Batman: Vengeance

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Batman: Vengeance
Batman Vengeance.jpg
Developer(s)Ubi Soft Montreal
Publisher(s)Ubi Soft
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
ReleasePlayStation 2 & Game Boy Advance
  • NA: October 15, 2001 (PS2)
  • NA: October 30, 2001 (GBA)
  • EU: November 9, 2001
GameCube
  • NA: November 18, 2001
  • EU: May 3, 2002
Xbox
  • NA: December 18, 2001
  • EU: March 14, 2002
Microsoft Windows
  • NA: September 6, 2002
  • EU: October 8, 2002
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player

Batman: Vengeance is a 2001 action-adventure video game based on the fictional superhero of the same name. It was released for PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. The game was developed and published by Ubi Soft in conjunction with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics.

The game is based on the television series The New Batman Adventures, and features most actors from the show reprising their roles. The story centers on Batman's investigation of the Joker'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: Vengeance received mixed to positive reviews upon release. It was followed by Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu in 2003.

Plot[edit]

Batman saves a woman named Mary Flynn from a bomb placed by the Joker at Gotham Chemicals, and learns that the villain is holding her son hostage for ransom. Using a transmitter, he tracks down the Joker and Mary to a partially demolished Gotham Bridge, where Mary is unmasked as Harley Quinn and the kidnapping scheme is revealed to be part of the Joker's plot to lure Batman into a trap. Batman ultimately defeats the Joker, but he falls off the bridge to his apparent death. Suspicious that the Joker survived, Batman lets Harley escape, as she is unaware that he still has the transmitter allowing him to monitor her activities.

While keeping tabs on Harley in the hopes of discovering the Joker's true plot, Batman and Batgirl are alerted to Mr. Freeze attacking Gotham Industrial Research to kill scientist Isaac Evers, the creator of the miracle drug Promethium for cryogenically frozen people. Freeze had previously tried the drug on himself and his wife Nora, to no avail, and now seeks revenge against Evers, believing he sent him a tape with a promotional video on Promethium to taunt him. While pursuing Freeze, Batman uncovers Evers's shady dealings with the Joker, who funded his research after his initial funding was cut because of Promethium's high flammability. Shortly after saving Evers and defeating Freeze, Batman stumbles upon another sinister scheme, orchestrated by Poison Ivy. With Batgirl's help, he discovers Ivy created a new species of super-plants infested with deadly worms, and tracks her down to the rebuilt Gotham Chemicals building. There, he finds Mayor Hamilton Hill, who reveals the full extent of Ivy's plans: to blackmail him and other wealthy socialites by poisoning them with her worm-infected plants, which were apparently created from a chemical of mysterious origins. He also reveals that Ivy rebuilt Gotham Chemicals to mass-produce the chemical and infect more victims. Batman eventually defeats Ivy and obtains an antidote that can be used to save all her victims.

Later, Batman spots some of the Joker's goons hijacking a blimp and goes to speak with Harley, who reveals some of the Joker men have been operating on their own since his supposed death, having recently left with the Joker's explosive "toys" and the blueprints to the Gotham Gasworks. After foiling the goon's plan to send the toys into the city's pipe network, Batman finds a tied-up Issac Evers, who admits to hiring the Joker's 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. However, the goons eventually turned on him and tied him up in order to carry out their own plan to destroy Gotham City. As Batman hands Evers over to the police, Commissioner Gordon is hit with a Batarang. Blamed for the attack, Batman escapes from the police and concludes that Harley is behind everything that has occurred since Joker’s 'death'. After disguising himself as a drifter to avoid police attention, he investigates the Joker's old hideout and finds evidence hinting at his survival.

After tracking the stolen blimp to the Gasworks, Batman confronts a still-living Joker, who confirms his suspicions that he had faked his death to exact his true plan in secret. However, he further reveals that he manipulated everyone recently encountered by Batman into unknowingly helping it come to fruition - he funded Evers's research in exchange for large quantities of Promethium to make his Joker toxin flammable; he sent Mr. Freeze the promotional tape, knowing it would provoke him into attacking Evers, who in turn would later plan the insurance fraud scheme that would get his men into the Gasworks; he gave Poison Ivy the chemical to create her super-plants, so that she would eventually rebuild Gotham Chemicals, allowing the Joker to then mass-produce his toxin; he had Harley give Batman false leads regarding the Joker's true motives that would led him to Freeze, Ivy and Evers's schemes, so that he could thwart them before they succeeded; finally, Batman himself unwittingly contributed by flooding Gotham's pipe network when foiling the Gasworks scheme, giving Joker an opportunity to spread his now highly-flammable toxin through the city and burn it to the ground. The Joker attempts to escape in the blimp and spread his toxin, but Batman, after defeating his goons and subduing Harley, stows aboard and manages to thwart his plan by stopping the flow of Promethium and Joker toxin. As a backup plan, the Joker tries to crash the blimp and manually detonate the Promethium, but Batman destroys the blimp before he gets the chance, then saves the Joker from falling to his death.

As all the villains are locked up at Arkham Asylum, Batman meets with Gordon, who apologizes for sending the police after him, as he discovered Harley framed him, and thanks him for saving Gotham yet again. The Dark Knight retreats to look out over the city, when the Bat-Signal ignites behind him.

Development[edit]

Vengeance took environmental and character designs from The New Batman Adventures, and starred most of the main voice cast from both it and its predecessor, Batman: The Animated Series. The voice cast includes Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker, Tara Strong as Batgirl, Diane Pershing as Poison Ivy, Michael Ansara as Mr. Freeze, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as Alfred Pennyworth, Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn, Bob Hastings as Commissioner Gordon, and Lloyd Bochner as Mayor Hill.

