Let me just put a statement out right now: Batman: Chaos in Gotham is a bewildering mess. In my old age, I hit upon a number of realizations. One of which is that flowery puffed-up introductions only work when the game I'm reviewing takes an hour or so for the cracks to start showing. I figured something was up with this Digital Eclipse affair when the first level had a whopping two enemies in it. What followed was a game that's both over-designed and under-polished. It's trying to look like Prince of Persia but ends up playing like Cool Spot... Except worse! There are signs that the developers wanted the full "Be the Batman" experience. Problem is that they're all just signs.
I won't spend a bunch of time explaining the plot. Besides, it's already explained in the title. There is Chaos in Gotham, so Batman & Batgirl must team up to thwart a series of villainous schemes. It's going to be a long night, so tighten up that utility belt and get to work. Over the course of several stages, you'll punch goons who may or may not be carrying guns, engage in light puzzle-solving, drive a couple bat-vehicles, and battle an array of bosses. Standard stuff.
Seeing as how that first level I mentioned earlier only has a couple bad guys in it, do take the time to familiarize yourself with the controls and camera, because neither are your friends. The fact that I'm even mentioned the word camera in a 2D game is bad omen. Well, it's not terrible as long as you're consistently moving in the same direction. The second you turn; the camera immediately swings in the direction you're now facing. The developer intended to show much more of what's in front of the Bat than what's behind him. That's all well and good, but if you turn around several times, it creates this jarring effect that makes the action hard to follow. Seems to me that the game punishes the unconfident player by attacking both their eyes and stomach. I'm getting a little queasy just thinking about the times the camera jerked every which direction, all because I was unsure if I could make a jump.
There is an unnatural feel to the controls, which flies in the face of what makes an action-platformer work. The first issue to look out for occurs while attempting to jump again immediately after landing. It's possible that the button input will get eaten, guaranteeing you'll run headlong into whatever danger you were trying to avoid. Another common problem, though this might be tied to the level-design, is grabbing onto ledges isn't 100% consistent. You'll have those moments where you're certain that Batman could've grabbed that ledge, but instead he'll bonk his cowl and fall. Sometimes, all you can really do is fiddle around until it connects. Altogether, there is a level of imprecision when getting around that feels unpleasant. Think of it like background radiation. One late-game leap is outright idiotic and almost impossible to connect unless you realize that you're supposed to stand still while jumping instead of getting a running start.
Fighting bad guys should come naturally to The Dark Knight, but this game sees things differently. What we have here is a surprisingly common problem where there are a number of different combat maneuvers to perform, but only a couple of them see any serious usage. Let's start with the Shoulder Tackle. This is your bread & butter. It closes distance quickly and usually stuns whomever you bump into. Batman's punch is only useful if you're already on top of an enemy. His sweep, besides having an almost comical number of animation frames, is totally worthless. Jump-kicks have middling effectiveness on standing enemies. The coolest-looking move is the pounce, which is performed by ducking and hitting jump. Shame there's no reason to use it over the Shoulder Tackle. Granted, a couple of other moves will be used during boss fights, but...we'll get to them in a minute.
Admittedly, I regret saying "tighten up that utility belt" earlier, because while this game features an assortment of gadgets, you'll probably never use them in any meaningful capacity. First up is the batarang. You can throw it, but don't expect decent results. Its usage is limited to very specific scenarios. Bat-rope's only purpose is to acquire a 1up or two. I didn't even try what I presume to be smoke bombs. Seems like everyone threw on their novelty belts for this adventure. In fairness, ineffective gadgets are a small problem, but they contribute to everything else that's sinking this game into the abyss.
Which brings me to another issue: wonky damage mechanics. It might not mean much if Batman occasionally gets hit with the ol' 1-2 jab combo, but certain attacks can drain a bunch of health at once. For instance, during the fight with the Joker, Harley will jump down and perform some sort of acrobatic move while pulling out a pogo stick. If Batman gets caught in this specific animation, he could lose 1/2 to 3/4ths of his life in an instant. It's just an odd thing that can happen, serving no other purpose than to punish players for playing the game. Also, I said this fight was with the Joker, but actually it's Harley and her pet hyena that do all the work. Whatever. It doesn't matter.
I'd say this game is riddled with inconsistences, but since the Riddler doesn't make an appearance, I've lost out on a catastrophically brilliant segue. Instead, it's time for vehicle sections. There are three altogether, and spoiler alert: they're not good. The Batmobile is by far the worst. First off, you're plopped into the city without a real explanation of what needs to be done. The objective is to take out Joker's goons, which I presume is done by smashing into them at a certain angle. Secondly, you'll have no idea what that angle is until you've smashed into 3 or 4 of their trucks. You know what? I'm just going to say this sucks.
In the next vehicle section, Batman takes to the sky in his batwing. No wait. I think it's his bat-glider? Sheesh! I've reviewed over 15 of these games and I can't even get my bat-ropes and bat-hooks right, let alone whatever the hell Batman is supposed to be riding in this dumb stage. In order to catch up to Roxy Rocket, Bats will fly through a couple of buildings. Arrows helpfully indicate which areas are safe, but you're actually rewarded by ignoring them with a heart and a 1up. Granted, it means slamming into couple of walls, but this is how the game subtly teaches you to defeat Roxy. Trying to fight her like a traditional shmup boss is a mistake. Just get right in her tail and mash the fire button, ignoring the damage you'll take in the process. This also sucks, but not as much as the Batmobile. Also, why am I capitalizing Batmobile and not bat-glider or batwing or bat-dammit! Oh, and Batgirl drives her Batcycle to Poison Ivy's greenhouse. The perspective is neat, and the way the bike handles is actually not bad. It is pretty easy to get wrecked by enemy bikers though. Not good, but playable, and I'll take what I can get.
Upon reaching the greenhouse - which is scalding red - players gain full control of Batgirl. She has functionally the same abilities as Batman, just with a different set of animations. I want to say that I appreciate her inclusion, but there were some strange decisions made. She doesn't actually throw her batarangs. She turns slightly and they fly out of her rear. I guess there wasn't enough time to finish the throw animation. They did manage to slide in some jiggle physics when she uses the bat-hook. It's literally a few pixels worth, but my poisoned brain noticed them in an instant. The stage itself is annoying to traverse thanks to frequent thorn patches.
Clearly, the developer had big dreams for Batman: Chaos in Gotham, but game development does what it does best and crushed them into dream dust. The surprisingly robust character animations and artistic flourishes are saddled with a spotty art-direction. I've seen less red in a Virtual Boy game. Both the hero and heroine have a wide selection of techniques to play around with, but they struggle with the basics of jumping. Every attempt at getting creative falls apart due to inadequate programming. What's left is a product that's teeters between barely tolerable and outright horrible. Don't even get me started on the headache-inducing music.
Never again.
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