Electronic Gaming Monthly's Top 20 Batman Games

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (PlayStation)

#20

"We regret that Jonathan was unable to write a review for Batman this month. Following his playing the game, he fell into a complete mental paralysis and has not yet regained consciousness. The following is an excerpt from his last waking moments, spent convulsing in front of a continue screen: 'What the hell is happening?! Why are these jumping vacuums firing laser beams at me?! What does this have to do with the cartoon?! Why can't I get past level 2?! The enemies have friendly fire, but I still can't beat them in three lives! My eyes! It burns!!' Pessimistic about Jon's condition, doctors say his last words may have been a cryptic 'one point o.' Signed, Management." (1 out of 10)

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (Nintendo 64)

#19

"Well, Batman Beyond sure is better on the N64 than on the PlayStation, but that's not saying much. It's still a horrible game, but at least you can get past the second level this time. The graphics are a little nicer, the difficulty has been downgraded a tad, and the control seems much less muddy, but these upgrades don't help the fact that Batman Beyond is still one of the poorest excuses for a Final Fight-type game ever. Keeping the keenest feature from the PS version, you can't save your game in Batman Beyond, meaning to beat it, you have to sit through hours of pure monotonous hell. It's just an insult to fans of the show." (1.5 out of 10)

Batman: Dark Tomorrow (GameCube)

#18

"After that Batman and Robin flick, I thought tainting the Dark Knight's image any further was an impossibility -- and then Kemco releases this pile. It's amazing that a decent story featuring a bunch of the Caped Crusader's coolest villains could be so screwed up by clunky, repetitive gameplay that it lacks even one redeeming quality. This is like the Adam West of video game Batmen -- embarrassingly pathetic." (1.5 out of 10)

Batman & Robin (PlayStation)

#17

"Batman & Robin is easily one of the sloppiest releases I've seen in a while. The camera is the worst yet in a 3D adventure title, and the game is loaded with glitches and enemy AI problems. The objectives are fairly interesting, but the poor controls coupled with the horrendous graphical presentation make for a frustrating and painful experience. The only worthwhile features are the music and the background environments." (2.4 out of 10)

Batman Forever: The Arcade Game (Saturn)

#16

"No offense guys, but I found it really hard to find many redeeming qualities about this poorly constructed side-scrolling fighter. I did like the backgrounds and the inventive special attacks, but it appeared that the whole game was designed piece meal, then slapped together with little regard for cohesion. I think Acclaim was going for a cartoony style, but it really just messed up a possibly good game. With this title, the Batman games have lost the dark tone that has been their trademark. Batman Forever gets the frisbee award this month." (4.75 out of 10)

Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (PS2, GCN & Xbox)

#15

"No offense guys, but I found it really hard to find many redeeming qualities about this poorly constructed side-scrolling fighter. I did like the backgrounds and the inventive special attacks, but it appeared that the whole game was designed piece meal, then slapped together with little regard for cohesion. I think Acclaim was going for a cartoony style, but it really just messed up a possibly good game. With this title, the Batman games have lost the dark tone that has been their trademark. Batman Forever gets the frisbee award this month." (4.8 out of 10)

Batman: Chaos in Gotham (Game Boy Color)

#14

"Turning to the original animated series for inspiration rather than Batman Beyond, Digital Eclipse packs in a lot of gameplay while keeping Total Chaos graphically solid. It does a nice job of breaking away from the standard side-scrolling model by dropping in driving and flying levels here and there, and while playing as Batgirl offers only mild relief from the belabored punch-and-kick action of the Batman himself, the game keeps you mildly entertained throughout." (5 out of 10)

Batman Returns (Sega CD)

#13

"What happened here?!? I'm not impressed by playing the cartridge version of Batman Returns with okay music and a new car scene all over again. If Batman Returns was going to be made for a CD format, why is it so much the same as the cart? It should have been a 100% original creation." (5.25 out of 10)

Batman Begins (PS2, GCN & Xbox)

#12

"This Batman installment reeks of Metal Gear Solid plagiarism like the batsuit reeks after a bat-chili bender. The familiar Metal Gear radar is here, but mated with an inept combat system. Batman's got sweet gadgets as usual, but where to use them is so predetermined it gives the game a painfully linear feel. Begin's big pro is how great it looks, especially the lighting effects, which are contrasted nicely by the dark atmosphere, but I still found myself wishing the game would go the way of the old batsuit nipples and disappear." (5.3 out of 10)

