Batman: Dark Tomorrow

Batman: Dark Tomorrow is a game from Kemco that puts you in the role of the Dark Knight we all know as Batman. He receives a distress call from Commissioner Gordon about a group of bandits going catastrophic in Gotham City and it's up to the vigilante to stop this madness. After he puts those crooks out of mischief, he then receives another call from Oracle saying that her father, the Commissioner has gone missing. Who's responsible for his disappearance is up to you to find out.

Let me first start off with the disadvantages, which is the main concern that everybody loves to talk about. The controls in BDT is probably the worst aspect of all to be put in the game. I didn't believe it at first but after playing it for the first 5 minutes, I truly agree with the reviewers. It is horrible and disastrous to say the least. Why? Because for instance if you move Batman forward and when it changes camera angle, the character will move to another direction depending on which angle the camera is focusing on. But that's not all, the fighting sequence in the game is horrendous. Batman can take out guards and other baddies instantaneously with just one or two quick blows and immediately gets knock down. He can then handcuff them with his unlimited supply of batcuffs which basically means you'll be arresting KO'd guards for the rest of the game since Batman doesn't kill.

Batman has all kinds of gadgets at his disposal. He has the Batcuffs, the Batarangs, the Batgrapple, including the Universal Tool which allows you to picklock doors and other things which is kinda cool. However, using these weapons is another problem. The Batgrapple for example, can't let you swing after you release it to mid air so you have Batman hanging on the rope like an idiot. The only options you have is to either jump forward and grapple in thin air again repeatedly until you reach your destination or simply just ascend and descend on the rope itself. Totally weird. And this is one of the first things you will do in the game so have fun dying numerous times jumping from one rooftop to another.

In the game, you will meet and fight a handful of Batman's classic villains like the Joker, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Scarface and the Ventriloquist, and more. However there's nothing memorable in any of the boss fights except for the cutscenes. Everytime Batman knocks the villain down to the ground (Or vice versa), the camera zooms to the character's face for a short period of time and zooms back to it's original camera position. Why the developers do this I have no idea.

Now for the good part. Batman: Dark Tomorrow has cool cutscenes which I believe all Batman fans should enjoy watching. I have no complain with its graphics because it's fun to watch but only the gameplay graphics needs more improvements. The cutscenes are viewable in the options menu once you have seen it during gameplay so have fun watching it again. The voice acting isn't so bad and I would give credit to the soundtrack because it captures the theme of the Dark Knight.

In conclusion, Batman: Dark Tomorrow has the potential to be a great game but it's sad to see it in this horrible condition. Those bastards in Kemco should be ashamed of themselves. They've ruined a beautiful creation made by the legendary Bob Kane. The idea is there but too bad the programming is awful, the graphic is too dark, the AI's just plain dumb, the fights are a big yawn, and the controls suck terribly!

But as a loyal fan of Batman, I will not be under the influence of what others should say about the game. In my opinion, Batman: Dark Tomorrow is a love/hate game that not everyone should avoid but at least give it a chance. I quite like the game as the plot and the art design is there but it's a shame the gameplay shrouds it away which decreases it's replay value completely. I only wish they could make it better. I really don't mind a sequel but provided they fix all the defections from its predecessor.

A final note: the people in Kemco should get fired for turning such a beautiful game into a piece of crap. They obviously have not played The Adventures of Batman & Robin or Batman Returns of the Super NES before. Go back to programming class fools! 
 
Score: 
Gameplay: 0 Star
Graphics: 1.5 Star
Sounds: 1.5 Star
Replay Value: 0 Star
Overall: 1.5 Star
Total: 2 out of 5 Stars