Batman Forever (1995)
Jumping forward a few years, we get the utterly abysmal Batman Forever based on the pretty average Batman film of the same name. The game was built on the same engine used for the console version of Mortal Kombat, because why make something new when you can recycle. This being the case, the characters (Batman or Robin) move like they are in the fighting game. In addition, both have a supply of items in order to help them in diverse tasks.
If you ever wanted a reason why games didn’t use fighting game engines for other types of games you need only play Batman Forever. The Super NES and Mega Drive/Genesis versions were developed by Acclaim Studios London and published by Acclaim Entertainment. The Sega Game Gear, Nintendo Game Boy and PC versions were developed by Probe Entertainment.
The controls are largely based on the Mortal Kombat move lists requiring precise key sequences to execute moves. Some gadget moves involve moving away from the enemy right before pressing a punch or kick button, which creates problems since the game only keeps the players facing enemies if they’re close enough to each other.
Batman & Robin (1997)
A terrible game based on an equally terrible film, Batman & Robin was a failure on all levels. It also hold the distinction of being the only Batman based title released on the Game.Com portable handheld system. It was of course a perfect fit, a failure of movie, turned into a failure of a game, on a failed system that nobody owned.
The PlayStation version of the game uses various elements of Sandbox style games, such as real time events, traffic simulation and civilian population. The player can choose one of the film’s three heroes, Batman, Robin or Batgirl with each character having a unique vehicle they can pilot. Batman drives the Batmobile, Robin the Redbird motorcycle and Batgirl uses the Batblade.
You spend the game running around Gotham and completing various missions, so of which are inspired from plot points of the film. If you can imagine playing a very poor mans Grand Theft Auto and stripping out all the fun, you get an idea of what Batman & Robin is all about.
Like the film, The PlayStation game was critically and commercially unsuccessful and was largely forgotten by gamers. The Game.Com version was equally terrible thanks in part to the Game.Com’s terrible screen that turned everything to mush when movement took place.