Previous Next

Times have changed. Gotham city is not the place it used to be. The bright city lights don't shine in all the streets, leaving shadows where criminals lurk, led by mentally unbalanced individuals, the dividing line between their realities and their dreams becoming more blurred every day. Even super-heroes are not immune to the passage of time, as one man discovered...

The home of the caped crusader sits just outside the soulless degenerating city, The Batcave is falling into disrepair, but the criminals are still there. Batman must forget the halcion days of his past and deal with two of his arch rivals...

1. The Penguin - "A bird in the hand"
   Not only are the wheels of justice greased to ensure the safety of the public, but also the hands of those that turn them, meaning the villains get off with little more than a slap on the wrist.
   
   The Penguin is a case in point. Having just been released from a very short prison sentence, he sets up an umbrella factory near his mansion. This proves to be a front for his dastardly plans, which consist of taking over the world with an army of robotic penguins.
   
   Batman must foil his attempts by following the trail to his factory and confronting the Penguin himself.
    
2. The Joker - "A fete worse than death"
   The dark hero returns to the Batcave to find Robin missing. The only clue is a playing card with cryptic message and a familiar face - the Joker! This time Batman's quest leads him through a strange tunnel system and into an even stranger fairground type area, filled with clowns and jack-in-the-box robots. Can the caped crusader find Robin and avert an explosive catastrophe?

Only you can decide, as you play Batman: in both sections you move him around through a series of cartoon panels, picking up and using objects via the Batbelt utility screen, following the cryptic clues when they appear. If you are unsuccessful your percentage is displayed at the end of the game.

The original Batman character has come a long way since the Biff! Pow! days, and I must say that I prefer the latter-day darker atmosphere... Special FX have captured this feel exactly with sombre graphics and amazing presentation - all the drawings and designs seem very much in the Brian Bolland (artist of The Killing Joke) vein and work beautifully.

I can see myself playing Batman for a long time to come, well until I finish the adventures at any rate! In fact, this game pushes forward my vote for Ocean as Software House of the Year!

Brilliant stuff!

I reckon the most outstanding thing about Batman is the incredible presentation. The way that the screens overlay each other in different shapes and sizes is just the right way to capture the feel of a comic book.

Special FX have done the right thing in not trying to produce a C64 simulation of an Amiga game, but designing it to get the best out of the C64's capabilities - and boy have they managed it!

Fans of beat-'em-ups, arcade adventures and the caped crusader himself have absolutely no excuse for missing this, other than a lobotomy!

All the Batman stories I've ever seen have consisted of about 50% detective work and 50% fighting. Ocean's licence has taken this idea and worked it into a very playable arcade adventure.

The arcade beat-'em-up sections are frantic and exciting and the adventure overtones take a lot of concentration, without being too difficult, especially if you follow the clues (shh, quiet!).

In all, another excellent licence from them "oh so wundy" people at Ocean that keeps all the atmosphere of the Dark Knight himself. Buy it now!

Presentation 97%
Wonderful windowing system gives the feeling of being involved in a comic.

Graphics 90%
Sombre backdrops and very Brian Bolland sprites evoke just the right atmosphere.

Sound 87%
Great reworking of the Batman theme and some very good effects.

Hookability 94%
The clues lead you gently in at first...

Lastability 92%
...but the sheer addictiveness of two separate games keeps you playing long after.

Overall 92%
An amazing arcade adventure and another feather for the already crowded Ocean hat.