''Batman Forever'' is a beat 'em up

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

based on the film of the same name. Though released by the same publisher at roughly the same time, it is an entirely different game from '' Batman Forever: The Arcade Game''. The game was followed by '' Batman & Robin'' in 1998.

Gameplay

The player plays as either

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

or Robin. There is also a

fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...

mode called "training mode" where the player can play as Batman, Robin, or any of the enemies found throughout the game against either a computer-controlled opponent, against a second player, or cooperatively against two computer opponents. The controls are largely based on move lists and key sequences. Some gadget moves involve moving away from the enemy right before pressing a punch or kick button. The gadget list is selected by the player at each level, with three standard gadgets for each character and two gadgets selected from a list. There are also four hidden "blueprint" gadgets. There are two kinds of co-op modes in ''Batman Forever''. Players chose between Batman or Robin. In one mode, Batman and Robin work together and cannot harm each other, although they share credits. In another mode, however, Batman and Robin can attack each other, but still, need to look out for enemies and have separate credit counts. The co-op mode is not included in the Game Boy and Game Gear versions. The Super NES and Genesis/Mega Drive versions of the game are very similar. The PC version is the same as the SNES and Genesis versions, though Batman and Robin appear in their movie attire, but the PC version also has loading delays. The Game Boy and Game Gear versions do away with a majority of the puzzle-solving of the SNES, PC, and Genesis versions and opt for a more traditional platform fighting game.

Development

Acclaim used

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

technology to animate the digitized sprites, like they did with ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...

''. Warner Bros acquired Acclaim's motion capture technology for the film, before Acclaim used it for the game.

Reception

The four reviewers of '' Electronic Gaming Monthly'' praised the Game Gear version as having graphics that are virtually identical to those of the Genesis and Super NES version, but overall dismissed the game due to poor controls, explaining that "Punching enemies is nothing more than a delayed sequence that continues well after the enemy is dead." '' GamePro'' also gave it a negative review. They remarked that the graphics are technically impressive but dull due to their lack of onscreen objects and interesting backgrounds, and concluded that "the sluggish gameplay, mediocre graphics, and weak sounds really kick this cart to the bat curb." ''GamePro'' panned the Super NES version as the worst of the Super NES Batman games. They dismissed the training mode as lacking the winning elements of a decent fighting game. Commenting on the normal mode, they criticized the frustrating difficulty, particularly the lack of continues and the time limit in the third stage, and stated that the digitized sprites were done well but clash with the "washed-out" background graphics. '' Next Generation'' praised the look of the digitized sprites but gave the game one out of five stars, citing boring gameplay and a poor control configuration. Frank Snyder of '' Computer Game Review'' wrote that "the actual experience of playing ''Batman™ Forever'' isn't much better than that of watching the movie." ''Batman Forever'' was a major commercial failure.

References

External links

MobyGames (Game Boy/Game Gear version)

MobyGames (PC/SNES/Genesis version)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batman Forever (Video Game) 1995 video games Acclaim Entertainment games Action games Batman (1989 film series) video games Beat 'em ups Cooperative video games Game Boy games Game Gear games Mortal Kombat clones Multiplayer and single-player video games Probe Software games Sega Genesis games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Superhero video games Tiger Electronics handheld games Video games based on adaptations Video games based on Batman films Video games based on films Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Tim Follin Video games set in psychiatric hospitals Video games set in the United States Video games with digitized sprites