Batman Vengeance (PlayStation 2)

#11

"Batman Vengeance is a classic example of style over substance. On one hand, it captures the look and feel of the Batman animated series to a tee. The Dark Knight is lovingly modeled and animated, and Gotham's environs feel true to the source material. Conversely, the gameplay, while functional, is unspectacular. The level design and objectives are often vague, but at other times ridiculously obvious. Bat-Freaks will find merit in Batman Vengeance, but the unconverted will remain just that." (5.8 out of 10)

Batman Returns (NES)

#10

"Hark, the 8-bit is gasping for air! Can you hear it? Batman Returns would have been a great game three years ago, but hey, this is the 90s. Everything about Batman Returns is decent enough to deserve honorable mention, but who needs outdated graphics, sound and gameplay anyway?" (6 out of 10)

Batman Forever (Game Gear)

#9

"For a Game Gear title, Batman Forever boasts some very impressive graphics. When a game comes out for cross-platform systems such as the Genesis and the Game Gear, most of the time the game suffers significantly in the looks department. Batman Forever was surprisingly very similar to its 16-bit brother, but with only three buttons to use it becomes very difficult to use all the special moves that are incorporated into the game." (6.25 out of 10)

Adventures of Batman & Robin (Game Gear)

#8

"Well, it looks as if Sega didn't want to give Game Gear owners a break. This game is just as hard as, if not harder than, the Genesis version. Why harder? Because the screen likes to blur when you're running, making it nearly impossible to see the bullets streaking toward you. When standing still, you'll notice that the graphics are excellent, with almost no color fringing and a high level of detail. As always, the music is bland, but that's expected. Be warned, this one is a toughie." (6.4 out of 10)

Adventures of Batman & Robin (Sega CD)

#7

"The best way I found to swallow the cost of this game is to think of it this way: You're buying a CD full of cartoon episodes with a so-so driving game included to break up the animated sequences. The video quality of the animation is definitely Sega CD quality (read that as pixelated), but that's easier to tolerate than the game, which is nothing more than a very boring driving game that suddenly gets horrifyingly hard at the worst possible moments. Slightly above average." (6.5 out of 10)

Adventures of Batman & Robin (Genesis)

#6

"Take it easy on me, Sega! Do you guys think you could possibly throw more enemies at me and make the game so hard that I get peeved by only the second level?! Listen up readers, Batman & Robin has good sound, good graphics and good control. You'll really need the last part since there is so much on the screen you'll have to avoid. If you're looking for one serious challenge, you won't need to look any further than this one. I gotta take a nap." (6.9 out of 10)

Batman: Return of the Joker (Game Boy)

#5

"Now this is what a Game Boy game should be! This sequel to the first Batman game is not quite as intense, but every bit as good. The graphics are good for the Game Boy and SunSoft has packed tons of action into this portable cart. The music is excellent and the gameplay is solid. Can't wait for 16-bit." (7.25 out of 10)

Batman: Return of the Joker (NES)

#4

"This cart has about the best looking visuals that I've seen on the NES. Despite the graphic improvement, there is something missing from this sequel that made the first so good. The gameplay is limited to a walk and shoot contest with pretty graphics and shallow gameplay." (7.25 out of 10)

Batman: The Video Game (Game Boy)

#3

"SunSoft took a different approach when bringing the Dark Knight to Game Boy. In this version, his main weapon is a gun which can be powered up. It has the same music from the NES version, but better in stereo. Digitized cinema displays and Batwing side shooter scene too!" (7.75 out of 10)

Batman: The Video Game (NES)

#2

"The Dark Knight has arrived! Finally a game that does the Batman justice. This game has amazing graphics and game play. Cinema display scenes are cool, but could have been longer. I'd really have liked to have cruised in the Batmobile or flew in the Batwing, but all in all this is great gaming." (7.75 out of 10)

Batman: The Video Game (Genesis)

#1

"The ultimate wide-scrolling action game for the Genesis is finally available! A great title that almost never made it to the Genesis legitimately. Great graphics and incredible music make this one of the best action carts available. Perfectly follows the movie's story and even has Batmobile and Batwing scenes as well as cinema displays. A bit too easy though." (8 out of 10)