Amiga Power


Batman The Movie

Author: Matt Bielby
Publisher: The Hit Squad
Machine: Amiga 500

 
Published in Amiga Power #8

Batman The Movie

Often mentioned whenever anyone's desperate to come up with an example of a film licensed game that's actually any good, Batman The Movie is one of those accepted Amiga game milestones.

It's also something none of us have actually loaded up for ages, so taking another look at this, now on re-release on budget, it was surprising to see just how, well, Eighties it looks. Batman's grey for some reason (rather than the film's more menacing black) and walks a bit, well, funny, but you can't deny the addictive qualities of the main game - two large platform, ladders and shooting runarounds which make effective use of a Bionic Commando-esque Batrope allowing you to swing to all those hard-to-get-at little places.

There's rather too much of the "Hang on, there wasn't a baddie behind me a minute ago, how did you get up here?" syndrome, but it's good stuff nonetheless.

Splitting up these two central sections are a so-so puzzle and two very simple - but fast and effective - into-the-screen race sections, one featuring the Batmobile, the other the flying Batwing. Good value then at £7.99, if not quite the wonder game we all took it for at the peak of the movie hype, though I wonder how many people, post Batman Pack, compilations and everything, don't own it already. Still, there are a few weeks of solid entertainment in here.

The Bottom Line

Effective, if ever-so-slightly-dated looking movie thing, using the traditional Ocean sub-game formula to better effect than usual. Good stuff.

Matt Bielby

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