Ok let's see what I can get out without digging into the story quite yet.
I'm a huge Batman fan and I love seeing new takes on old characters and themes in the series. I know it's not super important to the overall game, but I absolutely LOVE the intro logo. The few images of Batman from different eras combining into the Bat Symbol that get filled out with Gotham and then having that Animated Series style font underneath really gave me a bit of confidence that what was to follow was going to be good solid Batman.
Telltale games always look pretty good. I like their art style regardless of the series they are representing, but I think it may look best for Batman. Those thick black lines over top of the dulled cell shaded kind of colors really works for me. Makes everything, characters and setting, really pop and even when there are bright vibrant colors like Bruce's Lamborghini they have a darkness to them. And when things get visually dark like they tend to do in Batman stories it's just a natural fit. In almost every interpretation of Batman I've seen whether it be comic, cartoon or movie the first impression really sets the stage and can have a big impact on how I feel about the character. The first good look you get at him when he is about to grapple across to the 52nd story of City Hall (really? that's a huge city hall) really imprints a solid image of how Batman is going to feel in this game going forward. I love it. The grappling hook looks huge and bad ass and having his whole face shadowed with his eyes piercing through the darkness is how I love my Batman.
[img width=700 height=362]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1888/44431855901_bbec0425d4_o.png[/img]Other than the look I'm very happy with how the entire opening plays out. It starts dark with the security guard getting shot in the head setting the stage for how violent this game may end up being. Batman stalking and taking down each armed assailant separately was perfect. Having the one guard dragged off screen in front of one of his comrades followed by the guy in the chair disappearing straight up to the roof to culminate in their leader seeing all of his associates hanging unconscious from the ceiling makes for a very intimidating Batman.
[img width=700 height=361]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1864/44431857861_77cc5c5cb1_o.png[/img]As for the style of specific characters in this game I'm a bit more torn. They nailed Batman and Bruce Wayne in my opinion. The heavily armored Batman isn't my favorite take on the character, but he looks damn good here and the dark haired broad shouldered Bruce is among my favorite styles of that character. Catwoman/Selina both look great. I'm typically used to Bruce being a very intimidating presence regardless of the Batman suit when put next to most other characters (with some obvious exceptions like Croc, Clayface, or Bane) so it's quite a bit jarring to see him look positively minuscule next to Harvey Dent who is built like a football player. I'm also used to Harvey being more classically handsome rather than the contemporary look they went for. I'm not opposed to it yet it's just startling. Very intrigued what a Two-Face of that size is going to be like if/when they get to that point. Gordon is also fairly huge, but I kind of like it in his case. I really don't like the look of Alfred though, but I'm not quite sure why. Something seems off to me and I'm hoping he grows on me at some point. I like what they are doing with Vicki Vale and Jack Ryder so far. They both seem like actual people. Lots of times they tend to be hyper exaggerated versions of their real life professions and that does't feel like the case here. Cobblepot is a big question mark so far. Very drastically different take on the character, but I haven't seen enough yet to decide if I like it or dislike it yet. I'm open to it at this point and kind of like Harvey I'm intrigued to see how he develops at his assumedly villainous side takes over. I'm a big fan of the Batmobile so far too. Without spoiling anything for those that havn't seen it yet it was a pretty cool introduction I thought and a neat concept. The one thing across all characters that is a bit odd is the walking animation. It's almost like their bodies don't move enough in comparison to their limbs. Arms and legs seem to move almost independent of the body. Not super noticeable when it's Batman/Catwoman/Armored Thug it's more odd when it's Bruce Wayne/Harvey Dent just walking across a room.
Having just come off of Beyond Two Souls with you guys and having some pretty cool discussions about the fighting mechanics in that game I was eager to see how they did in in this game where you should typically be in a commanding control of the situation. I like it so far. Haven't had to combat with anyone who is truly a match in a fight so far and it's been nice to not miss any inputs and that's really set me up to feel like I'm actually playing as Batman. Curious if they will make things harder if fighting a character that is more of a physical match for Batman in later chapters though. I'm sure there is an argument to be made that it's not challenging or "game-y" enough, but for me it fits the situation.
Batman isn't Batman without his precious gadgets and we got some great versions of the classics as well as one fairly new one that suits the character and time this seems to be set in quite well. I love the massive size of his grappling hook. The Baterangs and smoke bombs have a more simple/classic feel to them. The drone initially seemed like a boring/obvious addition, but as soon as I got to use it I changed my mind immediately. Very cool new addition and it has incredible functionality that I'll wait to discuss more until we start digging into plot points later on. The "Bat-Voice" is also pretty good. Troy Baker does a great take on Bruce Wayne's voice, but I especially love him with the Batman voice turned on. Pretty great.
The Batman Arkham games had a pretty great detective mode to live up to and while this one is quite simplified in comparison I still really enjoyed it. Finding clues and figuring out which ones to link together in order to replay the crimes as they happened is very cool. It's the first chapter so it was painfully obvious/simple, I hope they ramp of the puzzle of it in later chapters, but even if they don't I had fun piecing it together.
The dialogue works just as well as it had in every previous Telltale game. It still works so didn't need a big overhaul for Batman. I do love that they have given you the option to just use silence as a response to everything though. It may seem lame, but I probably used it for half of my responses throughout the chapter and loved it. When Batman talks I feel like it should have impact as well as he doesn't like to reveal more than he has to so I only really used it to try and intimidate enemies or get information from them. As Bruce I didn't use it nearly as much and tried to be much more thoughtful and political with my responses (which we can dig into much more when we start talking story).
As a long time Batman fan I typically find that having crime bosses like Falcone as your antagonist some of the least interesting stories. That said I like they twist they are taking on some of the classic Batman lore to make me care quite a bit more about the organized crime angle. It was a solid first chapter overall, but I think it did a great job of getting me excited for what's to come and I hope it keeps trying new things with established characters/tropes from the series because there were far more likable things than unlikable things so far.
Author
