Batman: The Enemy Within (2017) Review

After finishing Batman: The Telltale Series, I decided that I had to play the sequel Batman: The Enemy Within. It has taken me a while to get it done but I have now played through all 5 episodes including the final episode twice in order to get the different endings, here is my review for the game. The premise of the game sees after the aftermath of Lady Arkham's attack, a group of new villains attack Gotham with Bruce Wayne & Batman being pushed to his limit. 

Characters

Troy Baker once again reprises his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman and I really like his performance. We see even more of Bruce this season and the way the game forces Bruce into certain situations allows Baker to show more to his character. I don't think this is a really memorable portrayal but it definitely does the job here and he is effective in the role. 

Anthony Ingruber reprises his role as John Doe and he is given way more to do here. His cameo in the first season was a bit jarring but his development this season is fantastic, we all know where the character is heading but the game does a great job of making us question it throughout with two incredibly dynamic endings for the character. 

Iconic Batman Villains such as Harley Quinn, Bane & Mr Freeze are introduced here and I liked there portrayal, especially Harley as it adds layers to her character. It is just a shame that they have very few interactions with Batman and their relationships are with Bruce instead. 

Characters like Gordon, Selina and Alfred have smaller roles this season and to be honest they just didn't offer as much and they definitely fall foul of how many characters and plot points there are in this game. 

Story

The story is okay. It definitely is more of a Bruce Wayne story then Batman's but I think it is effective in showing Bruce's story and how he tries to balance everything going on in his life including being Batman. Also John Doe's story is superb and culminates incredibly well no matter what ending you choose to go with. But there is way too many characters and plot points here, they cram all these important characters into this game and they just fizzle out with no real definitive endings for them. 

Side Content

This game is no where near as Linear as the first game. There are actual branching paths here and different ways to play the game. There is less of a focus on world building because this is a sequel but it does add variety to the gameplay. However, there still isn't much you actually do except for the main narrative which I think is a bit of a missed opportunity here. 

Gameplay

The gameplay from the first game has been enhanced and made better. You do way more in this game and sometimes it can be a bit tiresome but I am happy to actually be using the controller more here. But there is no getting around the fact that it is just quick time events and is clearly not the focus here. 

Style

Probably the biggest improvement in the game is that it runs and looks a lot better. This game has way less bugs and glitches in it and has fantastic character designs. It just looks better then the first game and I am glad there was some improvement here. 

Overall

Overall, Batman: The Enemy Within is an Above Average Game that doesn't show too many improvements on the first game. It would have been interesting to see a third game in the franchise but we have to settle for this okay point and click adventure. 

Rating - 6/10

Batman: The Telltale Series (2016) Review

I am a huge Batman fan and that includes video games with The Arkham games being some of my favourite games over the last decade. I am not as familiar with The Telltale franchise but I know of the reputation they have. I was curious and a few years ago I played this game for the first time, I have decided to re-play Batman: The Telltale Series and here is my review for it. The premise of the game sees Batman attempting to take down the criminal element in Gotham, while Bruce Wayne attempts to clear his families name when shaking allegations are made. 

Characters

The busiest voice actor in the business Troy Baker voices Batman/Bruce Wayne. Which is interesting as he has now voiced Batman and The Joker in different video games and to nobody's shock he is really good in the role. Especially, when being Bruce Wayne as this game spends a lot of time with Bruce instead of Batman. He doesn't do anything revolutionary but he does all the things that would be expected with the character. 

Laura Bailey plays Catwoman/Selina Kyle and I really liked her dynamic with Bruce and how her moral compass is really questioned. Again, the game doesn't do anything really special with her character but she does well enough with the material given. 

Travis Willingham plays Harvey Dent and he is probably the best character other then Batman here. I really like the friendship and dynamic between Bruce & Harvey and the way the pressures of running for mayor really affect him. 

Other characters such as Gordon, Alfred & Oswald Cobblepot are really well voiced acted and fit the characters really well, which aided in the world building that goes on here. 

Story 

I will say that the story on show here is pretty unique for the most part and looks at elements of The Batman lore that haven't really ever been looked at. The game focuses on Bruce a lot and the relationships that he has with people and how his personal life is really affected by his role as Batman and things out of his control. However, I will say that this game tries to cram in way too much. It introduces so many iconic Batman characters and rushes through all of their comic book story arcs that it kind of feels like they don't really work together. 

Side Content

This game does a good job of world building and by using things like codex and different dialogue choices we get to learn about Gotham and some more about the characters. However, even though this game has different choices it feels incredibly linear and in the end becomes quite repetitive. 

Gameplay

This game doesn't really have gameplay. All it has is some quick time events and detective objectives that work as well as expected and I did have some enjoyment with them. But if we're honest games like this don't really care too much about the gameplay and focuses on the story and characters so it is definitely lacking here. 

Style

The game has a pretty authentic comic book look to it which is pretty cool to see compared to the more realistic looks we get in Film & TV. It also really doesn't hold back with the violence, I would say this is the most gritty and violent portrayal of a Batman property ever and it adds more to the game. However, this game does really struggle with some graphical glitches that really took me out of the game and the immersion that this game tries to create. 

Overall

Overall, Batman: The Telltale Series is an above average Point and Click adventure game. I enjoyed a lot about this game but it unfortunately falls a bit short of being the immersive Batman game that they really wanted. 

Rating - 6/10