. You can also creep up to someone from behind to take him down quietly. Otherwise, aside from your tools, you will rely on the basic punch and jump kick as your attack options.
Graphically, Begins looks solid, nothing super smooth or impressive, but you can definitely distinguish the world around you. Aurally, the same applies; solid, but nothing to be highlighted.
Batman Begins will be more interesting to existing fans of the license, but stands well on its own. With a solid tie-in to the movie material and fun gameplay, the only detractor for the game is its length. It can be finished in a couple of hours, but it is fun to revisit as a quick-play title. Test System: Sony Erricsson W800i
I love video games. I just don't play too many of them. I grew up always having to learn about games through my (incredibly cheap) subscription to Video Games and Computer Entertainment (10 years later, this magazine is now known as Tips And Tricks). I'd read through each issue several times, remembering all the screenshots and details, but it was rare that I'd actually to get play any of the games featured just because I didn't have the money to do so. Now, I'm lucky enough to work in the industry, at a position that requires me to be a video game expert. Apparently I really did learn something from all that reading back then! I still don't play a lot of games though.
I enjoy virtually all game genres, except for PC war strategy, which I'm sure I just can't handle in terms of sophistication. My true calling in gaming is the PC FPS. It's the only genre where I'm willing to overlook major flaws in a particular game, finish it, and enjoy it anyway.
I also have a fascination with digitized video games (Fox Hunt, Psychic Detective, Angel Devoid), a now-defunct genre. Back when full-motion-video was all the rage, these games were supposed to be the next step in bringing Hollywood to the gamer, but most of the time, these efforts resulted in hilarious (and ridiculous) "interactive" movies that, instead of bringing innovation to the industry, only paved the way for the bad voice acting that the industry still suffers from today.
