Batman: The Brave and the Bold review (Wii)
Cartoons often lose their magic when they make the leap into video games. It seems that only a small percentage of the initial fan base has the loyalty and capabilities—let alone the money—to follow one of their favorite cartoons into new territory. Take Rugrats, for example. The children’s show entered video game space during the PlayStation era with Rugrats: Search for Reptar, a blotchy, 3D-animated adventure game that set my teeth on edge back in the late 90s. Plenty of gamers can vouch for the game’s existence, but I’m willing to bet that few can rattle off the lengthy list of Nintendo 64, GameCube, GameBoy Color, GameBoy Advance, and CD Rom sequels that were produced.
Other cartoons have fared better, like Nintendo’s Epic Mickey, which has enjoyed some healthy attention recently, and Krusty’s Super Fun House for the SNES (I remember its spotlight in old Nintendo Power issues). Success comes down to, first and foremost, developer talent and marketing of games, but it seems that a common element in how much fun these games are to play is how approachable they are to gamers who have never tuned in to the shows.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold gets it right. When dealing with such an iconic and culturally prevalent character as Batman, you’re instantly going to attract legions of fans. The ingredients are already there: Many comics readers are also gamers, and the number of comic book-inspired video games is on the rise (just look at SOE’s newly released DC Universe Online or games like The Darkness II). Not to mention there has always been a strong following for Batman cartoons, and The Brave and the Bold is the latest turnout.
WayForward Technologies honors the spirit of the show incredibly well. The humor and camp are sealed into almost every line of dialogue, and the colorfully rendered environments are just as vibrant as the show itself. The game lags awfully when it comes to introductory videos, but barely skips a beat during regular cut-scenes.
The music is catchy at times but rarely memorable, with the exception of the main theme (which you’ll hear a lot). The soundtrack takes a backseat to the graphics and co-operative gameplay, which falls into a stale and repetitive cycle that’s only broken by the occasional boss fight. Many of the enemies behave like reproductions of one another, and even when new creatures (like the Starros) are thrown into the mix, their novelty quickly fades.
The saving grace of gameplay, though, is how well the developer uses the show’s gimmick to its advantage: the mingling of popular and little known comic book characters. Batman teams up with a different superhero each episode, and each batch of levels sports a theme that’s tailored to his partner’s unique skills and attacks. Constantly changing the identity of the second player character, as well as those of the villains and secondary heroes you can call upon for special moves, keeps the game fresh and saves it from redundancy.
The wide array of gadgets serves, for example, Blue Beetle and Hawkman better than the Dark Knight himself. Most are too expensive for him to buy early on, but upgrades for the other heroes are much more reasonably priced. The real pain, though, is the money pool. Each player scrambles for beat-’em-up points and coins across levels, generating friendly competition when individual rankings appear, but all that money is funneled into one account for purchasing gadgets. It’s a minor inconvenience, but one that’s unfair to players eager to get their hands on a certain upgrade.
Level design suffers as well, not necessarily because of shortcomings in platforming but rather because of frequent glitches that cheat players out of lives. More than once I found myself stuck in a crouch position, and oftentimes my own partner in crime would have to advance into the next scene to save me from an impossible situation.
Overall, Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a casual good time, filled with laughs at the goofy story but also dashed with various frustrations. It’s by no means a challenging game, but it pulls its weight surprisingly well. 7.5/10
Also available on Nintendo DS.
