Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu - 2003 (GameCube, PS2, Xbox, GBA)
Developed by the same team behind Vengeance, this follow-up pits Bats and co. - Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl - against brand new menace, Sin Tzu. Even with co-op, Rise was criticized for its repetitive beat-em-up gameplay and lack of depth considering the teams previous effort was pretty good for a Batman game backthen. And whats with casting three B-villains - Scarecrow, Bane and Clayface - as the only bosses? If we cant at least battle Harvey Dent, then whats the point?
Batman Begins - 2005 (Xbox, GameCube, PS2, GBA)
Staying remarkably close to its source material - without question, the best Bat film in years - Begins pits dreamboat Christian Bale against the thugs of Gotham. Grounded in reality, you have to use fear and intimidation to beat the bad guys. Thats another way of saying this is a Splinter Cell clone with added Batmobile/Burnout-style levels. Kind of an average game. Probably the reason why theres no game based on The Dark Knight.
Justice League Heroes - 2006 (Xbox, PS2, PSP, DS, GBA)
Similar in play to X-Men Legends and Marvel Ultimate Alliance, JLH is an action-RPG that plays like the old Gauntlet games. Batman joins the other Justice Leaguers like Green Lantern, Superman and Flash as they fight through hundreds of thugs. Just like X-Men and Marvel, you can fight cooperatively with a friend and even customize your stats/armor/abilities on the fly. Also gets repetitive fairly quickly.
Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe - 2008 (PS3, 360)
For some reason the characters from Mortal Kombat duked it out with DC Comics superstars for the sake of well, something. Most gamers found it to not violent enough to be an MK game, and too odd and bloody to be a true DC Comics fighting game.
LEGO Batman - 2008 (PS3, 360, PS2, Wii, DS, PSP)
Who knew that LEGO-ificaton would become such a gaming phenomenon? Just like LEGO Star Wars and Indiana Jones, LEGO Batman had the same appealing, pick up and play up gameplay, and a world full of things to collect.
Batman: Arkham Asylum - 2009 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
The one that kicked Batman games into high gear, and raised the bar for super hero games everywhere. Rocksteady Studios made brawling as the Batman the bone-crunching battle against impossible odds that it should be. It also gave us our first chance to truly lurk like the Bat. His belt full of wonderful toys is at its best, too.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold - 2010 (Wii, DS)
Based the delightful, colorful Cartoon Network series, the Brave and the Bold proves that Batman doesn't need to scowl and snarl all the time to have fans. Visually, its a throwback to the Bat's campier days, but its style and tone is thoroughly modern and totally meta.
DC Universe Online - 2011 (PS3, PC, PS4)
DC Universe Online is the only MMO featuring Batman, but you can only play as him in Legends PvP, the game's take on an arena mode. However, he's integral to the game's far flung future plot. A heavily armored Bat from the future fights in a war against Lex Luthor and Brainiac that's reduced Earth to runis.
Batman: Arkham City - 2011 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
Expectations were high after Arkham Asylum, and they were more than met with Arkham City. With block after block of Gotham transformed into a open-world prison, we got the chance to patrol the streets and skulk from the rooftops, just like the Dark Knight. It's the most that any game has truly made us feel like a super hero, and it left things open for a sequel (or a prequel), in a big way. Now we're left wondering how Rocksteady can up the ante one more time.
Gotham City Impostors - 2012 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
Remember those guys in The Dark Knight who put on hockey pads and ran around trying to fight crime? Well, imagine if they were colorful, cooky, packing big machine guns and starred in an online shooter from the creators of No One Lives Forever. They even battle gangs of heavily armed clowns. Full of unlockable equipment and customizable loadouts, Gotham City Impostors widened its audience once it went free-to-play.
