Batman: Vengeance

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. Jeff Lundrigan of NextGen said of the PlayStation 2 version, "While it has a number of things going for it, Batman Vengeance still comes up short in a few key areas."

Jon Thompson of AllGame gave the PlayStation 2 version three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that it was "hampered by its linear nature and lack of mental challenge, but the game is still heads and shoulders above all other Batman titles released in the last few years. Those looking for an entertaining action game as well as those who are huge fans of the Dark Knight will definitely get a kick out of the experience." Later, Chris Holowka gave the GameCube version a similar score of three-and-a-half stars, saying it was "truly an interactive cartoon, beautifully mimicking the simple, bold animation style that made the animated television series so groundbreaking." However, Brett Alan Weiss gave the Game Boy Advance version three stars out of five, saying, "The simplified Metal Gear-type gameplay is marginally appealing and helps tie the package together as an entertaining mixture of well-known play styles with a Batman theme." Computer Games Magazine gave the PC version two stars out of five, saying, "There's a few clever puzzles scattered throughout the levels; unfortunately, there's also a few incredibly painful flying and driving sequences as well."

Pong Sifu of GamePro said of the PlayStation 2 version, "With some fine tuning, Batman Vengeance could've been legendary. Though many gamers may be put off by the game's shortcomings, Bat-fans looking for a fun-filled romp above the streets of Gotham will be delighted by the film-noir visuals and engaging story line." The Man in Black said of the Xbox version, "There's much to praise about the effort behind this rough-hewn but imagnative game. If you're a fan, you might tackle this tale of the Dark Knight with a Vengeance." Michael Lafferty of GameZone gave the Game Boy Advance version 8.4 out of 10, saying, "The graphical elements are very well done, the animation is solid and the various challenges will keep players intrigued." Carlos McElfish gave the Xbox version seven out of ten, saying, "The gameplay as a whole is lethargic and inaccurate." Lafferty later gave the PC version a similar score of seven out of ten, calling it "a year-old game newly ported to the PC that plunges players into a world of bad camera angles and overwrought control elements."

The game was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Original Musical Composition" at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, which ultimately went to Tropico. The PlayStation 2 version was also nominated at The Electric Playground's 2001 Blister Awards for "Biggest Disappointment of the Year", but lost to the Xbox version of Shrek.

By the end of 2001, sales of the game had surpassed 540,000 units. Its sales surpassed 670,000 units by the end of March 2002.