Review: Batman – The Telltale Series (PS4) – Episode 3: New World Order.
With regularity unprecedented for Telltale, another episode of their original vision of the Dark Knight landed. After a great premiere, the story lowered flights in the second episode, but the thrilling ending made me look forward to “New World Order.” What awaits Gotham this time?
From the brutal attack of the Children of Arkham, which resulted in the death of, among others incumbent mayor, a few days have passed. A disfigured Harvey Dent has become the new mayor, allowing him to continue his crusade against Gotham’s crime. Unfortunately, the nightmarish mutilation had a strong impact on his psyche and from the moment when a characteristic coin appeared in his hand, he more and more often loses control over himself. Bruce Wayne, meanwhile, must accept his father’s sins on his chest and face the consequences of the Wayne family’s dark past. Losing the trust of Wayne Enterprises’ management, Bruce is forced to leave the family business, which in turn means no access to the lab of the genius Lucius Fox.
The plot of the third episode develops well the previously developed foundations. Political chess is mixed with the private problems of the heroes, and Batman’s investigation is becoming wider and wider. I still like the creative use of characters from the DC universe, their “humanization” and “normalization”. This makes the story darker and brings the game closer to Nolan’s achievements. Anyway, the third episode seems to be strongly inspired by the director’s work, and several plot solutions are carbon copies of Batman’s Beginning and The Dark Knight. How to copy is from the best, but you should also be careful not to overdo it, and it was very close. Interestingly, there’s one thing Telltale’s production does better and it comes with the character of Bruce Wayne. In this story, Bruce is a man deeply involved in the city’s life. The influential philanthropist, politician and advisor is a stark contrast to the ___y playboy who likes Slavic models and we are used to.
There is no doubt, however, that “New World Order” is very talkative. The vast majority of these ninety minutes are more or less important dialogues over which we have little influence. The choices are limited to the tone of the speech, and the outcome will be roughly the same anyway. Even important decisions have been made as shallow as possible this time, because it is hard to believe that the optional love scene will affect subsequent events. On the plus side, there are fewer action scenes, which have been much more refined.
You should probably come to terms with the fact that the other episodes will not be as diverse and intriguing as the premiere one. Batman has become Telltale’s “next game”, with all its pros and cons. The maximum limitation of the gameplay will throw away players who like to be in the center of the action, and on the other hand, with its multi-threaded, though not always original plot, the title will intrigue DC comic book fans. There is no madness, but also far from tragedy.