Reception[edit]

By the end of 2001, sales of Batman: Vengeance had surpassed 540,000 units.[45] Its sales surpassed 670,000 copies by the end of March 2002.[46]

Batman Vengeance received mixed to positive reviews from critics and fans alike.[citation needed] The game's praise mainly went towards the voice acting, story, and cinematic cutscenes.[citation needed] There was criticism for the first person mode, which limited player's abilities in-game.[citation needed] The PC version drew a lot of mixed or negative reviews due to complex and sometimes confusing controls.[citation needed]

Jeff Lundrigan reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for Next Generation, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "While it has a number of things going for it, Batman Vengeance still comes up short in a few key areas."[29]

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Batman: Vengeance for its 2001 "Outstanding Achievement in Original Musical Composition" award,[47] which ultimately went to Tropico.[48]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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  2. ^ Holoka, Chris. "Batman: Vengeance (GC) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  3. ^ Thompson, Jon. "Batman: Vengeance (PS2) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  4. ^ EGM staff (December 2001). "Batman: Vengeance". Electronic Gaming Monthly: 236.
  5. ^ McNamara, Andy (February 2002). "Batman: Vengeance (GC)". Game Informer: 87. Archived from the original on 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  6. ^ Fitzloff, Jay (November 2001). "Batman: Vengeance (PS2)". Game Informer: 98. Archived from the original on 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  7. ^ Helgeson, Matt (February 2002). "Batman: Vengeance (Xbox)". Game Informer: 92. Archived from the original on 2003-12-01. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  8. ^ Pong Sifu (October 16, 2001). "Batman: Vengeance Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2005-02-12. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  9. ^ The Man in Black (2001-12-04). "Batman: Vengeance Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2005-03-12. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  10. ^ Sanders, Shawn (2001-11-25). "Batman Vengeance Review (PS2)". Game Revolution. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  11. ^ Rivers, Trevor (2001-11-28). "Batman: Vengeance Review (GBA)". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  12. ^ Fielder, Joe (2001-11-28). "Batman: Vengeance Review (GC)". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  13. ^ Park, Andrew (2002-10-11). "Batman: Vengeance Review (PC)". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  14. ^ Fielder, Joe (2001-10-15). "Batman: Vengeance Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  15. ^ Fielder, Joe (2002-01-07). "Batman: Vengeance Review (Xbox)". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  16. ^ Padilla, Raymond "Psylancer" (2001-12-12). "Reviews: Batman: Vengeance (GBA)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2005-01-12. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  17. ^ Brooks, Mark (2001-12-04). "Reviews: Batman: Vengeance (GCN)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2005-02-23. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  18. ^ McGovney, Brian (2002-11-06). "Batman: Vengeance (PC)". GameSpy. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  19. ^ Garbutt, Russell (2001-11-07). "Reviews: Batman: Vengeance (PS2)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2002-02-03. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  20. ^ D'Aprile, Jason (2002-02-06). "Reviews: Batman: Vengeance (Xbox)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2002-02-10. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  21. ^ Lafferty, Michael (2001-11-22). "Batman Vengeance - GBA - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  22. ^ Lafferty, Michael (2002-10-22). "Batman Vengeance - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  23. ^ McElfish, Carlos (2002-02-25). "Batman Vengeance Review (Xbox)". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  24. ^ Harris, Craig (2001-11-16). "Batman Venegance (GBA)". IGN. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  25. ^ Casamassina, Matt (2001-11-19). "Batman Vengeance (GCN)". IGN. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  26. ^ Butts, Steve (2002-10-08). "Batman Vengeance Review". IGN. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  27. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (2001-10-17). "Batman Vengeance (PS2)". IGN. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  28. ^ Chau, Anthony (2001-12-11). "Batman Vengeance (Xbox)". IGN. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  29. ^ a b Lundrigan, Jeff (December 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4 no. 12. Imagine Media. p. 100.
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  31. ^ "Batman: Vengeance (GC)". Nintendo Power. 153: 149. February 2002.
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  33. ^ "Xbox Review: Batman Vengeance". Official Xbox Magazine: 70. February 2002.
  34. ^ Osborn, Chuck (December 25, 2002). "Batman: Vengeance". PC Gamer: 114. Archived from the original on 2006-03-15. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
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  36. ^ "Batman: Vengeance for GameCube". GameRankings. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  37. ^ "Batman: Vengeance for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  38. ^ "Batman: Vengeance for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  39. ^ "Batman: Vengeance for Xbox". GameRankings. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  40. ^ "Batman: Vengeance for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  41. ^ "Batman: Vengeance Reviews for GameCube". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  42. ^ "Batman: Vengeance for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  43. ^ "Batman: Vengeance for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  44. ^ "Batman: Venegance for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  45. ^ "Ubi Soft Outperforms the Market in the Third Quarter; Sales: 165.1 Million Euros, Up 45%; On a Like for Like Basis Up 34%" (Press release). Ubisoft. January 31, 2002. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017.
  46. ^ "Consolidated Sales for the 2001/2002 Financial Year: 369 million euros (+42%); Consolidated Sales for the 4th Quarter of 2001/2002 are up by 14%" (Press release). Ubisoft. May 2, 2002. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017.
  47. ^ "Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Announces Finalists for the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards" (Press release). Los Angeles: Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. February 5, 2002. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002.
  48. ^ "Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Announces Recipients of Fifth Annual Interactive Achievement Awards" (Press release). Las Vegas: Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. March 1, 2002. Archived from the original on March 6, 2002.

External links[edit]

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