It's somewhat of a depressing fact that every household superhero has lost their parents at an early age, causing them to go into some type of vengeance spiral, before bouncing back up to save the world. Daredevil - it happened to him, Spiderman, something like that happened to him, Superman (at least with his birth parents), Batman, the list goes on. Why though? Is it really necessary?

The latest superhero to get a new movie and a game tie-in is Batman, with Batman Begins - where you'll learn how it all began - and no, he didn't get bitten by a radioactive bat! For your sake, I had to sit through two hours and a half watching the film. This took some doing, as normally I refuse to watch films over two hours, but I'm glad I watched it, as it's a really, really good film, a little too long on the introduction side but eventually it picks up and turns into one of the best flicks I've seen in a long while. The game can be described exactly the same too - it takes a good couple of hours to get into but after that initial period you can expect a pretty good movie tie in that weaves in and out of the Batman Begins storyline.

Needless to say, if you're going to play the game before you've seen the film then prepare yourself for some spoilers - although the game refuses to uncover a couple of twists but anybody who knows their Batman, or who has any sense of plot, will be able to guess what happens. I won't be spoiling the story here though.

The gameplay is quite varied and just what you'd expect from an EA film title. You get chance to play step into the caped crusader's stylish leather boots, and drive the Batmobile of course, experiencing the sheer thrill of the high-speed Burnout type driving with slow-motion crashes. When playing on foot you're able to pull off basic moves, nothing too special, but most things that you'd expect from a game of this calibre. You can run about, jump high, glide with your cape and sneak about like Sam Fisher. In fact, I'd like to think that Batman Begins has borrowed some inspiration from the Splinter Cell series. You can sneak about, perform attacks from behind or above and listen to what the mob-gangs have to say in their comical sounding voices before performing some seriously cool moves on them.

But before you go in there, you'd better employ a couple of tactics. For starters, you need to decide which villain to take out first - the one holding the gun is normally the best option, or else you'll find yourself dying more than a Batman should. The fun part lies in the fear factor, which plays a big part in the film and a big part in the game. There's a little thing called the 'area fear' bar, which increases depending on what you do to the area. As it stands, you can use your batterangs to cause windows to smash, scaffold to break and lots of things that are highlighted in little circles. You can also hack into terminals and move a crane, to cause boxes to fall, which should really startle the enemies, especially if your reputation is pretty full and people have heard about you via word of mouth. "Oh my god! You're real?!"

Once your enemies are scared, they won't attack as hard, cowering in corners and leaving you feeling all high and mighty. To add to the scary fun, you can throw objects into the mix that can only be used on already frightened enemies, like smoke bombs. Make your foes quiver at the very sight of you - you're Batman, you should be feared. There are many items in the game that can be used, some to initially cause fear and some to use after the state of fear is ramped right up. It's nice to be able to play about with new strategies, throwing items into the scare tactics.

However, I can't help thinking that EA could have made the fear even more fearful. You can press buttons and throw rangs at things that the game allows - you should be able to throw your rangs anywhere, to smash or make a noise anywhere, to cause distraction and really play with your enemies' minds. Unfortunately this is not the case, which doesn't do the game any favours where linear gameplay is concerned, because it's just a one-trip pony down a Batman flavoured avenue. It could have had different routes and more stealthy strategies, but alas, this wasn't to be. It's no bad thing though, because the game does deliver fun from start to finish and you'd be a fool to moan too much about linearity.

Coming onto the combat and there's options that differ depending on your mood. You already know about items and how they can affect the outcome of a battle, but there's a range of special moves to pull off. In fact, fighting is quite a satisfying part of Batman Begins, especially when you plan it out and strike while the iron's hot. There are a couple of ways you can fight too, which is the only aspect of the game that offers a little bit of choice. You could, for example, swing along the roof on a pipe and then land on somebody's head, take that guy down and then deal with the rest. Or you could sneak behind the enemy that could pose a problem, take him down and then work on the rest at your peril.

I like the combat. One button plays a major role when it comes to performing special attacks and finishing moves. One button. Its simple, but man, it's real effective. Sure, you could laugh at its simplistic nature, but to be honest, I'd rather have simple, satisfying, easy-to-play but difficult to master combat rather than long strings of buttons that can complicate things. There is a snag though - this button pops up in the right hand corner for a second or two and you have to be quick. You might get offered a finishing move, press it fast and perform it. You might get knocked down and get offered a ground kick - press the button fast and watch them fall. Same goes for a multiple attack, a defence break, an air attack and many more. Aside from specials, your punches and kicks can be combined with jumps, so taking down a large group can be really enjoyable.

From time to time you see close up views of your moves and what's even more special is when the fear bar is to full and you get to see what Batman looks like to the thugs that are scared to death. Scary stuff too - my little sister won't be sleeping tonight, I'll tell you that much!

The driving missions are really great at breaking up the fighting action and keeping you entertained. The Batmobile, which is extremely good looking, fast and really furious, not only looks the bat's knees, but is a joy to drive too. The whole driving experience reminds me of Burnout, which is high praise indeed. The main way of taking down thugs in pick-up trucks is to ram into them while holding down the nitro button - and the Batmobile isn't short of nitro either! When you crash, everything goes into slow motion, you see the car fly in the air - it looks and feels great. That's not to mention the Batmobile's dual rocket weapons and the ability to leap over cars at a second's notice. It's all highly enjoyable to say the least.

Now for the department that EA always succeeds in regardless of the game and that's the sound department. It's amazing. All the cast from the film are here to lend their voices - either that, or bloody good sound-a-likes, but I like to think that it's the former, not the latter. Michael Cane (God I love that guy) does a great job of briefing you, tipping you off and making you laugh throughout the game as Alfred. There's some voice talent from Morgan Freeman, plenty from Christian Bale, the Batman himself and loads more voices from other actors in the film, bringing the sound department to a super-high note. To end the crescendo of sound talent, there are stacks of mood-setting music, from sneaking to landing yourself in a fight and the sound effects are all realistic, completing the outstanding audio experience.

The graphics are almost as good as the sound too. Batman looks more heroic than ever in his super suit and yellow belt, with that cape fluttering in the wind. Everything is well animated and brilliantly done when it comes to full motion videos, which are complimented with clips from the movie and animations with in-game looking visuals, giving a realistic, movie-related feel. I love it when the camera closes in on people that are eating my fists and I especially love it when I'm interrogating people and get to see Batman knocking seven bells of bat guano out of his enemies to get the required information, too. Comic book style windows play a big part in the game, showing you gangs having a conversation in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, which is just what a game like this needs. Were it not for the slowdown that appears from time to time when big fights occur, the graphics would get an even higher score.

In the end or in the beginning if you like, Batman Begins is a good game, just falling short of great due to the linearity. It is a highly enjoyable and I urge you to check it out if you enjoyed the film but there's little reason to come back once you're done. Sure, there are a few bonuses to be unlocked such as film material, new Batman Costumes and interviews, but I'd say twice through at most and this bat'll be hanging from the shelf gathering dust. It's a class act while it lasts though, an entertaining action romp that's well worth a play through if you like Batman - and let's be honest, who doesn't?

Reviewed by Dexter Pearson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).