Batman: Vengeance

Batman: Vengeance
Developer(s)	Ubi Soft Montreal
Publisher(s)	Ubi Soft
Producer(s)	Reid Schneider
Designer(s)	Pierre Rivest
Programmer(s)	Stéphane Morichère-Matte
Artist(s)	Hugo Dallaire Stéphane Belin Alex Drouin
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2 Game Boy Advance GameCube Xbox Microsoft Windows
Release	PlayStation 2 NA:October 23, 2001 EU:November 9, 2001 Game Boy Advance NA:October 30, 2001 EU:November 9, 2001 GameCube NA:November 18, 2001 EU:May 3, 2002 Xbox NA:December 18, 2001 EU:March 14, 2002 Windows NA:September 6, 2002 EU:October 8, 2002
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Batman: Vengeanceis a 2001action-adventurevideo gamebased on the fictionalsuperheroof the same name.It was released forPlayStation 2,Game Boy Advance,GameCube,XboxandMicrosoft Windows.The game was developed and published byUbi Softin conjunction withWarner Bros.andDC Comics.

The game is based on the television seriesThe New Batman Adventures,and features the voice cast from the show reprising their roles. The story centers on Batman's investigation of theJoker's apparent death after their latest encounter, while having to deal with other villains and their schemes, all part of a larger plot orchestrated by the Clown Prince of Crime.Batman: Vengeancereceived mixed reviews upon release.

Plot

Batman saves a woman named Mary from a bomb placed by theJokerat Gotham Chemicals, who is holding her son hostage for ransom. Using a transmitter, Batman tracks down the Joker and Mary to a partially demolished Gotham Bridge, where she is unmasked as Harley Quinn and the kidnapping scheme is revealed to be a plot to trap Batman. Batman defeats the Joker, but the latter falls off the bridge to his apparent death. Suspicious that the Joker survived, Batman lets Harley escape in order to monitor her using the transmitter.

Batman andBatgirlare alerted toMr. Freezeattacking Gotham Industrial Research to kill scientist Isaac Evers, the creator of the miracle drug Promethium forcryogenically frozenpeople. Freeze seeks revenge against Evers for a promotional Promethium video he believes Evers sent to mock him. While pursuing Freeze, Batman uncovers Evers' dealings with the Joker, who funded his research after his initial government funding was cut because of Promethium being unstable. After saving Evers and defeating Freeze, Batman discoversPoison Ivyhas created a new species of super-plants infested with deadly worms, and tracks her down to the remains of Gotham Chemicals. There, he finds MayorHamilton Hill,who explains Ivy blackmailed him and other wealthysocialitesby poisoning them with her worm-infected plants, which were created from a mysterious chemical. Batman defeats Ivy and obtains an antidote to save her victims.

Batman witnesses the Joker's goons hijacking ablimpand speaks with Harley, who informs him that they have been operating on their own since the Joker's apparent death. After foiling their plan to send explosive Joker toys into the city's sewers, Batman finds an abducted Issac Evers. He explains that he had hired the goons to destroy Gotham Industrial for the insurance money, having been unable to collect on the damage left by Mr. Freeze without revealing his deals with the Joker. The goons then turned on him to carry out their plan to destroy Gotham using the toys. As Batman hands Evers over to the police,Commissioner Gordonis hit with abatarang.Blamed for the attack, Batman escapes from the police and concludes that Harley is behind everything since the Joker's apparent death. Disguising himself as a drifter to avoid police attention, Batman investigates the Joker's former hideout and finds evidence hinting at his survival.

After tracking the stolen blimp to the Gasworks, Batman confronts a still-living Joker, having faked his death to exact his true plan. He reveals that he secretly manipulated Evers, Freeze, Ivy, and Batman into fulfilling his goals to mass-produce a flammableJoker toxindeveloped from Promethium, which he intends to spread throughout the city's sewers. Batman shuts off the city's pipe network to stop the flow of the toxin, while the Joker attempts to escape in the blimp and spread the toxin himself. After subduing Harley, Batman stows aboard the blimp and stops the toxin from being released. As a last resort, the Joker tries to crash the blimp into the city, but Batman destroys the blimp and saves the Joker from falling to his death.

The villains are incarcerated atArkham Asylum.Batman meets an apologetic Gordon, as it was discovered Harley threw the batarang, and thanks Batman for saving Gotham. Batman retreats to look out over the city, when theBat-Signalappears behind him.

