Batman Returns
Reviewed by Douglas D.
Batman returns is a mediocre fighting game. It is similar to previous fighting
games such as Final Fight and Double Dragon but still has its things that make
it new and fun to play. For one it is a Batman game, which if you like Batman makes
it worth it. Also it has more than one basic type of level. 1)It has a side scrolling
fighting where you can move up and down on the screen like in Double Dragon,
another just plain old regular side scrolling, and a level where you get to drive
the batmobile.
Graphics 7 out of 10
It has pretty good graphics for the time it came out. The graphics are not overly
good but are at least above average. The cut scenes in between levels are rather
impressive for the time. They look almost like they are photographs straight out of
the movie. The graphics are simple and plain enough to make it easy to see everything
on the screen and tell what they are but are also enjoyable to look at. Overall the
graphics seem to fit the game well.
Music and Sound 6 out of 10
The music in the game is rather good, and much of it comes straight out of the movie.
Since it went well with everything in the movie it also seems to go well with
everything in the game. Its not CD quality or anything but it is pretty good quality
playback. The sound effects are half way descent but are a little bit repetitive. After
you've hit a billion people and have heard them groan after each time you begin to get
a little annoyed. But the sound effects at least go somewhat well with what they are
for. Overall the music is pretty good but the sound effects are way to repetitive.
Game Challenge 5 out of 10
The game has various challenge settings. There are 4 of them I believe (easy, medium,
hard, and harder). The easy is unbelievably easy while the hardest setting seem like
what the medium setting should have been. Easy is so easy even my mom could make
it pretty far and to put it bluntly my mom is terrible at video games. She does terribly
at Super Mario 64 but can do amazing things in this game. The best thing about each
difficulty setting though is that on each one you get a slightly different ending. And its
not just stuff added each time so it is worth finishing it on each setting. Overall it
is easy but at least still enjoyable.
Game Play-Fun 6 out of 10
Its rather fun to play for a while but gets a little repetitive. After beating it on
each difficulty setting it lost its fun and I almost never play it any more. With the
different types of levels it stays fun at least until you've beaten it on each difficulty.
If you like Batman it is a lot more fun and stays fun longer. If you hate Batman then
it probably isn't to much fun for you for very long. Overall if you liked Double Dragon
then you should give this a try and you'll probably find it fun.
Frustration
It can get frustrating to play sometimes because even though it is easy some small
parts are overly hard and take a few lives to beat. To take away some of the
frustration there are codes allowing you to start with more lives and to start with
more continues. Having to start back at the beginning of a level when you continue
is frustrating because you have to kill everybody along the way like in other
similar games.
Replayability 5 out of 10
This game doesn't have much replayability after you seen each ending but since
you have to beat it on each difficulty it has replayability for at least a little bit.
So in other words you play through to the end at least 4 times but after that I'm
not making any promises.
Game Value 7 out of 10
I felt it was worth the price. But that may only be because I like Batman. Also you
should probably be able to get it pretty cheap making a lot better to buy it then to
rent it. I bought it over a year and a half ago for $20 new. So now if you find it
used it will probably be half that price or more.
Attacks and Gadgets 8 out of 10
This is probably one of the best parts of the game. You have some neat moves
and some neat gadgets. One of your moves comes out of the movie in that you grab 2
people and bash them together. You can also grab one person and punch them, throw
them, or slam them into a wall at the top of the screen. Some of your gadgets are
the batarang, grappling hook, and an explosive vial. The vials destroy everything,
excluding end guys, on the screen. It damages end guys pretty well though. These
are some of the reasons the game is enjoyable.
Overall 6 out of 10
Overall if you want a beat em up action game with a little driving thrown in then
this is your game. If you hated games like Double Dragon then you should probably
stay away from this game. If you buy this game don't expect to many overly original
elements in the game. The majority of the game has been done somewhere before.