The third episode in Telltale’s take on Batman manages to cram just a little bit of everything that’s associated to the caped crusader’s legacy, as well as add a few more layers to the studio’s own take of DC Comics’ icon’s mythos.
The stage was set for Harvey Dent’s ascent to the mayor’s office at the end of episode two, given that his sole opposition was out of the race thanks to an attack by the mysterious Children of Gotham and the Penguim. On the outset of that episode, I admittedly attempted to steer the ship away from having that character in particular’s expected turn to a villain, and in the wake of that choice, I’m not sure he’s completely out of the fire. In fact, out of the entire cast, Dent is probably the one that’s had the most development during New World Order, as episode three is dubbed.
Sure, other support players managed to make their presence known, most notably Wayne Industries’ connection to Batman, Lucius Fox, who’s excellently played by The Walking Dead’s Lee Everett’s voice actor Dave Fennoy. Fox’s help throughout the entire episode proves to not be enough, as Bruce’s company continues to go down the drain, his funds with it, on the aftermath of his father’s secret shady connections to Gotham City’s underworld.
Regardless of all the drama going on with his alter-ego’s company, Batman’s main mission is developed quite well during this episode, giving more opportunities, albeit limited, to play around with the detective side of donning cape and cowl. Still, given that the way the game deals with linking one piece of evidence to the other in order to help put together a logical trail to whatever’s being examined, the limit to which this episode stuck to in that particular segment made sense, especially considering the things Batman’s discovered during the first episode.
On the action side of things, episode three is pretty well packed, containing a couple of scuffles, including one that takes place right after a particularly heated moment, giving little room for avoiding confrontation, which goes a bit against the “this story is tailored to the way you play” motto of modern Telltale. On the other hand, I couldn’t possibly imagine another outcome to that scene, and in many ways it worked to give even more room for Harvey’s twisted psyche to be shaken up even more.
The build up to the last two episodes is set quite well too, putting Wayne in an even more shaky spot that he was at the end of the last part. Surely episode four will play with a lot of expectations as the game shifts its focus to the asylum for the criminally insane that has lent its name to a dirge of Batman games over the last few years: Arkham. Whether that place’s checkered history will play into Telltale’s version of Batsy’s canon is anyone’s guess at this point, but considering how much of it has been shaken up by the writing in this series, it’s certainly expected to at least throw another stone in Batman’s conflicted existence.
