The announcement of a Batman game under development by Telltale Games was an interesting and terrifying idea. Their way of storytelling is pretty good and I could imagine the game flowing something like being able to engage in traditional dialogue trees as Bruce Wayne and then as Batman. The game play would switch to a third person Rocksteady style action combat game, something akin to their Arkham series. My mind was racing with multiple ideas and slowly my fear turned into hope. My favorite of the Telltale Games is The Wolf Among Us. It had a terrific story and amazing pacing. Does Batman: The Telltale Series: Episode 1 prove itself worthy or does it fall flat?
Game play wise, you can expect the same formula known in Telltale games. Quick time events, dialogue choices and point and click narrative. The game opens up strong with a Batman sequence foiling thugs breaking into Gotham's city hall. This is actually a flashback and it transitions in-between fighting as Batman and conversing as Bruce with Alfred. It's a perfect setup for what you should expect out of playing the whole episodic series. We get treated to the phenomenal voice talents of Troy Baker as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Enn Reitel as Alfred in this opening scene and they are great. The rest of the cast includes Travis Willingham as Harvey Dent and Laura Bailey as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Their performance really adds to the experience and it made me enjoy the game much more. Being a detective as Batman when you work your way around a crime scene discovering clues works fantastically in Telltale's point and click adventure. It feels satisfying to link together clues and watch as Batman pieces together the whole story.
The first episode of the story, Realm of Shadows, follows Bruce as he tries to balance his alter ego and civilian life while assisting Harvey Dent in his campaign for mayor. He's beginning to slip up a little, having scars and visible blood on him, people begin raising some questions. Harvey also has one of Gotham's biggest mobsters, Carmine Falcone, supporting him. The player has a choice in whether or not they can be for or against the idea, but Falcone implies that Bruce's family was also involved in criminal activity. This breaks out on the news so Bruce must find out the truth about his family and also protect Gotham from the coming storm.
The story is very intriguing, something I've never seen in a Batman story. This game is a great way to truly explore Bruce's parents actions and come to terms with the truth he may find, and deciding whether or not he should continue being Batman. My only gripe with this game is that frame rate is a fickle mistress. It can't decide whether to be 60 fps or below 15. This has caused me some issues in game play as Batman when a quick-time button press becomes mistimed and it ends in my death. Other than that, I'm looking forward to the rest of the episodes.
