Batman

I remember buying this game from a Warner Brother's catalogue in 1989. I absolutely loved this game. It is unquestionably the best game released for the NES. I wish my NES still worked because I would still be playing this game. Batman had his arsenal of weapons he is famous for. The game had a good dark feel, much like the incredible original Batman movie.

Back in the day of Megadrives and SNESs, when the only good games you could get were side-scrollers, this came out to cash in on the film. I bought it, thinking it might be pretty good. It was. It wasn't excellent, but it was playable. The only major problem with it was that Batman couldn't run or slide tackle, or do half the things his enemies could. However, one element that saves the game is the fact that you are given unlimited continues. This is very useful, because back then, you were not able to save your progress, and it was really dull having to go back and start from the beginning.

Another let-down is that we are not given any cut-scenes. Batman is simply transported from one locale to another without warning. This would make little sense to someone who has not seen the film.

Overall, this film deserves an 8/10 while the game only deserves 6/10.

I think this is the game that was released for the original Nintendo system. Loosely based on the movie it was a game where you went through various stages side scroll style fighting many of the Joker's henchmen. No other villains from the Batman universe are present during the game, but they do have some off the wall bosses like this one dude who was fire or something to that effect. Most of the game was jumping and trying to get from here to there. There was also fighting which was your basic punching and an array of throwing type weapons. This game had an engine similar to Ninja Gaiden. From what I remember you do not get to drive the Batmobile or pilot the Batjet, but I think you see them in cut scenes. You remember the cut scenes in most Nintendo system games don't you? You end up seeing basically a picture with a little movement in it to sort of mimic animation. This is a game I sadly could not win as a child, I remember the clock tower at the end being a nightmare to traverse for me as it had gears and was a big pain to get all the way up it. I did manage to make it to the top a couple of times only to have the Joker totally own me in the final battle. Was not a great game, but it was a good rental.

There is no denying the fact that the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was, at its very best, a flawed piece of hardware. Gamers everywhere will remember all the tricks of the trade (blowing, pumping, squeezing, etc.) in order to get the games to boot up. Yet, for all its quirks, that system can never be accused of one thing: churning out classic games that entertained gamers for hours on end. "Batman" is one of those games.

Based on the 1989 film of the same name, this game follows the basic progression of the movie, including such levels as Gotham City, the sewer plant, Joker's television studio, and the Belltower. You play as the Caped Crusader who must dispose of a wide range of enemies (both on land and in the air) while also utilize some fancy jumping skills to scale tall buildings and reach key platforms.

I think that the real genius of the game, though, shines through in its perfectly designed difficulty curve. Though I consider "Punch-Out!" to be my all-time favorite NES game (with this one a close second), in that collection of pugilistic confrontations there is just too much difference between the hardest villain (Tyson/Dream) and the one that proceeded him (Super Macho Man). Basically, you can dominate the entire game and still get floored by Tyson/Dream quite regularly. Fortunately, Batman does not fall prey to that design flaw. Don't get me wrong...the game can be very difficult at times. Yet, the difficulty progresses in such a fashion that the skills learned in one stage will need to be mastered before you have any chance at the next one.

Also, on a bit of a side note, the music in this game is some of the best the NES ever produced. For those of you who are able to appreciate an 8-bit soundtrack, you will be able to listen to Batman's tunes all night long.

To conclude, I think that the true test of the success of this game comes from the fact that it has taken nearly two decades to produce another highly-rated Batman video game (the recently-released Arkham Asylum). All the iterations of the Dark Knight in between either suffered from bad controls, stupid story, or goofy graphics. Who would have thought that the best edition would come from a system as flawed as the NES?!

I first played this game on the C64 when I was about 10 and I thought it was pretty damn good. The graphics were blocky but the locations were quite atmospheric and it was a great button basher. Later on I played it on the Mega Drive, which had a few extra levels added. But somehow it just wasn't as cool.

The extra Mega Drive levels included action in the Batmobile and Batwing in which you would blast the Joker's clown cars off the streets of Gotham or destroy the balloons full of poison gas. The music was also much better. I mean it's been years since I played that game and I'm STILL whistling those brilliant tunes.

But there was just something about the C64 version that I preferred. I can't really put my finger on it. Of course, as all movie tie-in platformers were at the time, the levels are bizarrely designed with pits full of spikes and exploding walkways but the gameplay and atmosphere make up for that.

Graphics A- Sound A- Gameplay B+ Lasting Appeal B+