Batman & Robin (PlayStation)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.7 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Joe Fielder
• Reviewed on: 08/06/1998
• Updated on: 04/28/2000
• Released on: 07/31/1998
• Originally published on GameSpot: Batman & Robin (PlayStation) Review

Sure, Acclaim's Batman & Robin is the best Batman game in years and far better than the '97 Joel Schumacher film it was based on, but neither of those things really amounts to too much. The game is an ambitious attempt to sum up all things Batman, the iconic comic character whose name is usually followed in the funny books with the title, "The World's Greatest Detective." And he's supposed to be at least one of the world's best martial artists, too.

Probe's attempt places you in a three-dimensional Gotham City, where you must jet around town as Batman, Robin, or Batgirl (each has his or her own respective plusses, minuses, and matching vehicle), gather clues to bring back to the Bat-Cave, and figure out where the villains Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy might turn up, with the aid of the Bat-Computer. What comes next, of course, is getting to those spots in town, beating up the bad guys' henchmen, foiling their plans, and hopefully catching them before they escape.

Time and distance play a big part in this, as Gotham's a big town that can be explored almost ad nauseam. Storefronts often hide clues, gadgets, or power-ups, and the streets are home to numerous minor thugs, who come either by car or motorcycle or on foot. If you take too long dallying with the little bad guys though, you run the risk of, say, failing to stop Mr. Freeze from stealing a diamond at a jewelry store, which would rob you of the opportunity to gather clues necessary to determining where he'd strike next. Since Gotham's so expansive, driving to the crime scenes takes a decent amount of time - almost too much actually, save for the shortcuts provided by places owned by Batman's own company, Wayne Industries.

The game not only covers a lot of miles, it has just shy of two dozen moves, between jumping, aiming, fighting, and using items. While they feel like they're set up in an almost counterintuitive fashion at first, they become second nature after a few trips to the training rooms of Wayne Manor. Getting down the movements really isn't as much of a problem as being able to use them correctly. The camera angles presented in the game generally go the route of Eidos' Deathtrap Dungeon, over Tomb Raider. The character is seen from a number of different perspectives depending on where he is in an indoor environment, instead of from a view generally following from behind the back. This means that sometimes you'll move forward or backward in a fight and be given an outlook that cuts your opponent out of the picture. Death by camera angle is a horrible way to go. Still, even when you can see everyone onscreen, it's hard to tell exactly from what angle you should be delivering your hail of punches and kicks, and while you're busy trying to line your character up correctly, he's likely been beaten to a bloody pulp.

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