Topic: IMPRESSIONS: Batman: The Brave and the Bold

[NWR_Neal]

WayForward's next title features lavish animation and classic beat-'em-up gameplay.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=23477

 Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a gorgeously animated 2D beat-'em-up. Featuring an art style stripped right out of comics, this WayForward-developed game looks to be perfectly analogous to its source material. It's fun and light-hearted, but ultimately a little light on substance.    

You use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to control Batman, and you can execute punches and jumps with the A and B buttons. You can also use gadgets, most of which are controlled with the pointer. You can set remote mines, use different kinds of batarangs, and grapple up buildings. The game features drop-in/drop-out co-op, and the second player can jump in as one of four different sidekicks. The demo showed off Robin, who uses his staff as a gadget, and Guy Gardner (one of the Green Lanterns), who uses his powers to create anvils and giant fists.    

You can execute combos by stringing together attacks, but the sections showed off didn't show much reason to do so. It was pretty basic button-mashing gameplay. It's mixed up a little bit by the smart bomb-like characters that clear the screen of enemies. These range from Hal Jordan, the more famous Green Lantern, to Booster Gold, a celebrity-like super hero.    

There's even a bit of DS connectivity in the game. Owners of the DS game can hop in to the Wii game on the fly and control Bat-Mite. As the miniature hero, players can drop anvils on screen and either aid or hinder their friends.    

Most of the levels seem to take place on land, including a boss fight that featured Catman. Catman would stand from a perch and occasionally turn Batman and Robin into cats. At this point, cat Batman and Robin would have to jump up to Catman and attack him. Batman and Green Lantern journeyed to space in another level, which seemed reminiscent of all those old '90s superhero beat-'em-ups, specifically Captain America & the Avengers.    

Batman: The Brave and the Bold might just be a beat-'em-up, but it is looking like a great entry in the genre with it's wonderful animation and cool gameplay additions.