Software:Batman: Dark Tomorrow

From HandWiki
Short description: 2003 video game
Batman: Dark Tomorrow
North American GameCube box art
Developer(s)Kemco[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Kemco
Director(s)Takafumi Yuki
Producer(s)Takafumi Yuki
Designer(s)
  • Tomoharu Aihara
  • David Vout
  • Takeo Mogi
  • Takafumi Yuki
Programmer(s)Tomoharu Aihara
Artist(s)Takeshi Okamoto
Writer(s)
  • Scott Peterson
  • Kenji Terada
Composer(s)
  • Tony Corizia
  • Tot Taylor
SeriesBatman
Platform(s)GameCube, Xbox
Release
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Batman: Dark Tomorrow is an action-adventure game developed and published by Kemco for the GameCube and Xbox in 2003. It is based on the DC Comics character Batman. Many precedents of the comics are cited, especially as it pertains to Ra's al Ghul, and Batman's relationship with al Ghul's daughter, Talia al Ghul.

Initially announced in 2001 as a GameCube exclusive, Batman: Dark Tomorrow was envisioned as being an open-ended, faithful, and realistic approach to the Batman franchise, in a similar vein to the Software:Batman: Arkham series years later. However, as development progressed, the game was scaled back and slated for release on multiple consoles.

Gameplay

Batman: Dark Tomorrow is a linear, stealth-based action game in which players control Batman as he fights crime. Batman is equipped with several of his tools, such as Batarangs, smoke bombs, and grappling hooks. Levels each have certain objectives that players must achieve to proceed, while criminals and enemies will attempt to stop the player's progress. While enemies can be knocked unconscious, they cannot be killed (due to Batman's "no killing" code); this requires the player to handcuff the criminal to keep them from attacking. There are several parts in levels in which the game saves; if the player dies, it will reload to the last save.[4] Members of Batman's supporting cast of allies also appear in the cinematics of the game, including Oracle, Robin, and Batgirl. Nightwing does not appear, but is mentioned in dialogue as possible backup leading into the game's climax.

The game features various endings depending on how the last few sections of the game are played. To get the "good" ending, Batman must disarm a signal device before facing Ra's. This is never made clear to the player beforehand, however, and as such the ending most players will get is one of three "bad" endings which has Batman defeating Ra's who then sets off bombs he has set up around the globe, killing 1/3 of the world's population. This initially caused confusion among gamers and critics as to why beating the game essentially had Batman failing to save the world.

Plot

Ra's al Ghul (Don Leslie), his daughter Talia (Wendy Jones), and his League of Assassins take control of a weaponized satellite that is targeting Gotham City. While trying to end a gang war between The Ventriloquist and Black Mask (Michael Wright), Batman (Julian Fletcher) discovers that Commissioner James Gordon (Ron McLarty) has been kidnapped and is being held hostage at an overrun Arkham Asylum. Racing through Gotham City's sewers to enter the Asylum undetected, Batman has to fight through several foes, including Victor Zsasz (Scott Sowers), Ratcatcher (Jonathan Roumie), Mr. Freeze (Ralph Byers), Poison Ivy (Wendy Jones), and Killer Croc (Richardo Ferrone), before finally encountering the Joker (Allen Enlow), the mastermind behind Gordon's kidnapping. After defeating Joker and saving Gordon, Batman deduces that the Joker was actually working for Ra's al Ghul and the kidnapping scheme was merely a distraction to allow Ra's to commence his newest plan to take over the world.

Traveling to the Himalayas, Batman makes his way to the League of Assassins' stronghold to foil Ra's al Ghul's scheme. Talia helps him by turning off the cameras around Ra's lair. Batman finds a terminal and overrides the homing signal, before defeating Ubu (Dean Wein), Ra's most trusted servant, guarding the entrance to the throne room. There, Batman confronts Ra's, who reveals his master plan: 24 bombs have been planted throughout the world, which, once activated, will cause the ice caps to enter the oceans, forming tsunamis and hurricanes throughout the coastlines; every coastal city on the world will be destroyed and one-third of the planet's population with it, allowing Ra's to rebuild the world in his image. Ra's then asks Batman to marry Talia and become his heir, but the Dark Knight declines, much to Talia's disappointment. Ra's and Batman engage in a final sword fight, with Batman emerging victorious. A defeated Ra's attempts to activate the bombs, but to no avail, as they had already been disabled by Batman. Ubu, having recovered, then tries to kill Batman, but Talia warns him and Batman dodges the attack, causing Ubu to unintentionally kill Ra's instead. Talia and Ubu take Ra's to the Lazarus Pit as the temple begins to self-destruct and revive him, while Batman escapes and returns to Gotham. As he looks out over the city, the Bat-Signal ignites the sky once more, calling him back into action.

Several alternate endings are possible, depending on whether or not the player had found and deactivated Ra's weapon before the final battle with him, or lost the fight. If Batman did not disable the signal and loses the sword fight, he is mortally wounded by Ra's who puts his plan into action and floods the world. If Batman loses the fight but disabled the signal, Ra's reveals to the dying Batman that the override is only temporary and that his victory is inevitable. If Batman wins the fight but did not disable the signal, a defeated Ra's still manages to commence his plan and flood the world, as Batman falls to his knees and screams "No!" in horror.

