Batman: Vengeance
Developer(s)Ubi Soft Montreal
Publisher(s)Ubi Soft
Producer(s)Reid Schneider
Designer(s)Pierre Rivest
Programmer(s)Stéphane Morichère-Matte
Artist(s)Hugo Dallaire
Stéphane Belin
Alex Drouin
Platform(s)
ReleasePlayStation 2
  • NA: October 23, 2001[1]
  • EU: November 9, 2001
Game Boy Advance
  • NA: October 30, 2001
  • EU: November 9, 2001
GameCube
  • NA: November 18, 2001[2]
  • EU: May 3, 2002
Xbox
  • NA: December 18, 2001
  • EU: March 14, 2002
Microsoft Windows
  • NA: September 6, 2002
  • EU: October 8, 2002
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Batman: Vengeance is a 2001 action-adventure video game based on the fictional superhero of the same name. It was released for PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. The game was developed and published by Ubi Soft in conjunction with Warner Bros. and DC Comics.

The game is based on the television series The New Batman Adventures, and features the voice cast from the show reprising their roles. The story centers on Batman's investigation of the Joker's apparent death after their latest encounter, while having to deal with other villains and their schemes, all part of a larger plot orchestrated by the Clown Prince of Crime. Batman: Vengeance received mixed reviews upon release.

Plot

Batman saves a woman named Mary from a bomb placed by the Joker at Gotham Chemicals, who is holding her son hostage for ransom. Using a transmitter, Batman tracks down the Joker and Mary to a partially demolished Gotham Bridge, where she is unmasked as Harley Quinn and the kidnapping scheme is revealed to be a plot to trap Batman. Batman defeats the Joker, but the latter falls off the bridge to his apparent death. Suspicious that the Joker survived, Batman lets Harley escape in order to monitor her using the transmitter.

Batman and Batgirl are alerted to Mr. Freeze attacking Gotham Industrial Research to kill scientist Isaac Evers, the creator of the miracle drug Promethium for cryogenically frozen people. Freeze seeks revenge against Evers for a promotional Promethium video he believes Evers sent to mock him. While pursuing Freeze, Batman uncovers Evers' dealings with the Joker, who funded his research after his initial government funding was cut because of Promethium being unstable. After saving Evers and defeating Freeze, Batman discovers Poison Ivy has created a new species of super-plants infested with deadly worms, and tracks her down to the remains of Gotham Chemicals. There, he finds Mayor Hamilton Hill, who explains Ivy blackmailed him and other wealthy socialites by poisoning them with her worm-infected plants, which were created from a mysterious chemical. Batman defeats Ivy and obtains an antidote to save her victims.

Batman witnesses the Joker's goons hijacking a blimp and speaks with Harley, who informs him that they have been operating on their own since the Joker's apparent death. After foiling their plan to send explosive Joker toys into the city's sewers, Batman finds an abducted Issac Evers. He explains that he had hired the goons to destroy Gotham Industrial for the insurance money, having been unable to collect on the damage left by Mr. Freeze without revealing his deals with the Joker. The goons then turned on him to carry out their plan to destroy Gotham using the toys. As Batman hands Evers over to the police, Commissioner Gordon is hit with a batarang. Blamed for the attack, Batman escapes from the police and concludes that Harley is behind everything since the Joker's apparent death. Disguising himself as a drifter to avoid police attention, Batman investigates the Joker's former hideout and finds evidence hinting at his survival.

After tracking the stolen blimp to the Gasworks, Batman confronts a still-living Joker, having faked his death to exact his true plan. He reveals that he secretly manipulated Evers, Freeze, Ivy, and Batman into fulfilling his goals to mass-produce a flammable Joker toxin developed from Promethium, which he intends to spread throughout the city's sewers. Batman shuts off the city's pipe network to stop the flow of the toxin, while the Joker attempts to escape in the blimp and spread the toxin himself. After subduing Harley, Batman stows aboard the blimp and stops the toxin from being released. As a last resort, the Joker tries to crash the blimp into the city, but Batman destroys the blimp and saves the Joker from falling to his death.

The villains are incarcerated at Arkham Asylum. Batman meets an apologetic Gordon, as it was discovered Harley threw the batarang, and thanks Batman for saving Gotham. Batman retreats to look out over the city, when the Bat-Signal appears behind him.

Development

Vengeance took environmental and character designs from The New Batman Adventures, with the voice cast from that show including Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker, Tara Strong as Batgirl, Diane Pershing as Poison Ivy, Michael Ansara as Mr. Freeze, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as Alfred Pennyworth, Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn, Bob Hastings as Commissioner Gordon, and Lloyd Bochner as Mayor Hill.

