Gaming Target - Game Boy: Batman: Vengeance

Written by Kyle Williams on October 01, 2001

First Impressions: Fill the shoes of Keaton, Kilmer and Clooney.

Batman is once again going on the road with gamers, this time in an animated series inspired title called Batman: Vengeance. When it hits shelves later this month you will be able to take Batman on a quest to clean up the streets of Gotham City by picking up the pieces of a crime wave triggered by the apparent death of the Joker. You will be forced to bring down Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and countless lackeys in your quest to keep the innocent members of Gotham safe. Fortunately, you will have Batman's arsenal of gadgets and doodads to help you bring the vermin to justice.

The action of Batman: Vengeance is taking four separate forms for gamers to master. The first is straightforward platform action, akin to (but much better looking than) the old NES Batman game. The second mode puts you behind the wheel of the infamous Batmobile as you go zipping through the streets of Gotham City. Mode number three takes you off of the streets and into the air as you pilot the iconic Batplane. The final game mode helps to round out the action experience as the Caped Crusader is forced to solve puzzles in order to get to the roots of the crime wave.

Batman: Vengeance is going to be full of eye-catching visuals. The in-game graphics are going to help illustrate the difference between the GBC and GBA hardware potential. The story is also going to be prompted along using still shots taken from the PS2 video cut-scenes. What I've seen of these shots is simply breathtaking and is going to set a standard for GBA visuals. The only thing that could be better than those shots would be if the cut-scenes in their entirety could be shown. Oh well, it's only a handheld system, there is nothing to complain about as long as the gameplay is as solid as it looks.