Zzap


Batman: The Movie
By Ocean
Commodore 64

 
Published in Zzap #55

Man-Bat attacks police! Gotham Globe Exclusive!

Batman: The Movie

Two days after our deadline, Amiga Batman has swung into the Zzap! offices and blown us all away. The first stage has a similar layout to the C64, but more acid drops, steam jets and criminals make it tougher. In addition, the criminals fire faster and aim at you when you're under them - not nice!

The Batmobile section has you racing *into* the screen in full 3D perspective with incredibly detailed buildings whizzing past at great speed. As on all the stages, there's a choice of superb sound or brilliant FX. The drone of the Batmobile engine, and the thump as it comes down after bouncing over a hill is great. You race through traffic against a time limit, turning left or right where indicated. Miss a turning and you get two more chances before running into a roadblock.

The Batcave section is the same, only with less slots to put your guesses in. Then it's the Batwing section, again in full 3D. Cut the balloons free to save Gotham before time runs out.

Batman The Movie

The final section is the Cathedral with appropriate graphics, new criminals and lots of rats!

Stu

Up until now Ocean has failed to produce a massive state-of-the-art 16-bit game. Now they have, and it's amazing. Racing along in the Batmobile with the sound turned way up is just so good, in fact, presentation is overwhelming all the way through.

Each section is so enjoyable to play that it's hard to pick favourites. This is one Amiga game that more than justifies its price. Awesome.

Rh

Batman The Movie

The fantastic thing about Batman is that it really is an Amiga game and not just a conversion. The first level is a better challenge, but the Batmobile section - well, words fail me - the 3D effect has more speed and detail than I thought possible.

The sound effects are good but it's the music that really got me excited - the Batmobile section has a stunning rock track and the Batcave a panic-inducng uptempo tune.

Overall, unbelievable!

Phil

Batman The Movie

I was expecting the detailed backgrounds and sprites, but what came as a surprise was the increased difficulty. Level one is a lot tougher, as is the totally brilliant 3D Batmobile section - an astonishing game in itself! All five levels are extremely playable with plenty of gameplay variety, making this a true Amiga classic.

Verdict

Presentation 94%
Free sticker, great intro tune with "who are you?" sample and no disk-swapping.

Graphics 97%
The Batmobile and Batwing sections are out-of-this-world, and the other levels are superb too.

Batman The Movie

Sound 96%
Sampled FX are great on their own, but you can turn on a different tune for each level as well.

Hookability 95%
Bit difficult to start with, but you soon get into the swing of things (Groan!)

Lastability 97%
Five incredible levels provide a substantial challenge, but even if you complete it, you're going to keep playing this for a long time.

Overall 97%
Cor!