#Telltale Games has reinvented adventure games for players, and they have had a great deal of success. Part of the success stems from the licensing agreements they have in place. This has allowed them to take popular properties like "The Walking Dead" and "Minecraft" and build off of the story.
The most recent property to get the Telltale Games treatment is DC Comics' Batman. "Batman: A Telltale Games Series" initially launched in August 2016 with "Episode 1: Realm of Shadows." In typical Telltale fashion, it would launch a new episode every month with the culmination of "Episode 5: City of Light" in December.
How fun is the game?
"Batman: A Telltale Games Series" is a very niche title. It is more like a choose-your-own adventure novel than it is an actual game. The idea is to put the player in the position to make choices for the character, in this case Bruce Wayne/Batman, that will affect the story moving forward. For replayability, there is a lot for fans.
The action in Batman is limited to inputting the controls during fight sequences that are given on screen. If you wait too long, bad things can happen. However, most of the time the game engine gives the player plenty of time to make a decision. There are rare cases where this doesn't occur, but for the most part it is solid. This may pose an issue for players who like a lot of action.
If you do, you would be better served getting your Batman fix from the Arkham series by Rock Steady.
Is Batman's story engaging?
While most critics have given "Batman: A Telltale Games Series" solid scores, the story itself can be more of a mixed bag. A fan of traditional Batman stories may not care for the direction they take the Dark Knight's backstory.
It flies in the face of how people have seen the Wayne Family (champions for Gotham) up to this point.
Early on, it comes to the attention of the public that Thomas Wayne was not a good man. He was mixed up in organized crime. He built his wealth on terrorizing those put in unfortunate positions. All of this while being a stand-up father to his son, Bruce.
One of those terrorized by Thomas Wayne is the villain of the story. I will not give away who that is, but it changes the history of a major character in Batman's life. Overall, it just wasn't believable enough, and it hurts the overall story.
Fans of the comic may also have a problem with the Wayne Family butler Alfred. Telltale paints Alfred as a coward for lack of a better term. He knew what had been going on with Thomas Wayne, and despite knowing the atrocities he was performing on mentally-ill people, he sat idly by and let it happen.
Many times during the course of the five episodes, Alfred is reduced to a self-pitying wreck. Those who have read the comics or seen the movies know an Alfred is the moral compass who has always steered Bruce in the direction he would go.
He was always the father figure, and he is not in this series.
How is the game overall?
This is not a very good take on the Caped Crusader from #Telltale Games. The villain isn't believable. It spoils what we have come to love about the relationship between Gotham and the Wayne family. It feels like it was written by the same people who wrote "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," and one needn't look any further than the Worst Movies of 2016 list to know that's not good.