Reception

Batman Vengeance received "mixed or average reviews" across all versions of the game, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[3][4][5][6][7]

Jeff Lundrigan reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for Next Generation, rating it three stars out of five.[36]

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Batman: Vengeance for "Outstanding Achievement in Original Musical Composition" at the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards,[42] which ultimately went to Tropico.[43]

By the end of 2001, sales of Batman: Vengeance had surpassed 540,000 units.[44] Its sales surpassed 670,000 copies by the end of March 2002.[45]

References

  1. ↑ Fielder, Joe (October 9, 2001). "Batman: Vengeance Preview". GameSpot. Retrieved October 9, 2001.
  2. ↑ Ahmed, Shahed (November 7, 2001). "Batman: Vengeance to make GameCube launch". GameSpot. Retrieved November 7, 2001.
  3. 1 2 "Batman: Vengeance for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  4. 1 2 "Batman: Vengeance Reviews for GameCube". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  5. 1 2 "Batman: Vengeance for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  6. 1 2 "Batman: Vengeance for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  7. 1 2 "Batman: Venegance for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  8. ↑ Weiss, Brett Alan. "Batman: Vengeance (GBA) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  9. ↑ Holoka, Chris. "Batman: Vengeance (GC) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  10. ↑ Thompson, Jon. "Batman: Vengeance (PS2) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  11. ↑ EGM staff (December 2001). "Batman: Vengeance". Electronic Gaming Monthly. p. 236.
  12. ↑ McNamara, Andy (February 2002). "Batman: Vengeance (GC)". Game Informer. p. 87. Archived from the original on 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  13. ↑ Fitzloff, Jay (November 2001). "Batman: Vengeance (PS2)". Game Informer. p. 98. Archived from the original on 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  14. ↑ Helgeson, Matt (February 2002). "Batman: Vengeance (Xbox)". Game Informer. p. 92. Archived from the original on 2003-12-01. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  15. ↑ Pong Sifu (October 16, 2001). "Batman: Vengeance Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2005-02-12. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  16. ↑ The Man in Black (2001-12-04). "Batman: Vengeance Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2005-03-12. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  17. ↑ Sanders, Shawn (2001-11-25). "Batman Vengeance Review (PS2)". Game Revolution. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  18. ↑ Rivers, Trevor (2001-11-28). "Batman: Vengeance Review (GBA)". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  19. ↑ Fielder, Joe (2001-11-28). "Batman: Vengeance Review (GC)". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  20. ↑ Park, Andrew (2002-10-11). "Batman: Vengeance Review (PC)". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  21. ↑ Fielder, Joe (2001-10-15). "Batman: Vengeance Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  22. ↑ Fielder, Joe (2002-01-07). "Batman: Vengeance Review (Xbox)". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  23. ↑ Padilla, Raymond "Psylancer" (2001-12-12). "Reviews: Batman: Vengeance (GBA)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2005-01-12. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  24. ↑ Brooks, Mark (2001-12-04). "Reviews: Batman: Vengeance (GCN)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2005-02-23. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  25. ↑ McGovney, Brian (2002-11-06). "Batman: Vengeance (PC)". GameSpy. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  26. ↑ Garbutt, Russell (2001-11-07). "Reviews: Batman: Vengeance (PS2)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2002-02-03. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  27. ↑ D'Aprile, Jason (2002-02-06). "Reviews: Batman: Vengeance (Xbox)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2002-02-10. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  28. ↑ Lafferty, Michael (2001-11-22). "Batman Vengeance - GBA - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  29. ↑ Lafferty, Michael (2002-10-22). "Batman Vengeance - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  30. ↑ McElfish, Carlos (2002-02-25). "Batman Vengeance Review (Xbox)". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  31. ↑ Harris, Craig (2001-11-16). "Batman Venegance (GBA)". IGN. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  32. ↑ Casamassina, Matt (2001-11-19). "Batman Vengeance (GCN)". IGN. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  33. ↑ Butts, Steve (2002-10-08). "Batman Vengeance Review". IGN. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  34. ↑ Perry, Douglass C. (2001-10-17). "Batman Vengeance (PS2)". IGN. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  35. ↑ Chau, Anthony (2001-12-11). "Batman Vengeance (Xbox)". IGN. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  36. 1 2 Lundrigan, Jeff (December 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4, no. 12. Imagine Media. p. 100.
  37. ↑ "Batman: Vengeance (GBA)". Nintendo Power. Vol. 152. January 2002. p. 134.
  38. ↑ "Batman: Vengeance (GC)". Nintendo Power. Vol. 153. February 2002. p. 149.
  39. ↑ "Batman: Vengeance". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. December 2001. p. 162.
  40. ↑ "Xbox Review: Batman Vengeance". Official Xbox Magazine. February 2002. p. 70.
  41. ↑ Osborn, Chuck (December 25, 2002). "Batman: Vengeance". PC Gamer: 114. Archived from the original on 2006-03-15. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  42. ↑ "Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Announces Finalists for the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards" (Press release). Los Angeles: Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. February 5, 2002. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002.
  43. ↑ "Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Announces Recipients of Fifth Annual Interactive Achievement Awards" (Press release). Las Vegas: Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. March 1, 2002. Archived from the original on March 6, 2002.
  44. ↑ "Ubi Soft Outperforms the Market in the Third Quarter; Sales: 165.1 Million Euros, Up 45%; On a Like for Like Basis Up 34%" (Press release). Ubisoft. January 31, 2002. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017.
  45. ↑ "Consolidated Sales for the 2001/2002 Financial Year: 369 million euros (+42%); Consolidated Sales for the 4th Quarter of 2001/2002 are up by 14%" (Press release). Ubisoft. May 2, 2002. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017.
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