Batman: The Brave and the Bold - The Videogame
Release Date: Sept. 7, 2010
Platform: Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS

Description: Feel the boldness of adventure and the bravery of justice as you become Batman and his superhero teammates in the videogame based on your favorite animated TV series, Batman: The Brave and The Bold. Tread through the exciting terrain of the DC universe and test your might in this side-scrolling action thrill ride that will take you through crime-filled alleys, strange alien planets, abandoned underground cities, and mysterious island laboratories. Go behind the cowl of the Caped Crusader himself and team up with one of his many superhero friends to solve puzzles, fight dozens of foes, and discover new worlds as you battle to save the day and see if you truly have what it takes to be a superhero!

Review (by James Harvey)
Much like the cartoon from which it's based, Batman: The Brave and The Bold - The Videogame has a certain charm to it. It's colorful, gleeful, full of DC characters, and pretty enjoyable from start to end. Wayforward Technologies has managed to take the formula that works so well for the Batman: The Brave and The Bold animated series and has turned it into a fun game that fans may want to consider checking out.

There's plenty to like here, especially for fans expecting a faithful adaptation of Batman: The Brave and The Bold. Much like the show, here we get a great mix of DC's big and obscures heroes and villains. Players get to duke it out alongside the likes of Green Lantern, Robin and Blue Beetle, facing off against foes like Gentleman Ghost and Gorilla Grodd, villains who may not exactly be A-list to the casual player. If you're a light Batman fan, pretty much 90% of the cast of the game will be new to you. It's safe to say that die-hard fans of the show will get more out of the game than casual players, with plenty of references, homages and characters zooming over their heads.

And like the reference heavy guest line-up, fans of the series will undoubtedly appreciate how the game follows the format of the series. We get a pre-credit sequence followed by the main adventure, much akin to the animated series itself. Making your way through each level plays out nearly identical to an episode, except the player is in control of our heroes' respective fates. The game even manages to tack on the odd moral lesson that early episodes of Batman: The Brave and The Bold used to follow (and still does, to an extent). And yes, you'll punch your way, basically, through each 'episode,' but upgrades do help add some variety to the occasionally repetitive nature of the game.

The aforementioned repitition is broken up from time to time thanks to a mix of special character cameos and motion controls. Whether it's Aquaman or Plastic Man engaging in a full screen attack, before quickly disappearing as fast as they appeared, or using the motion controls to amp up your attack, these touches help break up what could be a repetitive beat-em up game. The Wii motion controls don't really feel tacked on, and when used, seem to compliment the rush of power the character in the game receives. I will admit I overdid it early on by always using Batman's heaviest attack just to hear Batman voice actor Diedrach Bader yell "Hammers of Justice!" as he dishes out some damage.

Yes, you beat up piles and piles of thugs, but these little extra flourishes do help keep things moving along for the game's duration. And, in all honesty, it's worth the time to summon all the heroes, at least once for each, to see the really excellent attack sequences. We get a great variety of characters here throughout the game, both as playable sidekicks and neat little cameo appearances. However, I couldn't help but notice some of the repetitive dialogue popping in for some of them. Even for the short training sequence with Wildcat, I heard the same phrase maybe three or four times. It did get a bit distracting toward the end of the training, but it's pretty common for games like this so I don't think it'll be too bothersome for players.

While I was unable to try the Nintendo DS connectivity, I was able to play the game both as a single player and in two-player co-op mode and, personally, the game really excels in co-op mode. The fun is really infectious and having two players controlling each character makes the game a heck of a lot easier. The game isn't hard to begin with, but playing with the AI does make it seem more like a one-player effort than a player with AI assistance. The AI isn't bad by any means, but it felt at times that I could rely only on my hammers of justice to dish out some bad-guy butt-kicking.

It's your standard side-scroller game that's easy for even the most novice gamer. It actually reminds of the old The Adventures of Batman & Robin video game for the Super Nintendo, and the final product is really stylish and fun. The attention to detail and obvious love of the source material really sells what could have been a half-baked cash-in. Yeah, it is a cash-in still, but it's a really excellent one, full of great touches, perfectly in line with the actual Batman: Brave and the Bold show, and fun to play. Most players should be able to finish the game in less than six hours, though there is some fun replay-ability thanks to upgrades, different Bat-gadgets and super-hero cameo help.

This is the third great Batman game in a row, following Lego Batman and Batman: Arkham Asylum, and it's one that fans of all ages can enjoy. It can be enjoyed one "episode" at a time or in a single several hour session. The fun, simple gameplay makes it a quick pick-up for any player, casual or hardcore, and there's enough for both audiences to enjoy. Batman: The Brave and The Bold - The Videogame is a perfect match for the Wii console and will hopefully find a nice sizeable audience, it truly deserves it. It can get repetitive, yes, but the source material adds enough charm to help it overcome that. Casual players, or even kids, can easily rent it for a weekend and be done with it, but fans of the awesome animated series will definitely want to pick it up to own. Perfectly capturing the tone of the show, along with a bit of an 'old-school videogame' vibe, Batman: The Brave and The Bold - The Videogame is worth picking up and adding to your Wii library. Recommended.

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