As movie franchises go, you can’t get much bigger than Batman. Christopher Nolan reinvigorated the Batman series when he and Bale stepped onto set for the first time back in 2005, and now, 7 years on, we’ve arrived at the finale to the new Dark Knight trilogy.
In pursuit of all things mobile gaming, it was publisher Gameloft who were lucky enough to pick up the rights to develop for this prestigious IP, and they’ve certainly delivered with, The Dark Knight Rises for Android and iOS.
Impressively this mobile game is the only incarnation of The Dark Knight Rises, with no other similar portable or console titles on the market, but as a result, gamers who are also fans of the franchise no doubt have their sights squarely set on this title and all that it offers. So does it do The Dark Knight justice, or should it have just remained in the shadows?
After having been out of the game for eight long years, Bruce Wayne must once again don cowl and cape to fight the unsavoury characters who plague Gotham City, this time embodied by the imposing presence of a new terrorist threat, Bane.
First and foremost the game is stunning. For a mobile title, the level of polish is wholly impressive with an immersive take on Gotham City by night. Character models, particularly in the case of the caped crusader, are carefully textured, detailed and well animated during the in-game cutscenes.
Navigating the city is much the same as with the highly successful Arkham Asylum and City games for PC, PlayStation and Xbox, allowing you to run, jump, grapple and glide from street level to rooftop and back again with ease. Batman also has access to his full arsenal of gadgets when fighting against Gotham’s criminals, with the likes of the grapnel gun, batarangs and smoke bombs all at your disposal.
Control in combat is fluid and seamless for the most part, with the option for silent takedowns, group combat and combo moves all thrown into the mix. Actions like defeating the bad guys earns you credits and experience to upgrade Batman’s gadgets, moves and vehicles as you progress through the acts of the game. As well as traversing the city on foot or by cape, players also have access to both the Batpod and The Bat to weave through the streets in order to get around.
Although the story is inspired by the movie, the plot has been tweaked to better serve the mobile gaming experience, however you still come into contact with the key characters from the film including Catwoman, Lucius Fox and Commissioner Gordon. Beyond the main campaign there’s also a host of random events for Batman to diffuse around Gotham, as well as collectables scattered throughout the cityscape which help improve the Dark Knight’s skills.
All in all, this proves to be one of the best movie tie-in titles in all of gaming and with the exclusivity tailored to mobile devices, says a lot for the presence of mobile gaming as a platform. To get the most from it, you need to make sure you have some capable hardware as it’s clearly a demanding title, but so long as you do, you won’t regret your purchase, particularly once you’re in the midst of taking Gotham head on.
The Dark Knight Rises is around 2GBs to download, so we suggest you do so over WiFi. Available on iOS and Android, the game retails for £4.99 and is available now.
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