Return to
Polar Blair's Den Menu Page
Plug & Play Games:
The Batman
Back to "Video
Games: Plug & Play Games"
Main Page
The Batman
Manufacturer:
Jakks
Pacific
Year: 2004
About This Set:
This set is based on "The Batman" (2004-2008), a poorly-drawn cartoon
series of the iconic superhero. Despite the fact that this plug
& play is centered on a crappy cartoon, I really love it! The
character designs are strange to say the least, but the backgrounds and
overall graphics work is excellent. I also like the fact that the
games on this set aren't all rock 'em, sock 'em action. You do
have to use a bit of brain power at times to advance. For
instance, you'll need to find clues on occasion, and know how to use
them. This set also tries to incorporate most of Batman's major
gadgetry: Batarang, Batboat, Batcycle, Batgrapnel, Batmobile,
Batpack, etc. The Batarang is the most heavily used of Batman's
weapons in any of the games on this set. Another thing: Batman is
ALWAYS referred to as "The Batman" in this game, never as just "Batman".
There are four primary villains Batman needs to
capture: Bane, Firefly, Joker, and Mr. Freeze. Each villain has a
set of games (levels) that you need to complete in order to bring him
to justice. When the four major baddies are arrested, you will be
able to pursue Penguin, an
unlockable villain. You don't need to fight any of the first four
villains in any particular order, but you can ONLY fight Penguin after
you've defeated these bad guys. This is an interesting selection
of villains. Joker is an obvious choice. Penguin?
Sure. Mr. Freeze is another longtime favorite villain for Batman
fans, but he's definitely not in the A-list with Catwoman, Joker,
Penguin, or Riddler. Bane is almost an essential villain nowadays
since he's been such a big part of Batman's saga from his comic book
debut in "Batman: Vengeance of Bane" #1 (January, 1993) to now.
An odd choice for villains is Firefly. The character, himself,
has been around in Batman media since his comic book debut in
"Detective Comics" #184 (June, 1952). However, Firefly has always
been a third-stringer character in popularity at best. According
to the storyline in this game, Firefly is a "newer" villain to surface
in Gotham City.
There is no Robin in this game. It took the
series awhile to introduce Robin, and this game came out shortly after
the series' debut. I miss Robin when he doesn't appear in Batman
media. He's too valuable of a character to dismiss. I think
a great idea for a Batman video game would be to make it so a player
has to alternate between Batman and Robin to use those characters'
certain advantages.
I also find it interesting that no women characters
appear in this set. There is no Batgirl, Catwoman, Poison Ivy,
etc. Besides the fact that there is no Robin or any females, I
still think this is a really well-done set of games. An
interesting sidenote, the controller looks like a Batarang.
Awesome!