After an unexpected reunion, Bruce finds his attention and his loyalties stretched in yet another direction. Now, in addition to brokering a power struggle between Commissioner Gordon and Amanda Waller, Bruce must balance romantic entanglements with his mission to infiltrate the Pact. As he plunges deeper into the criminal underworld, the villains' plan starts to come into focus, but will his deceptions take a dire toll...?

Episode three, Fractured Mask, of Batman: The Enemy Within is a satisfying return to form after the rather disappointing second episode.

Rather than just going through the motions, you do feel like the choices in this episode will make the following episodes play out in very different ways.

In this episode Selina Kyle/Catwoman returns and as Bruce you have the opportunity to find out if there is still a romantic chemistry between the two of you. Will you pursue this, or should you leave old entanglements in the past? You'll also be given the opportunity to share your secret identity with several people... but can you trust them? If things keep moving the way they are, there won't be a single person in Gotham who doesn't know who Batman's real identity is.

As with the other chapters in the game - in fact, all Telltale games for that matter - you can finish this episode in a lazy afternoon. But it's how well the developers suck you in that makes this an essential purchase. I'm not prone to be emotional when watching movies, but a shiver ran down my spine and a lump came to my throat several times in this chapter as I started to feel for the characters - especially Selina and Bruce's relationship.

Your relationships with Selina Kyle, John Doe, Amanda Waller, Jim Gordon, Tiffany Fox and Harley Quinn will all change this episode depending on how you interact with them.

You'll need the previous two chapters in order to play this episode, but overall it's shaping up to be an interesting ride.

9

Darren Rea