Where is my Batman Game?: Huh? Edition


I, like the rest of the world, went and saw the new Batman movie last weekend. I really liked it, but I am not much of a gauge. I liked all of them. Even Batman and Robin (Akiva Goldsman explained it was not his fault, the director butchered his great script). Batman is my favorite super hero, because he is just a guy. Anyone can be Batman. All you have to do is work at it . . . . and be psychotic.

I started with the Neal Adams/ Dennis O'Neil comics when I was a kid, survived through the early 80's malaise to see Alan Moore's The Killing Joke and Frank Miller's Dark Knight breathe life into the character once again. I made it through the Knighfall period and even forgave the Azrael continuity interruption and break in film making until Jim Lee and Christopher Nolan reintroduced him in comics and film. My only reward on the gaming side is pain. Bad game, after bad game, after bad game. Some, thank you very much Acclaim 1.0, were not even finished when they shipped. Why can't I have a good Batman game?

We all know the issues surrounding licenses and games. There is not enough time to make between greenlight and release. There is no certainty of sequels, so there is a great risk the investment will have to be supported by a single game. License fees eat up the production budget. Blah, blah, blah. All of these are real concerns, but not here. Warner had three years from the last Batman movie to figure out what they were going to do in games, and the best they could do is Lego Batman. As a fan, I am kind of bummed out. If I were Warner and thinking about the money I left on the table, I would be more than that. They could have paid for the film with the game. Activision made one good Spiderman game and then sold millions with a marginal game based on the film Spiderman 3. Iron Man, not a darling of the critics, but great selling game. Here is a radical thought, how about a great Batman game for release against the next Batman film.

I am no expert, but I would be willing to bet even money there will be another Batman film. Warner is now in the business of making games, they could build it. The character is worth a significant investment. If they get started now, they will likely make the next film. If they don't make the next film, who really cares. It is still one of the best franchises in the world. Either way . . . can I please have my game?




Comments

Anonymous said…
The Konami ones were good. At least on the SNES are Genesis. And how could you forget the CLASSIC NES version of the Michael Keaton Batman movie.
July 22, 2008 at 9:12 AM
Karl Andersson said…
On the subject of licensed games and the associated pains, Swedish developers www.starbreeze.com did a very competent job (89 on metacritic) on the Chronicles of Riddick franchise. Interestingly this game was a prequel to - and released before - the actual movie (39 on metacritic).
July 28, 2008 at 3:32 AM
Unknown said…
You are right Karl. I am a fan of Starbreeze and the Riddick game was great. I played it all the way through. It stands, with a few other film based games, as an example that licensed games can be good.
July 28, 2008 at 6:15 AM
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