Batman (NES)

Difficulty - ***
Controls - ****
Sound - *****
Graphics - ****
Overall - 16 stars out of 20

The Joker is out running rampant on Gotham City! With your wits and trusty utility belt you head off in your Batmobile to confront the bedlam. This is Sunsoft's Batman!

The game is packed with action the moment the cut scene ends and the game play begins. You ease into the learning curve of the game pretty quickly. Learning to jump in and out of danger is crucial (especially near the end). As well as learning which of your weapons is best suited to take out foes. The bosses are quite tricky and you may run into many frustrating climbing areas. All in all its a rather challenging game.

With all the blistering action you would hope the controls are tight and responsive. And Sunsoft delivers. You punch and jump with you respective A and B buttons, you can climb off of walls with rather ease (you'll need to master this technique towards the end of the game. It could mean you beating the game or failing in frustration!)

Unfortunately, the start button selects which weapon you will use. The select button pauses the game. Most players (myself included) are used too using the start button to pause. It can be really annoying when you want to use a weapon, hit the select button and pause the game instead.

One of the great things about Sunsoft is their musical composition. The level theme's really give you a dark, moody and terrifying Gotham City. I especially like the sewer level, really creepy! The sound effects are well done. The batarangs, dart gun and dirk have simple sounds. The problem is when there is slowdown the music drags as well. Some of the music gets rehashed in other levels too.

Batman sports some of the best graphics. The streets of Gotham (Level one) looks stunning. The sprites are compact, but have some great detail. Batman doesn't look imposing and he's in a blue costume! Where's the black one like in the title screen? You'll also receive cut scenes as you enter a new level. These are well detailed too (I'm a big fan of cut scenes) and reveal a little of the story bit by bit. You do however get some slowdown as enemies and objects fill the screen.

Batman is one of the greatest superhero games in the NES library. Really great in fact. Blistering action with a solid challenge will have you flip your mask! The bass infused tunes of the graphically appealing Gotham City will have you come back over and over again. There are some slowdown issues and the sprites, while small, are nicely detailed. So go out and get this game, Gotham City needs someone to put an end to the Joker!