Batman: Revenge of the Joker

"Some really devious level design and tough Bosses make it an ordeal to crack"

BATMAN: REVENGE OF THE JOKER (GENESIS)

INTRODUCTION

I believe this to be Batty's third outing on Genesis, after the very garish Batman Returns, the Bat is back in blue and grey, so it's Caped-Crusader to you then, not Dark-Knight. Previous Batman games have more in common with the movies, and Dark Horse comic sty-lings which there based, and the Batman franchise in general.

This time it's a platform-er, again, what else would it be? You have to take on thirteen platform-er levels with the usual assortment of pit-falls and hazards, and four non-DC comic related bosses and two encounters with the Joker. Some of the bosses in this game are so hard it's completely ludicrous, especially the final confrontation with the Joker.

GAME-PLAY 5/10

Well, you walk (not run) jump, shoot and kick, jump kick, slide,...well you get the idea, the old Bat is fairly agile. The game starts in the city, and your first faced with some of the Joker's cronies, whom basicaly appear or drop from wherever and throw knives at you. The weapon you start out with is weak as, and isn't to useful, so there are crates scattered throughout the levels, that when destroyed reveal a weapon power-up, that if fired upon cycles through different weapons, and collecting the right weapon is often important in beating a particular section.

Just a side note, there isn't anything particularly uniquely Batman about the different power-ups, it's just like say Ninja Gaiden (NES) or Turrican (Amiga, Mega-Drive etc) for the latter especially with some power-ups if you hold down the button it has a short-range alternative fire.

Some power-ups include homing projectiles, slow-rate fire ball (one hit kills) triple shot that fires 3 ways and looping oval shots.

Level design is fairly interesting and varied, and there is some continuity between stages which you don't always see that often in this type of game. After the city slums, you make your way up to the rooftops then along to your first boss battle. This geezer isn't terribly difficult, as his pattern is fairly simple.

The levels and bosses gets harder as you progress. There is a password system and unlimited continues, which helps, but there's still some absolute corker hard bits in this that need loads of practise and small miracles to get through. If you have to use a continue on a Boss, it will push you back to the previous level.

Though the levels aren't really very long, there's so many traps, enemies, pit-falls and so on and you'll be lucky to catch your breath. The routines are so strict, collision detection so unforgiving you'll have to have your strategy down to a science. With the thugs in the game, you can't duck there projectiles when your on the same vertical level as them, it will just hit your mask-ears, so you have to jump around it or take the damage.

It's all about knowing what's ahead after getting a little further each time. Sometimes it seems like a good idea to simply jump over the enemies and keep going if you can. There are some capsules you can pick up that after a certain amount you turn periodically invincible to attacks.

This is one of those games where if you get just a bit lazy forget it, your not going to progress. Complete concentration is needed. The upside to all of this is, hair ripping out frustration aside, it's quite satisfying once you've cracked the levels.

Maybe I just stink at it, but some of the bosses seem near impossible without cheating. The Joker at the end has like four times your health and shoots out clusters of homing projectiles that you can't dodge. I think the difficulty is tuned just a little to high on some parts.

The game fails to define itself among a market over saturated with similar titles. I think Sunsoft could have chucked any character into this game and it would still feel the same.

GRAPHICS 7/10

The visuals are pretty solid. Batman himself looks OK, if a bit stubby, his cape flails nicely in the wind. I guess a bit like that fat Batman from that old black and white TV series.

The end of level pics are alright and have the feel of the older comics. Sometimes it looks like they have drawn his face to look like Micheal Keaton from the movies, while other times it's purely conceptual. Dunno why.

The level designs have multi-layered backgrounds with some animation. There is some good set pieces like the Ice Valley with snowy bridges, Pursuing a tank through the Jungle, jet-pack flying bits that have a good illusion of depth with complex layers and parallax scrolling.

One of the highlights is the sewer level which has a rippling refection in the water which brings the level to life. The frog-scuba men that emerge from the water are like from the Sega classic Shinobi.

Towards the end there is an Egyptian themed jungle level with palm trees that blow in the wind, and much gold architecture, that then heads into a futuristic compound half way.

Some pretty decent variety, and good amount of detail put in to boot. Not up to Shadow of the beast or anything, but pretty well done all the same.

SOUND 4/10

The sinister music at the title screen is simple, but OK. The music from Sunsoft throughout the game is competant, yet unremarkable. The Boss battle music is a little more lively, but strictly by the numbers.

Why Batman sounds like a squeak toy when he gets hit is anyones guess. The rest of the sounds in the game are fizzles and pops from the sound generator which fails to generate any excitement. There aren't any sound samples to speak of.

LAST-ABILITY 8/10

Some really devious level design and tough Bosses make it a ordeal to crack. So it will have you coming back for some time. It also has that "just one more go" quotient once you pick it up.

CONCLUSION 4/10

Not the best Batman game out there by any means. Lacks any real ties to the franchise apart from Batman and Jokers appearance. If your after a hardcore challenge than it's definitely worth a try. This game moves pretty well once you get into it, and the levels look alright, but lacks any real hook. I recommend checking out the other Batman titles first.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 09/05/06