When Batman: Dark Tomorrow was announced years back for the GameCube, there was much speculation surrounding the title, as nothing was unveiled. Then at last year’s E3, all that was shown was an FMV cinematic of Batman dealing with some bad guys trying to make a getaway. Earlier this year, a few screenshots and plot details were released, giving gamers an idea of what the game would be like, a darker Batman in comparison with the cartoon styled Batman: Vengeance. And now that it’s playable, there’s some pretty interesting news on what game Dark Tomorrow can best be compared to.

Metal Gear Solid. Yes, you read that right. Dark Tomorrow mixes gameplay and control elements of Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil, while retaining a gritty look with some swank atmosphere to give the title its own appearance. Batman controls like a quicker, faster, more responsive Resident Evil model, as you press left or right (on the analog stick) to pivot, pressing up always moves you forward, and pressing down allows you to do spin 180 degrees. Thankfully, the movements and feel of the Batman isn’t nearly as cumbersome as controlling the Resident Evil characters. Surprisingly, the only main problem I’ve found was whenever you’re surrounded by enemies, or even by just two, it’s a bit more difficult to turn and hit one than it would be if the controls were more like Zelda, or most any other third person action adventures.

As for the MGS aspect, in the upper right corner of the screen, a small, transparent overhead map exists, which contain dots (enemies), and their view paths. If an enemy spots you, the map alerts you, and if you manage to hide, or escape their line of site, it then drops to a timed caution mode, and then remains normal. It’s exactly like MGS, and it’s very cool having Batman actually using stealth actions and being cautious. Regarding stealth, if you press the Z button, you go into stealth mode, where Batman hunches over and quietly sneaks around. You’re also able to put your back to walls and sneak around, peak around corners, though the controls aren’t as tight as MGS in this instance.

Batman looks great too, as there’s a lot of (crisp) texture variety, and a very gritty look and feel. There are some cool effects such as billows of smoke, snow prints, and such. Combat is fairly straight and to the point, with A being attack. You can rack up combos, depending on the timing of your button presses, and the direction you’re holding the analog stick. Though I wasn’t initially sold on the control at all, once you learn to adapt to the configuration, it works wonders. You’ll be knocking down enemies and handcuffing them before you know it, and you’ll be amazed at how well it’s working. Batman: Dark Tomorrow should hit the GameCube later this year, and it’s definitely on my list of games I’m looking forward to now.