Review

Developed by:Telltale Games Published by:Telltale Games Genre(s):
  • Adventure
  • Platform:
  • Handhelds
  • Microsoft
  • Nintendo
  • PC
  • Sony
  • Cost:$24.99 (For Full Season) ESRB Rating:MATURE Players:1 Release date:August 2, 2016 Reviewed on:PC Episode Release Date:October 25, 2016
    8

    Batman: Episode 3: New World Order

    Telltale has done a wonderful job of crafting a story about the Dark Night. There’s drama, action, and just the right amount of “twist” to keep even the most avid DC fan engaged. Unfortunately, the first two episodes were riddled with bugs and/or frame rate issues that marred an otherwise awesome experience. Well, to that I say – third time’s the charm?

    “New World Order” picks up right where the previous episode left off. Harvey Dent has become the new Mayor of Gotham in-lieu of Mayor Hill’s death. Understandably, Harvey is a bit shaken. He never imagined he’d win in such a manner. Not only that, The Children of Arkham have now turned their sights his way; they aim to clean up Gotham one corrupt official at a time (or in Harvey’s case, anyone who might have gained from the suffering of others). It doesn’t matter if you were aware of what was going on or not. Which brings us to Bruce, who’s dealing with the exposure of his father’s sordid past. The board of directors at Wayne Enterprises wants to force Bruce to step down from his position as CEO, separating the company from the tarnished Wayne name. I’ll give you three guesses as to whom they’d like to take his place…

    What we have here is another well thought out chapter. I love how Bruce’s world is slowly being turned upside down. As Bruce, his name is being dragged through the mud. As Batman, he’s being bested out in the field; capturing some of the bad guys hasn’t prevented them from achieving their goals. It’s actually quite humbling, but in a good way. Some of the best Batman comics force this character to use everything he has to get out of a jam. Seeing him triumph over a league of goons after nearly burning Gotham to the ground helps to sell the ideas of what the Dark Knight is – a flawed but incredibly able champion. And being able to play as this version of him, as opposed to the Batman that can punch sharks in the face (I’m looking at you Arkham City) makes for a more entertaining experience.

    The only problem I seem to keep having is this nagging frame rate issue. Again, Telltale has released a patch to fix things. And again, things have only marginally improved. Now instead of jittering all about when the action heats up, there are long pauses. Even when you aren’t fighting the frame rate drops. Conversations drag on, with every other line being interrupted by a pause. A few seconds later the game will kick back into action, with the audio advancing to completion before the characters can finish mouthing their lines. QTE’s…forget about it…

    Like I said in my review of the previous episode, I hope Telltale can fix the frame rate issues before releasing the next chapter. There’s no excuse for the game to perform this badly for this long. Something needs to be done and soon!

    Gameplay:

    9

    As always, it’s fun playing as Batman and Bruce. The frame rate issues hurt the gameplay during the action segments.

    Graphics:

    7

    The frame rate issues need to be addressed. Completely!

    Sound:

    10

    The voice work and sound effects were great!

    Replay Value:

    6

    Most will want till everything is said and done before replaying episodes.

    Final Score:

    8

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