Dan Geeks Out: Video Game Review #404: Batman: Gotham City Racer

Batman: Gotham City Racer

PlayStation

Nostalgia Factor:

Mop Up Duty moves forward into the year 2001 with my review of Batman: Gotham City Racer for the PS1. I had never heard of this game when it was released. In fact, I had never heard of this game until just a few days ago. I thought it sounded fun, so I fired it up.

I expected something like a Mario Kart or Crash Team Racing game, where you'd control characters like Batman, Robin, The Joker, Penguin, etc. I was very wrong. Read on for my full thoughts on this very unusual game.

Story:

This game uses the characters and events from The New Batman Adventures cartoon series. As a kid, I had stopped watching after Batman: The Animated Series went off the air (or so I thought it did). This series uses many of the same characters and voice actors from the Animated Series, including Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker, and many returning original favorites like Poison Ivy, The Penguin, Two-Face, The Riddler, etc. I can't believe I missed out on it!

Many of the stages are introduced by small cutscenes which push along the game's action. All the cutscenes are taken from the cartoon. While it is nice to see clips from the cartoon (featuring so many villains that I absolutely love), the story sequences seem very shallow and rushed. It simply jumps from one tiny scenario to another. For example you'll be chasing down Two-Face, and you fight him and he gets away. Then you'll see Catwoman climbing a building and chase after her. And then you have to disarm a series of bombs set by the Joker. Events just keep happening one after another. Even the charm of the cartoon clips can't hide how shoddily this game's story is put together. There's no depth to it whatsoever. It's just a series of events.

I know this probably sounds like an odd criticism, but I hope it makes sense.

Gameplay:

Let me get this out of the way: the is NOT a cart racer like Mario Kart or Crash Team Racing. Not at all. Story mode consists of a single player campaign consisting of 51 driving-related missions that you must complete.

The first thing you'll notice when you start playing is how difficult it is to control the Batmobile. I couldn't believe how tough of a time I was having on my first attempt. I was sliding off the road, bashing into walls. I couldn't drive straight. Couldn't take a turn without wiping out. I kept getting stuck in corners and having to try and wildly back out. I failed miserably on my first several attempts before I had to back away from the game and take a breather. Did I even want to continue playing? The game was such a nightmare to control. I couldn't imagine having to suffer through this for 51 stages.

Due to my interest in the story, I kept going. It took me a while to finally get a hold of things. All it boiled down to was driving my Batmobile from one part of the map to another, avoiding the roadblocks that would pop up in my way. I didn't have to overthink it, nor did I have to try to drive too fast. I adapted a slow but steady approach that kept things manageable for me and kept a close eye on the map. Once I figured out the route to the finish line through trial and error, I could make it there in no time.

That was it. That was the end of stage one. All it amounted to was making it from the starting point to a checkpoint within the time limit. Once I figured out the path to the end, I completed it in about one minute. If one mission could be completed in one minute, it wouldn't take me too long to complete 51 missions.

I kept playing, and the more I played the easier the game became for me. Many stages require you to learn through trial and error, but the vast majority can be completed on your first attempt. The time limit they give you is generous. You just have to pay attention and not panic and you can figure things out in no time.

There are three different standard mission types. There's the mission type where you have to simply drive from one point to another. That's the majority of mission types you will encounter. Another mission type consists of following a car from a safe distance, not letting them see you. You also can't lose sight of the car or you fail. At first I struggled with these stages, but it wasn't long before I became a master of driving the Batmobile. I think these turned out to be the easiest stages. Heck, this whole game is ridiculously easy.

The third stage type is the combat stage. You have to follow a villain's car and destroy it. The Batmobile fires an unlimited supply of Batarangs that you can fire ahead of you. These Batarangs deal a consistent amount of damage to your opponent, particularly if you get very close to them. The Batmobile can also fire up to three electric charges at your enemy. It homes in on them and stands a good shot at hitting them if your aim is in the ballpark area. These things are very useful to have. Combat stages also became incredibly easy to me as I made my way through the game. Like I said: the whole game is easy.

51 stages can be completed in one sitting. I personally made it to the 40s on my first attempt, but I had to stop my gaming session early to go to bed. I could have done it!

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the occasional Batgirl motorcycle levels. These are terrible. It is so much harder to control than the Batmobile. I can't ever say I truly got the hand of riding these. But the levels are easy just as any other level. If you take your time, watch the map, and avoid any catastrophic wipe outs you should pass each motorcycle level with relative ease. Luckily there aren't too many of them.

When all is said and done, I can look back and say that I had a pretty fun time with this game. It has its obvious flaws. The terrible controls, the disjointed storyline, the loading times, the repetitive missions. I understand the game is flawed. But that doesn't mean I didn't have fun playing it.

Graphics:

I enjoy the minimalistic look of Gotham as you are driving around. Some people might see the emptiness as lazy or bland, but I do not. There's just something about it that really does a lot of justice to the style of the cartoon. I love it.

The animated sequences between stages are a nice touch as well. I may have complained about the story being a bit disjointed, but at least the game takes a big swing at making the feel of the animated series come to life. I feel it succeeds in that regard.

Sound:

I would have absolutely loved to hear some music from Batman: The Animated Series make an appearance here. The thought of driving around with that soundtrack playing seems like a total missed opportunity. Nothing against the music they did use. It just didn't quite seem as good.

Props to the voice actors for being terrific, as always. These cartoons have such an enormously talented cast, and it is always a pleasure to hear from them.

Overall:

I'm shocked to say that I had a fun time with this game. When I first started playing this, I was completely disgusted by it and turned off by its seemingly awful controls. It didn't take long for the game to win me over. As soon as you get a hang of those controls, this game becomes fun and addicting.

I was coming into this planning to give it a C+, as I recognized the game was severely flawed despite my enjoyment of it. And then you know what I realized? Screw that. I know this game is not a critical darling. I'm not going to give it a score in the C range just because it is expected of me. I had FUN with this. And that's what counts, right? Having fun?

This won't be a popular opinion, but I don't care. I'm grading this in the B range. Take that, naysayers! To the Batmobile!

THE GRADE:

B-

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