While in his recent films, Batman may have been showing the grittier, darker, more sinister part of his personality, if you ask us, it's never really suited him - you just can't take a grown man in a plastic bat hat, who refers to everything he owns as the Bat-something seriously. Luckily, in the realm of children's Bat-cartoons - as anyone who has a kid who watches Cartoon Network will know, in the animated series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Batman's at his comic, 1960's live action show inspired finest - cheesy, rugged, and a million Bat-miles away from the darkness of his newer film depictions. And, thanks to taking its cues from the kids TV show, Batman: The Brave and the Bold on the Wii is all the better for it.
Letting you take on four cases of criminal foul-doings, with a presentation that's true to the cartoon, right down to featuring the intro from the TV series, the Brave and the Bold is a non-stop ride of humorous banter, with the big black Bat and his assistants constantly throwing one liners at each other while they're advancing the story. A game that seemingly prides itself on its sense of humour, even the levels do their hardest to throw in a few extra giggles. In one of the earlier levels, you'll be fighting your way across a museum exhibit about cats, when a serious voiceover starts to educate you about the history of your feline friends - including the great cat civil war, which saw the invention of the cat-apult, an invention it assures you was originally used by cats to quickly travel long distances.
Bet you never knew that cats had been to the moon, did you? They just act so clueless to lull us into a false sense of security...
As a cheesy side scrolling beat 'em up, the game's forgiving difficulty level matches its target audience perfectly, making it easy to pick up and play, (though that didn't stop us being defeated several times), and a great game for a family to play together. We played through the game in the drop-in, drop-out co-op mode, which, as always, is one of the game's strengths. Letting a second player pick up a controller at any time, it's great for when you need that little bit of extra help defeating that last tricky boss, or just fancy sharing the adventure.
As you progress through the levels, you'll be BAM!, WHAP! and KERPOW!ing your way across a large variety of short, well paced, platforming levels. With few tricky jumps (you'll be using your Bat- or Robin-arang to get to higher ground), it's a game that's mostly free of frustration, letting you move through the levels as you see fit. Throwing countless enemies at you as you explore environments from the aforementioned museums, to rooftops, to a cave on Science Island, as make your way through the level, you'll never be short of something to do, and with a good variety of enemies, that actually block your attacks, you'll be forced to mix up your moves if you want to take them down, which helps keep the game from getting repetitive.
Look out, evil doers!
If anything, the biggest problem is that it's all a bit short lived. Although the Brave and the Bold has a variety of hidden areas for you to explore on later playthroughs, it is a bit disappointing that there don't seem to be any collectibles hidden in the levels, which certainly hurts the replay value, when compared to games like LEGO Harry Potter. And, for a game that's otherwise so incredibly accessible, it's disappointing that the control system is so complex. Although the game's a simple 2D beat 'em up, you can't play using just the Wii Remote, as for some reason, the analogue nunchuck attachment is required. It doesn't really make that much sense to us, as you can't move in 3D anyway - so why is an analogue controller required? With the tutorial the game offers you at the start of the game taking you through everything you need to know - and we mean, everything - it can get a bit intimidating for newer players, who are just learning their way around the Wii.
Luckily, you won't need to rely on every single move Catman teaches you, as, especially with a co-op partner, it's perfectly possible to play through the game by only switching between a few moves. If you need to do anything specific, the game will often prompt you - and with loading screens that remind you how to do each move, it's not as intimidating as it may seem - which is something to remember when you're playing through the tutorial!
With a great sense of humour helping everything along, and Batman seeming to take on the role of a more morally upstanding Duke Nukem (don't worry if you don't get the reference), this is a fun, action packed co-op adventure, that'll have you laughing from start to finish. If you have the two Wii Remotes and Nunchucks it'll take to enjoy it properly, you can't go far wrong with this.
Format Reviewed: Nintendo Wii
