Thomas Roach reviews Batman: The Telltale Series Episode Three – ‘New World Order’…
New World Order’s story picks up a week after the previous episode, Children of Arkham. Harvey Dent has survived the horrific attack from the debate inflicted on him by The Penguin. Bruce is forced to come to terms with the revelation that his father was involved with shady affairs at Arkham Asylum whilst facing the board of Wayne Enterprises seeking to replace him. After what I considered a great previous episode, I imagined it would be hard to top, but I feel this episode has raised the stakes.
New World Order does get off to a slower start than the previous episodes though I feel this does serve the story somewhat. It is worth it as a great deal of things happen this episode towards the middle and the end that really gives the player a great experience. The story in this episode is sublime despite a slow start. The plot intensifies a great deal towards the end of the episode revealing some very exciting plot points for the next episode. Once again this episode ends on a climatic cliffhanger that will keep you wanting more.
Without divulging spoilers this episode intensifies the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. It is really great to see their relationship explores in an interesting and fun way. Their relationship in this game is far superior to what I have seen in other media such as The Dark Knight Rises and the Rocksteady games. Credit is due to the voice actors Troy Baker and Laura Bailey who play Bruce and Selina respectively. I am so impressed what I have seen from their performances and the story that I hope these versions of the characters are given the credit they deserve alongside the many other versions that saturate the Batman lore.
The combat in the game still remains a high point. To date it is the best combat from any Telltale game to date. The combat is still controlled through quick time events and cannot be diverted from, however this is still far superior to the previous Telltale games that have come before in my opinion. The combat feels fluid and the cinematography during combat sequences really lets you experience the action. The way combat scenes are shot in particular makes if feel like an a comic book which is a very authentic touch and a much needed one.
Having looked at some other reviews for the game, many people have pointed out technical issues that includes the game freezing and frame rate drops. I can say that I am yet to have any of these issues. I have been playing on PlayStation 4 so I don’t know if it would be best to play the game on this console or I have just been incredibly lucky.
Whereas the previous episode was noticeably shorter than the first episode, New World Order returns to being a longer experience. To complete this episode it took me just over an hour and thirty minutes. Despite others saying that Telltale games don’t have a great deal of replay value, I disagree. I’ll admit it wont have as much replay value as a traditional game, but I am keen to go and explore alternative routes I could have taken in the story. Having seen choices from episode one play out into this episode, I will be keen to play the game again when all episodes are out and explore these choices I may have missed.
Overall New World Order raises the stakes in the the narrative and offers the playing a thrilling and intriguing experience that will leave Batman fans desperate for more. With a climatic ending that in my opinion surpasses anything Telltale have done before, I know that the next two episodes will continue to deliver something really special. Once again it is torture than fans have to wait a few weeks till find out what will happen next.
Batman: The Telltale Series – New World Order was reviewed on PlayStation 4.
Pros
+ Intense story
+ Longer than previous episode
+ Great combat
Cons
– Slower start than other episodes
Rating: 8.5/10
Thomas Roach
Originally published October 28, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
