Remember how we said that basically all of the Batman games before Arkham Asylum were a big pile of butts? Well, Dark Tomorrow was at the top of said pile. It was the buttest of the butt. Supposedly adapted directly from the comic books - nearly every other Batman game was based on one of the films or TV shows - the Xbox and GameCube title was developed by the London-based HotGen, who have since made basically nothing. It certainly had potential, bringing in classic villains like the Joker, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Scarface and Scarface. Plus hope springs eternal with Batman games, y'know? He's the best superhero. We really, really wanted to be him. That's why we kept foolishly buying his games, even though they were butts. The story was ripped straight from the comics, too, with a gang war breaking out between Scarface and Black Mask whilst Commissioner Gordon is kidnapped by the inmates of Arkham Asylum. It's up to he player, in the guise of the Caped Crusader, to fight his way through this mess and, ultimately, put a stop to The Joker, who is behind the whole thing. Except it totally isn't The Joker who's in charge but Ra's al Ghul, the immortal Batman villain who's a perpetual thorn in the Dark Knight's side. And he's going to destroy the world! DUN DUN DUN. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C98fwll-_A Dark Tomorrow offers three alternate endings, and it's unlikely you'll get the good one. Because you get no indication as to how you get the good ending without looking at a walkthrough beforehand, which means that after hours of gameplay you're either going to get stabbed through the heart during the climactic sword fight with Ra's, or the world will end. Seriously. If you avoid the stabbing you nonetheless have to watch the bad guy set off a doomsday device, which you could've disarmed, if the game had told you that was a possibility. Disappointing, and more than a little frustrating.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
