Before I dig into the review and pick apart the intricacies of Arkham City and what made it so great, I think it would do us all some good to look back to Batman's gaming roots. Before 2009's Arkham Asylum, Batman was usually a ridiculed name in the industry. The common conception among gamers is that there are three good Batman games: Batman on the NES, Arkham Asylum, and Arkham City. Well I'm about to blow some minds. Because there are quite a few Batman games that were reviewed very well. Set your faces to stunned. Here's a history of every Batman video game ever released.
1986 - Batman (Various PC Platforms)
Description: [Paraphrased From Wikipedia]
The object of the game is to rescue Robin by collecting the seven parts of the "Batcraft" hovercraft that are scattered around the Batcave. The gameplay takes place in a 3D isometric universe, and is notable for implementing an early example of a checkpoint system that allows players to restart from an intermediate point in the game on the loss of a life rather than returning all the way to the start (in this case the point at which Batman collects a "Batstone").
Reception:
Based solely on the video below, I would think this game would be a real stinker. But it got generally high scores from the gaming press at the time.
Why would you make it so difficult to get around your OWN Batcave?
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Description: [Paraphrased From Wikipedia]
Batman: The Caped Crusader is an action/adventure style game, using comic book style panels to show the action. In this game, Batman is faced with two of his most well-known adversaries, The Penguin and The Joker. The game is split into two different parts, one for each villain. These parts are separate and can be played in any order. There also appears to be a good mix of action and puzzle solving/exploration. Reminds me a little of Adventure of Link.
Reception:
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1988 - Batman: The Caped Crusader (Commodore 64)
Description: [Paraphrased From Wikipedia]
Batman: The Caped Crusader is an action/adventure style game, using comic book style panels to show the action. In this game, Batman is faced with two of his most well-known adversaries, The Penguin and The Joker. The game is split into two different parts, one for each villain. These parts are separate and can be played in any order. There also appears to be a good mix of action and puzzle solving/exploration. Reminds me a little of Adventure of Link.
Reception:
This second major Batman video game release looks a lot better than the first, and was also favorably reviewed for the time.
I AM ERROR?
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1989 - Batman The Movie (Amiga, etc.)
Description:
Based on the Tim Burton directed Batman film of the era, this iteration continued the side-scrolling nature of The Caped Crusader and appeared to have a much heavier emphasis on action. This one reminds me more of the original TMNT game on the NES than anything else with some driving and puzzle elements thrown in.
Reception:
Once again, very favorably reviewed and actually won Game of the Year in 1989 from Crash Magazine.
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1989 - Batman (NES)
Description:
This is the most well remembered classic Batman game, and had been the benchmark for quality Batman games until Arkham City came out in 2009. Known for its fast gameplay and fairly high difficulty, Batman drew a lot of comparisons to Ninja Gaiden, even down to a similar "sticky wall jump" mechanic implemented in both games. At it's roots its a side-scrolling action game, where you punch bad guys and they explode. You know - the usual.
Reception:
This is one of those games that got more revered as the years went on. As crappy Batman games flooded the market in the late 90s and early 00's, gamers began to develop longing gazes for a time when Batman games could achieve this level of quality and fun.
Notes:
There was also a Genesis version released from the same developer a year later with significant changes. Most notably, enemies no longer explode upon death. Huge boner killer.
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1990 - Batman (PC Engine/Turbografx 16)
Description:
It seems like this is where the series took a huge nose dive into crapsville. There is very little information on this game in general, and hopefully the reason is evident from the clip below. A pseudo PacMan clone that runs like a slow motion toilet.
Reception:
Not enough info, but I can guess it wasn't good. Can you guess which one is Inky?
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1990 - Batman (Arcade)
Description:
Yet another game based off the 1989 Batman movie. A lackluster sidescrolling beat-em-up with still images and over-compressed voice work from the film.
Reception:
Looks like crap.
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1991 - Batman: Return of the Joker (NES, Genesis, Gameboy)
Description:
Developed by Sunsoft, the makers of the first NES Batman game, Return of the Joker appears to be a return to form for the series. However this iteration has a much heavier focus on shooting rather than brawling - bringing to mind classic side scrolling shooters like Contra and its ilk.
Reception:
Seems to be pretty good and the internet seems to like it. Five stars!
Notes:
A Genesis version was also made and titled "Revenge of the Joker" - a subtle but important difference.
Notes:
A Genesis version was also made and titled "Revenge of the Joker" - a subtle but important difference.
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1992 - Batman Returns (Multiplatform)
Description:
Where there's gold, there's a gold digger. Batman Returns was probably the biggest movie release of the year, and out of that bandwagon comes a Batman Returns game for every possible piece of electronic equipment. Reviews ranged from great to awful depending on which version you played. The exceptionally terrible Amiga version is the one embedded below. Click the links to see the other versions.
NES Version
NES Version
Atari Lynx Version (skip to 2:00)
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1993 - Batman The Animated Series (Gameboy)
Description: [From Wikipedia]
The game is an action-adventure platformer in which the player, for the most part, controls only Batman
and controls him to the end of a stage where there is usually a boss
waiting for him in the form of one of Batman's enemies from the animated
series. However, the style and design of the stages themselves are
different between each other, which gives notable diversity to the game.
There are a couple of occasions in the game in which control shifts over to Robin where you control him for a short time before moving back to controlling Batman.
Batman has some of his gadgets available which he can use such as his
Grappling Hook and Batarangs. Robin can also use some of the gadgets
too. In addition both characters have some abilities that they can
individually use.
Reception:
Generally OK. Around the 70s.
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1994 - The Adventures of Batman and Robin
(Genesis, Sega-CD, SNES)
Description:
The second Batman game based on the animated series. The three versions were actually quite different, but all were generally favorably reviewed. The SNES version was a side scrolling beat-em-up while the Genesis version is a run-n-gun style game.The Sega CD version contains brand new animated sequences from the show, but gameplay appears to be restricted to driving the Batmobile.
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I think we were all a little surprised to find that most of the games in part 1 weren't universally panned as terrible atrocities in gaming. Some of them actually look pretty great. Stay tuned for Part 2 when things are guaranteed to look a lot worse!
The Caped Crusader music brings the memories flooding back.As a kid I was like "what the hell does Fin mean when I die"
ReplyDelete.I really loved Batman Returns on SNES.
The PS One game with MR freeze was interesting.I enjoyed it,but never committed to playing it.
Not played city yet,but enjoyed Asylum.I hated the fact it was three or four repeat rooms,and the same boss fight over and over,and I didn't like it when your combo let you go all Spiderman on everyone,and it was a easy 100%.But I still liked it :)