Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a colorful 2D beat-em up in a world where dark and gritty 3D action adventure reigns supreme. Can it possibly succeed where other Batman brawlers have failed?

With comic book Batman busy dealing with his apparent death and time-traveling return, Wayforward's Batman: The Brave and the Bold could be the breath of fresh air that bat-fans so badly need right now. Based on the campy cartoon series of the same name, the Wii and DS game looks to be an old-school beat-em up, a genre that's delivered mixed results to the Batman franchise over the year. Some of the worst Batman games have been side-scrolling beat-em ups.

And then there's The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Super Nintendo, one of the best Batman games.

So who knows? This could be the best bat-thing since sliced bat-bread. We'll find out this fall, when Batman: The Brave and the Bold ships for the Nintendo Wii and DS.