Watchmen: The End Is Nigh

Written by Tom Clare in PS3 Game Reviews, Saturday 20 June, 2009

Released: 2009
Developer: Deadline Games
Publisher: Warner Bros
Genre: Roaming Beat 'em up
Platform: PS3
Version: 1.00

Emerging around the same time as the film, Watchmen: The End Is Nigh has some praise-worthy attributes that, to a degree, help in distinguishing it from the crowd of mediocre film tie-ins. However, for what is a relatively short, download-only title, the hefty £12.99 price tag will dissuade many from indulging in the few hours of mindless fun that it offers.

Having been developed by the fittingly-named Deadline Games, Watchmen showcases many of the shortcomings you’d expect to see from a made-to-order tie-in, but in comparison to many licensed titles, it does at least make a tentative effort to go against the grain. Firstly, the narrative of the game doesn’t mimic that of the film, instead allowing the player to follow a prequel story adapted from the graphic novel and set in an alternative sixties America, around the time of the Watergate scandal. Surprisingly, Warner Bros decided to create Watchmen as a cooperative roaming beat ‘em up rather than a standard action/adventure, and it’s also cool that you get to play as the arguably the films two best protagonists, Rorschach and Nite Owl.

Sadly however, if gaming has taught us anything over the last ten years, it’s that creating a good roaming beat ‘em up in 3D is very difficult indeed. Each year technologies advance, yet gameplay-wise the scarce representatives of the once-great genre seem to fall further and further behind the benchmark set in the early-nineties by arcade classics such as Streets of Rage and Final Fight. Watchmen tries, but largely fails to recapture old glories, in what is a fairly by-the-numbers experience spread out across six levels, offering around an hour and a half’s worth of pummelling before the credits role.

Whilst there are quite a few combos to learn, the temptation to button-bash quickly takes over, with the battles that feature multiple enemies becoming rather scrappy, due to the indecisive lock-on system. The collision physics range from slightly rickety to completely insane; for the most part, your focus will be directed towards the uncomfortable movements your character makes when trying to grapple or attack foes. It’s more of a concern though when enemies (or more annoyingly, your partner) get snagged on the scenery, and every now and then, you can instigate a finishing move only for your character (but not your foe) to be broken out of the animation, allowing you to witness the bizarre occurrence of your victim convulsing and being thrown around by a phantom pugilist.

Perhaps inevitably, the fighting becomes rather repetitive. Attempts to add variety outside of the fighting prove a bit half-hearted; the most complicated being Rorschach’s lockpick mini-game, which is oddly never incorporated into the main route of the levels – only as a way of challenging the player for extras. Nite Owl’s talents are utilised in even more basic fashion; his chief ability coming in the form of a grappling hook, which requires nothing more than pointing the camera in the direction of specific buildings (hard to miss with “Way Up” plastered unceremoniously on the walls) and pressing ‘X’ when prompted.

Its credentials are improved however by some excellent presentation. Visually, it’s absolutely stunning. The dark, water-streaked streets are dynamic and dramatic, with consistently beautiful lighting and rain effects creating a suitable tone for the subject matter. The environment detail and clarity in both close and distant focus is excellent – the graffiti-smeared walls are as impressive as the distant city-lights, but if anything, the character animation is even better. If Watchmen manages to capture one facet of the film to a tee, it’s the visceral stylishness of its action sequences. This is especially clear in the superb, bone-crunching finishing moves Rorschach and Nite Owl inflict on the goons who, despite having their character models duplicated a fair bit over the course of the game, also look smashing.

Whilst the uninspired dialogues between Nite Owl and Rorschach fail to recreate the films dark humour, it is nice to see actors Patrick Wilson and Jackie Earle Haley reprising their silver-screen roles here, lending their distinctive tones to Rorschach and Nite Owl. The sound effects pack a real punch, with crisp thuds, snaps and crashes emphasised by the groans of your victims.

Watchmen delivers fun in small doses, and makes fine use of the cooperative element. Whilst the A.I. is no pushover, you’ll get the most out of playing it split-screen with a friend. Not only do you get to fight alongside each other in split-screen, but at certain points require the others assistance to progress, even if much of it is simple leaver-pulling and button-pressing. This makes Rorschach and Nite Owl’s campaign in single-player just different enough to be worth playing individually, as their fighting styles differ as well as their routes.

Strangely for a game of this sort, there are no high-score boards or any statistics of note post-completion, and it’s undeniably disappointing that there is no online mode, as considering the co-op element, you would have thought it a shoe-in. Hidden moves and items are available for the treasure hunters among us, though the rewards aren’t enough to justify the effort you’ll need to find them. The best source of replay value lies in the dozen PSN Trophies up for grabs, which present a nicely varied and often-challenging set of goals to tackle.

For fans of the franchise, Watchmen: The End Is Nigh is worth a try. There’s a few hours uncomplicated fun to be had and it all looks very nice, but unquestionably there are a raft of superior beat ‘em ups and co-op games available. The fantastic presentation and commendable use of co-op is negated by flawed, derivative gameplay, meaning the steep £12.99 price-tag is hard to justify.

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