A Review: Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker, N64 2000
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is a side-scrolling beat-up developed for the N64 by Kemco and published by Ubisoft. A Playstation One and Gameboy colour version were also developed and released around the same time. The game is based on the direct-to-video film of the same name and puts the player in the role of Terry McGinnis, the new Batman, taking over from the retired Bruce Wayne. He battles through waves of crooks and genetically engineered henchmen in an attempt to stop the recently resurrected Joker from completing his evil plans. Play is very much the standard for a beat 'em up, which consists of lots of button mashing and swearing and doesn't really offer anything new or fresh for the genre.
Contrary to the critics and reviewers of the time, I actually had fun playing this game and thought that it was okay if you looked past the obvious flaws. Yes, the AI was about as smart as a strip of bark and can be dispatched with insulting ease. Yes, the camera angles were fixed and heavily herded the player along, allowing for no time to explore or look around. Yes, the levels were quite literally just straight corridors or open rooms with all the charm of a dead goat. Yes, the weapons were pointless and were literally of no use to the player, with the Batsuit mechanic only being useful a handful of times before you just settled on one and bludgeoned your way through. Yet there was something about this game that resonated with me. I can see that this game had big boots to fill but teeny-tiny little child feet to work with. I could see that there was potential, and I could also see what was being aimed for. Okay, it fell flat on its face, but at least it tried. I liked the simple, mindless action of this game and thought that it would have been a good entry-level title for a child or someone new to gaming. It was simple to get to grips with and play, with nothing that required too much thought or prep. I enjoyed the plot and found that it matched well to the film's story, and I liked the little cutscenes too. I honestly feel that with a little more time in the oven and some strong polish, this game could have been really quite good.
The graphics weren't as bad as I was led to believe, either. I liked the dark and gloomy colouring and thought that the shadows and lighting effects were pretty good. The various suits all looked unique, and the various weapons looked pretty nice too. The enemies' and bosses were all distinctive and clear, and I liked the various animations and movement details. The environments were a little basic, but they got the job done well enough, and the world objects looked alright.
Is this a good game? Gods no! But then again, it's not the worst that I have played, and I did enjoy beating the balls off of bad guys, so it's got that going for it.
5/10 – Okay!
Signed Off – Leonardo – PSJ
Contrary to the critics and reviewers of the time, I actually had fun playing this game and thought that it was okay if you looked past the obvious flaws. Yes, the AI was about as smart as a strip of bark and can be dispatched with insulting ease. Yes, the camera angles were fixed and heavily herded the player along, allowing for no time to explore or look around. Yes, the levels were quite literally just straight corridors or open rooms with all the charm of a dead goat. Yes, the weapons were pointless and were literally of no use to the player, with the Batsuit mechanic only being useful a handful of times before you just settled on one and bludgeoned your way through. Yet there was something about this game that resonated with me. I can see that this game had big boots to fill but teeny-tiny little child feet to work with. I could see that there was potential, and I could also see what was being aimed for. Okay, it fell flat on its face, but at least it tried. I liked the simple, mindless action of this game and thought that it would have been a good entry-level title for a child or someone new to gaming. It was simple to get to grips with and play, with nothing that required too much thought or prep. I enjoyed the plot and found that it matched well to the film's story, and I liked the little cutscenes too. I honestly feel that with a little more time in the oven and some strong polish, this game could have been really quite good.
The graphics weren't as bad as I was led to believe, either. I liked the dark and gloomy colouring and thought that the shadows and lighting effects were pretty good. The various suits all looked unique, and the various weapons looked pretty nice too. The enemies' and bosses were all distinctive and clear, and I liked the various animations and movement details. The environments were a little basic, but they got the job done well enough, and the world objects looked alright.
Is this a good game? Gods no! But then again, it's not the worst that I have played, and I did enjoy beating the balls off of bad guys, so it's got that going for it.
5/10 – Okay!
Signed Off – Leonardo – PSJ
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