''Batman'' (also known as ''Batman: The Movie'') is an

action video game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, rhythm games and ...

developed and published by

Ocean Software Ocean Software Limited was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and publishers of the 1980s and 1990s. The company was founded by David Ward and Jon Woods and was based in Manchest ...

based on the 1989 film of the same name. It was released on 11 September 1989 for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

with

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

and

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

versions following soon after.

Gameplay

The game consists of five levels based on events from the film. Each stage has a time limit and a health gauge (represented by Batman's face turning into the Joker's), with Batman losing a life if he runs out of either. The levels have varying gameplay: # In the first level, styled as side-scrolling gameplay,

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 ...

fights his way through the Axis Chemical Plant to confront Jack Napier, knocking him into a vat of chemicals and turning him into

the Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, the character first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' on ...

. Batman can use his Batarangs and grapple gun to defeat enemies. The grapple gun can also be used to climb to higher platforms and swing across gaps. # In the second level, Batman drives his

Batmobile The Batmobile is the fictional land vehicle driven by the superhero Batman, used both to patrol Gotham City looking for crime and to engage in car chases or vehicular combat with the city's criminal underworld. The Batmobile is one of a suite o ...

across Gotham City, dodging traffic and using a grapple to turn corners at high speed. Missing three consecutive turns causes Batman to run into a police roadblock and costs the player one life, regardless of the timer and health gauge. # The third level is a ''

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of the ...

''-like puzzle set in the

Batcave The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...

, in which Batman is presented with eight consumer products and must identify the three that the Joker has tainted with the deadly chemical Smilex. The player chooses three items at a time and is told how many are correct; a health penalty is incurred for selecting any incorrect items. # The fourth level takes place during the Joker's parade, in which Batman must fly the Batwing and cut away balloons filled with Smilex gas without crashing into them or the floats to which they are tethered. # In the fifth and final level, styled similarly to the first, Batman climbs to the top of Gotham City Cathedral and must stop the Joker from escaping on a helicopter.

Release

Commodore UK reached an agreement with Ocean Software to bundle the game with

Amiga 500 The Amiga 500, also known as the A500, was the first popular version of the Amiga home computer, "redefining the home computer market and making so-called luxury features such as multitasking and colour a standard long before Microsoft or Apple ...

computers. Between October 1989 and September 1990, A500 machines were sold in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in Batman-themed boxes containing the game and ''

The NewZealand Story is a platform game developed and released in arcades by Taito in 1988. The concept and setting were inspired by a holiday trip in New Zealand by one of the Taito programmers. The player controls , a kiwi who must save his girlfriend and sever ...

'', as well as ''

F/A-18 Interceptor ''F/A-18 Interceptor'' is a combat flight simulator developed by Intellisoft and published by Electronic Arts for the Amiga in 1988. The player mainly flies the F/A-18 Hornet, but the F-16 Fighting Falcon is also available for aerobatics, free fl ...

'' and '' Deluxe Paint II'', both contributed by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

. With an initial commission of 10,000 units, a total of 186,000 were sold at the end of the run, making it the most successful Amiga bundle ever sold by Commodore.

Reception

Batman received a host of awards, including Crash Smash, YS Megagame, SU Classic and C+VG Hit. The game was number 1 in the Spectrum charts for February 1990 and was awarded Game of the Year in '' Crash'' magazine. ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' recommended the Amiga version to action fans, but reported that the Commodore 64 version was too buggy, but was well received by

Commodore Format ''Commodore Format'' was a British magazine for users of the Commodore 64 home computer. It was published on the third Thursday of every month. All 61 issues were produced by Future plc. These came towards the end of the machine's commercial li ...

magazine and was seen as one of the best movie tie-in games released for the platform.

References

External links

* * {{authority control 1989 video games Action games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Amstrad PCW games Video games based on Batman films Atari ST games Batman (1989 film series) video games Commodore 64 games DOS games Joker (character) in other media Ocean Software games Superhero video games Video games based on adaptations Video games based on films ZX Spectrum games Video games based on works by Tim Burton Video games set in the United States Video games developed in the United Kingdom Single-player video games