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Batman: Dark Tomorow Review
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Developer |
Kemco
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| Publisher |
Kemco
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| Genre |
Action
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Batman: Dark Tomorrow is a rarity in that it’s not often that a game comes along that is so well conceived yet so poorly executed that one can’t wonder what happened during development. After suffering through numerous delays and having a development time that lasted what seemed to be the better part of a century, Kemco’s take on the caped crusader disappoints, frustrates, and oftentimes disgusts.
Gameplay - Oh where to begin? As you fumble your way through the first few levels of the game, you’ll soon discover that Dark Tomorrow is a game of trial and error. Go the wrong way: die and start over. Use the wrong Bat Tool: die and start over. To be fair, one must note that the story line itself was penned by DC Comics writer Scott Peterson with help from Final Fantasy legend Kenji Terada and it’s a story that is very well done and does a fantastic job of capturing the gritty comic book feel of Gotham City. Along your journey, you’ll come across familiar faces, such as Oracle, Black Mask, Scarface, The Joker, Mr. Freeze, and more. These sorts of features may encourage hardcore Batman fanatics to suffer through the hideous gameplay, but few others will be so inclined.
There are some moments where you may grudgingly say, “Well, I guess that was kind of cool.” But those will be few and far between. So what exactly is wrong with the game? Nearly everything from basic game design fundamentals to common sense principles that one would associate with taking the role of the Dark Knight. The game crudely mixes basic beat ‘em up style gameplay with stealth and puzzle solving elements adding up to shockingly bad results. Gamers will enjoy the opportunity to run through the streets of Gotham only to find themselves mowed down by gunfire coming from an unseen, undetected group of gunmen, conveniently located off the screen and out of site. One would assume that the Metal Gear-like sensor located in the upper right corner of the screen would detect these gunmen, but apparently Batman’s gadgets aren’t nearly as refined as one would expect.
Speaking of gadgets, this Batman’s got his fair share. The Batgrapple, Batcable, Batarang, Nightvision, and more all come stocked. All that’s missing is the Shark Repellant. However, even the most fully loaded Utility Belt can’t save this Batman. Sluggish controls, clumsy movement, and a fixed, Resident Evil style camera system guarantees frustration. How is it that Batman can do fancy, acrobatic flips in the air, but can’t even walk in a straight line?
Graphics - The visual aspect of Dark Tomorrow ranges from mildly impressive to downright awful. The cut scenes that follow most levels are extremely well done, cinematic in nature, and admirably portray the Bat-look and Bat-feel we all love. The environments themselves, however, tend to look unfinished. Seams in the walls will appear and disappear as you walk by them and stock scenery will get used over and over again. One can’t help but wonder what all the delays were for as far too often the game appears to be in the early stages of development.
Character models, on the other hand, are nicely detailed and well thought out. While your average street thug or innocent citizen is slightly generic, the important villains are all accurate and true to their comic book counterparts. However, the sluggish way in which most of them move across the screen negates any authenticity or realism they might have had.
Sound - This is a very curious part of the game and one I’d love to pick the brains at Kemco about. They obviously went all out on their budget by hiring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to perform the dark, gothic overture that accompanies most of the cut scenes, but the way in which they utilized the soundtrack during gameplay is nearly laughable. The music will cut in and out almost randomly and only tiny phrases are used at a time. With such a wonderful soundtrack, it’s a mystery as to how it could have been implemented so poorly.
The sound effects and voice tracks during gameplay are downright absurd. Citizens will run around in circles repeating the same phrase over and over again, as will the street thugs. Want to irritate yourself to the point of insanity? Sit and listen to “Get ‘im!” “Come here freak!” and “Help! Help!” in unison repeatedly while you attempt to navigate your way through the back alleys of Gotham City.
Overall Value -
I wanted to like this game. Scratch that. I really wanted to love this game. After suffering through countless delays with little to no information about the game, I came away disgusted; as will most Bat-fanatics who will unsuspectingly purchase Batman: Dark Tomorrow expecting it to be at least as good as Batman: Vengence. Dark Tomorrow had all the makings of a good game: 1) Batman 2) a decent story penned by people who know what they’re doing and 3) freaking Batman! When I play a game in which I take the role of the world’s most bad ass detective, I don’t want to worry about getting the snot beat out of me by common street thugs. I’m Batman!
As I mentioned earlier, the game just feels unfinished. The levels appear to be slapped together graphically and aurally and the gameplay never comes anywhere near the quality of the story line. DC Comics would have been better served to either turn the script into an animated movie or put the game into the hands of someone more capable, because this game is an embarrassment and an insult.
Do yourself a favor: read a comic book instead.
Review by John Luedtke
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