Development

Vengeancetook environmental and character designs fromThe New Batman Adventures,with the voice cast from that show includingKevin ConroyasBatman,Mark Hamillas theJoker,Tara StrongasBatgirl,Diane PershingasPoison Ivy,Michael AnsaraasMr. Freeze,Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.asAlfred Pennyworth,Arleen SorkinasHarley Quinn,Bob HastingsasCommissioner Gordon,andLloyd BochnerasMayor Hill.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
	GBA	GC	PC	PS2	Xbox
Metacritic	68/100	70/100	57/100	68/100	70/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
	GBA	GC	PC	PS2	Xbox
Computer Gaming World	N/A	N/A	1.5/5	N/A	N/A
Electronic Gaming Monthly	N/A	N/A	N/A	5.83/10	N/A
EP Daily	8/10	N/A	N/A	7/10	N/A
Game Informer	N/A	6.75/10	N/A	7/10	7/10
GameRevolution	N/A	N/A	N/A	C	N/A
GameSpot	6.7/10	7.4/10	4.5/10	7.4/10	7.4/10
GameSpy	58%	73%	2/5	80%	82%
IGN	6/10	8.1/10	6.8/10	8/10	8.2/10
Next Generation	N/A	N/A	N/A	3/5	N/A
Nintendo Power	3.5/5	3.7/5	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nintendo World Report	N/A	8/10	N/A	N/A	N/A
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine	N/A	N/A	N/A	3/5	N/A
Official Xbox Magazine(US)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	4.6/10
PC Gamer(US)	N/A	N/A	55%	N/A	N/A

Batman: Vengeancereceived "mixed or average reviews" across all versions of the game, according toreview aggregatorMetacritic.Jeff Lundrigan ofNextGensaid of the PlayStation 2 version, "While it has a number of things going for it,Batman Vengeancestill comes up short in a few key areas. "

Jon Thompson ofAllGamegave the PlayStation 2 version three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that it was "hampered by its linear nature and lack of mental challenge, but the game is still heads and shoulders above all otherBatmantitles released in the last few years. Those looking for an entertaining action game as well as those who are huge fans of the Dark Knight will definitely get a kick out of the experience. "Later, Chris Holowka gave the GameCube version a similar score of three-and-a-half stars, saying it was "truly an interactive cartoon, beautifully mimicking the simple, bold animation style that made the animated television series so groundbreaking."However, Brett Alan Weiss gave the Game Boy Advance version three stars out of five, saying, "The simplifiedMetal Gear-type gameplay is marginally appealing and helps tie the package together as an entertaining mixture of well-known play styles with aBatmantheme. "Computer Games Magazinegave the PC version two stars out of five, saying, "There's a few clever puzzles scattered throughout the levels; unfortunately, there's also a few incredibly painful flying and driving sequences as well."

Pong Sifu ofGameProsaid of the PlayStation 2 version, "With some fine tuning,Batman Vengeancecould've been legendary. Though many gamers may be put off by the game's shortcomings, Bat-fans looking for a fun-filled romp above the streets of Gotham will be delighted by the film-noir visuals and engaging story line. "The Man in Black said of the Xbox version, "There's much to praise about the effort behind this rough-hewn but imagnative game. If you're a fan, you might tackle this tale of the Dark Knight with aVengeance."Michael Lafferty ofGameZonegave the Game Boy Advance version 8.4 out of 10, saying, "The graphical elements are very well done, the animation is solid and the various challenges will keep players intrigued."Carlos McElfish gave the Xbox version seven out of ten, saying, "The gameplay as a whole is lethargic and inaccurate."Lafferty later gave the PC version a similar score of seven out of ten, calling it "a year-old game newly ported to the PC that plunges players into a world of bad camera angles and overwrought control elements."

The game was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Original Musical Composition"at theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences'5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards,which ultimately went toTropico.The PlayStation 2 version was also nominated atThe Electric Playground's 2001 Blister Awards for "Biggest Disappointment of the Year", but lost to the Xbox version ofShrek.

By the end of 2001, sales of the game had surpassed 540,000 units.Its sales surpassed 670,000 units by the end of March 2002.

External links

• Batman: VengeanceatMobyGames
• Batman: Vengeance(Game Boy Advance)atMobyGames