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Batman is back in a new video game adventure for the first time since last year’s Batman: Arkham Asylum, and while the Dark Knight’s new Nintendo exclusive title can’t touch Arkham Asylum in terms of quality, it’s still a lot of fun, especially for the hardcore DC fan. Based off the Cartoon Network series Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which is based of the premise of the original 1970s comic series The Brave and the Bold, Batman teams up with a new fellow superhero each level in classic beat-em-up fashion, which is awesome with a friend.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: The Video Game

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: WayForward
Released: Sept. 7, 2010
Platforms: Nintendo Wii, DS
ESRB: Everyone 10+

If you’re a fan of the cartoon, then you’ll love the game. The Brave in the Bold is divided into four episodes, all of which are completely original stories with animations made exclusively for the game. Cutscenes animated as crisply as the show introduce each episode along with the villain you’ll be chasing and the hero you’ll be teaming with. With seamless drop-in-drop-out co-op, Robin, Blue Beetle, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Hawkman are your sidekicks with the game’s A.I. taking over in the event your BFF is a hardcore Marvel purest. The best part about your partners in crime fighting are their unique personalities. Robin is ever the angsty teenager, Blue Beetle has legitimately hilarious one liners poking fun at his foes, Guy Gardner is the asshole we’ve always loved, and Hawkman is the grizzled and somewhat creepy veteran. In addition to your playable compadres, even more classic heroes make cameos for the classic “kill all enemies on screen” special. Aquaman and Jay Garrick (the original Flash) have some particularly hilarious battle cries.

Gameplay is simple old school side-scrolling beat-em-up and platforming with basic punches, high kicks, and blocks as the meat of your arsenal, and of course it wouldn’t be Batman without the use of those wonderful toys from his utility belt. Batarangs, smoke bombs, grappling hooks, and jetpacks are just a few of the gadgets at Batman’s disposal, and all of them are upgradeable with the points collected while taking down foes. Unfortunately, as cool as having all the gadgets is, and a super move activated by waving the Wii controller, none of it is very necessary. This is where the game’s biggest flaw occurs: the game is insanely easy. All your moves and equipment are nice to have, but just punching is enough to get the job done.

Platforming elements and differentiating henchmen keep things from getting too repetitive, but experienced gamers will see right through it. The levels are pretty linear, and a few secret pathways offer a bit of replayability, but, sadly, this isn’t a big enough change to make playing through a second time worthwhile. Nothing at all about the game really stands out. Even boss battles are way too easy. Dying in the game only punishes you by taking away any points earned. A set back for sure for anyone looking to upgrade gadgets, but merely a slap on the wrist.

Brave and the Bold has no online capabilities, but you can connect to the Nintendo DS version of the game for a back-up third player in Bat-Mite. The DS version of the game is much of the same, just on a smaller scale, but still lots of fun.

This family friendly version of Batman may be a bit too Adam West for some fans, but that’s never a bad thing to me. I really like classic style games like this, but I wish the developers would have taken more risks. Then again, this game is tailored more toward kids, so only so much can be expected.

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Andrew Hurst
andrewhurst@comicattack.net