'Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 3' Review
When a story reaches its mid-point there is a danger that the excitement will lull a little, until of course it again picks up pace. Telltale's Batman Episode 3: New World Order is the third episode of Telltale's take on Batman, with Bruce Wayne's life descending into chaos, but strangely lacking in some of the needed pace.
Carrying on from the events from the last week's episode, and the tragic fate that befell Harvey Dent. With Dent now mayor it's not long before he shows worrying signs of cracks in his psyche. With his evil side growing in dominance and helping Harvey through his troubles, he needs Bruce more than ever.
What I noticed with Telltale's Batman Episode 3: New World Order is the fact that some of the innovation of the series has been scaled back so that the story can progress. Bruce/Batman grows closer to Selena Kyle, he tries to give comfort to Harvey, all the time while trying to find who is behind the Children of Arkham.
In this episode, what we see is a focus on relationships. It is interesting that when we are so focused on Bruce Wayne, we don't get to see what is happening to Harvey, we only see what Bruce sees. This is where we are given the hints that the character is starting to change into Two Face. This revelation though is only visible to us through the experience of Bruce.
In the hunt for the Children of Arkham we also get to see Catwoman in action, and this brings Batman into action again. This is done through mostly quick-time events (as usual with Telltale games) but gone is the planning that Batman has done before. This is more about reactions and pushing the story in one direction. It is easy to see that this decision was made to further push the Bruce and Selena relationship, but I do miss the more thought out approach.
When it comes to the relationship between Selena Kyle and Bruce Wayne, I'm sure some will question if it was needed in this episode (or the season at all). The affect it has though, especially on Harvey shows just how important it is. Especially in the revealing of the Two Face character and the anger that Dent now has. Other than one big reveal, the battle with Dent is arguably the highlight of this episode as it has more emotional impact for both the characters and the audience.
New World Order is also where we get some answers about the Children of Arkham, and we see further attacks on the legacy of the Wayne Empire. I can't say too much as this is an important part of the plot for the season, but at the conclusion of the episode we finally see a big revelation that changes the course of the story.
I feel a little torn with Telltale's Batman Episode 3: New World Order because technically it is the weakest of the episodes so far. It is story heavy there really isn't many choices to be made. What it does give though is a good story that finally leads in a direction that is going to be hard to get out with. Where will we go from here? It'll be interesting to see. I know I'm looking forward to the next episode which is coming very soon.
**** 4/5
Telltale's Batman Episode 3: New World Order is available now.
Category : Reviews, Video Games
Tags : Batman: The Telltale Series, Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 3, New World Order, PlayStation 4, PS4, Review, Telltale Games