Development

Dark Tomorrow was presented at E3 2001 as an exclusive to the GameCube console. It was originally conceived as an open world oriented adaptation of the comic book iteration of Batman. Similar to Activision's Spider-Man 2, players would control Batman as he traveled around Gotham City, with the ability to patrol Gotham in the Batmobile, Batplane, and Batboat. Character A.I. and combat was ambitious to allow an in-depth open world Batman experience.[5] However, the game was later revealed to be in the works for both the Xbox and PlayStation 2 consoles, and was reworked into a more linear and stealth-based game.[6][7]

Veteran DC Comics and former Batman: Gotham Adventures writer Scott Peterson (who also wrote the previous year's Superman: The Man of Steel video game) and Final Fantasy's Kenji Terada created the story for Dark Tomorrow, while the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performed the game's orchestrated score. Peterson was not aware of Terada's involvement at the time he worked on the game's story, relating years later that he wrote the script alone while working as DC Comics' Batman office liaison and that Terada was likely brought on after he completed the script.[8] The game had a total development span of four years and several release date delays before ultimately being released on the GameCube and Xbox in early 2003.[9] The PlayStation 2 version was eventually cancelled.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
GCXbox
AllGameStarHalf star[10]N/A
EGM1.5/10[11]N/A
Game Informer0.75/10[12]N/A
GameProN/AStarHalf star[13]
GameRevolutionF[14]N/A
GameSpot2.8/10[15]2.8/10[15]
GameSpyN/AStar[16]
IGN3.5/10[17]2.2/10[18]
Nintendo Power1.9/5[19]N/A
OXM (US)N/A3.5/10[20]
Aggregate score
Metacritic29/100[21]25/100[22]

Batman: Dark Tomorrow gained infamy for receiving negative reviews on both platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[21][22] Primary criticism of the game was directed at its control scheme, repetitive missions, and its camera, which was described as frustrating. Game Informer gave the GameCube version 0.75 out of 10 for gameplay that is "incomprehensible and littered with bugs".[12] IGN was severely disappointed with the same console version, saying that "The Dark Knight gets his wings clipped in his latest adventure".[17] GamePro author Andre said "It has about as much dynamism as I do when I get up in the morning."[23]

Although the gameplay was widely criticized, Peterson and Terada's story, as well as the in-game cinematics, were praised. IGN noted that the game's DC-based Batman license faithfully brought it to life and commended the game's cut-scenes.[17] The ending, however, was met with criticism as there is no in-game direction to the "good ending".[24]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ported to Xbox by HotGen.[1]

References

  1. ↑ "Batman: Dark Tomorrow release information". Blue Flame Labs. https://www.mobygames.com/game/batman-dark-tomorrow/release-info. 
  2. ↑ "2003年1月～8月発売 ライセンシーソフト". https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ngc/before/03_0108.html. 
  3. ↑ Varanini, Giancarlo (18 March 2003). "Now shipping". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/now-shipping/1100-6023460/. Retrieved 18 March 2003. 
  4. ↑ "Batman: Dark Tomorrow Review" (in en-US). 2003-03-24. http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/03/24/batman-dark-tomorrow-review?page=2. 
  5. ↑ "13 Years Ago Today, 'Batman: Dark Tomorrow' Nearly Destroyed Gotham Games". Inverse. https://www.inverse.com/article/14098-13-years-later-batman-dark-tomorrow-is-still-an-embarrassment. 
  6. ↑ "Batman: Dark Tomorrow goes multiplatform" (in en). GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-dark-tomorrow-goes-multiplatform/1100-2860526/. 
  7. ↑ "Kemco Claims Batman Dark Tomorrow". 25 May 2001. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/05/25/kemco-claims-batman-dark-tomorrow. 
  8. ↑ "Comics on Consoles podcast #5". http://www.comicsonconsoles.com/issue-5-batman-dark-tomorrow-with-special-guest-scott-peterson. 
  9. ↑ "Batman's Dark Delay". 15 October 2002. https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/10/15/batmans-dark-delay. 
  10. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Batman: Dark Tomorrow (GC) - Review". AllGame. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=35078&tab=review. 
  11. ↑ "Batman: Dark Tomorrow (GC)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (167): 112. June 2003. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Reiner, Andrew (May 2003). "Batman: Dark Tomorrow (GC)". Game Informer (121): 87. http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200305/R03.0729.1746.32907.htm. Retrieved 22 November 2013. 
  13. ↑ Tokyo Drifter (27 March 2003). "Batman: Dark Tomorrow Review for Xbox". GamePro. http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox/games/reviews/28701.shtml. Retrieved 22 November 2013. 
  14. ↑ Dr. Moo (April 2003). "Batman: Dark Tomorrow Review (GC)". Game Revolution. http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/batman-dark-tomorrow. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Tracy, Tim (2 April 2003). "Batman: Dark Tomorrow Review". http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-dark-tomorrow-review/1900-6024327/. 
  16. ↑ Gibson, Jon M. (1 April 2003). "GameSpy: Batman: Dark Tomorrow (Xbox)". GameSpy. http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/batman-dark-tomorrow/5732p1.html. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Lewis, Cory D. (25 March 2003). "Batman: Dark Tomorrow (GC)". http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/03/25/batman-dark-tomorrow-4. 
  18. ↑ Goldstein, Hilary (24 March 2003). "Batman: Dark Tomorrow Review". http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/03/24/batman-dark-tomorrow-review. 
  19. ↑ "Batman: Dark Tomorrow". Nintendo Power 167: 134. April 2003. 
  20. ↑ "Batman: Dark Tomorrow". Official Xbox Magazine: 82. June 2003. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Batman: Dark Tomorrow for GameCube Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/batman-dark-tomorrow/critic-reviews/?platform=gamecube. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Batman: Dark Tomorrow for Xbox Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/batman-dark-tomorrow/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox. 
  23. ↑ PastGaming - Archiv (2015-04-06). Gamepro 05/2003 - Testcheck. Retrieved 2024-11-04 – via YouTube.
  24. ↑ "The 100 worst games of all time" (in en). gamesradar. http://www.gamesradar.com/worst-games-all-time/9/. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Batman:_Dark_Tomorrow&oldid=4137180"