DC Comics’ character Batman has had many movies and games made featuring him over the years. Some of these tie-ins have fallen between the cracks and deserve reappraisal.
Batman has long been a hot property across multiple entertainment and media franchises. He was born in the pages of comics, but soon bounded into television and cinema. Thus, it makes sense that he would have a healthy catalogue in gaming, and he has done so since the mid-eighties. Some of the more obscure outings have come from titles related to his movies, with varying degrees of success.
Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice Slot Game
Across the world, the iGaming sector has quietly grown in size. It is the area concerned with the provision of online casino games, and it now generates around $449.67 billion globally every year. The slot game sector is a large part of this, and is expected to grow at around 5.6% in the run-up to 2030. Thus, it is a hugely lucrative market with a massive audience.
Licensing for movies in the slot game niche started with Tomb Raider, and it remains a popular theme. In fact, many other movies now have exciting slot games, from Jurassic Park to cult hits like The Goonies. You can find them at online casinos servicing various parts of the world, such as Betway Mozambique. They will not only provide plenty of slot games, but also introductory bonuses and free spins on sign-up. This means you can try the titles out without having to sacrifice your bankroll for a short period.
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice may have been a flop in the cinema, but its slot game was immensely popular. Aside from the tie-in theme involving two of the silver screen’s most famous heroes, under the hood, it was just a fantastic slot. This is because of the many features it packs in: From free spins rounds to Wonder Woman making an appearance and throwing wild symbols across the reels. Even Doomsday makes a cameo in the bonus rounds.
By no means is this Batman’s only slot title. He has had games themed around the sixties television show and movie, with one focusing specifically on him and the villain Mr Freeze. The most recent movie also got its own slot, with its very dark, DIY imagery.
Batman: The Movie
Batman: The Movie may look aged by today’s standards, but back in the eighties, it was a smash hit. Taking its cues from the Tim Burton movie, it was the third game in the space of three years based on the license. Hitting shelves in 1989, it was preceded by The Caped Crusader in 1988 and Batman in 1987.
Developed by Ocean Software, Batman leaned heavily on the gothic imagery of director Tim Burton’s vision. This was both to its advantage and disadvantage. It left some of the screens looking quite dark and unappealing. However, it managed to compensate by including many of the locations featured in the movies famous scenes. This included the Axis Chemical Plant, the Joker’s Parade, and Gotham City Cathedral.
The gameplay is kept interesting by diverging from its scrolling beat ’em up style at various points. The second level is a driving game in the Batmobile, while the fourth lets players pilot the Batwing. Even the stage in the Batcave contains a complex puzzle leaning on the detective heritage of the protagonist. While some see this as interesting, it does make for a disjointed game at some points. This meant it did not achieve the popularity on home computers as the release before it.
Batman Begins
Batman Begins was the start of the Christian Bale trilogy, arguably the most psychologically and twist-driven cinematic outing Batman has had. The game admirably tries to follow that trope, but the restrictions of the PS2 at the time just leave it a little short of what the Arkham series would come to achieve in the not-so-distant future.
The game is both beat ’em up and stealth-driven, with the latter enhanced by a plethora of Batman’s tools players can use. These include smoke grenades, batarangs, flash bombs, and the ability to interact with the environment. It also has a great mechanic where you can amp up the fear in enemies, literally making them freeze and drop their weapons. All of this ties brilliantly into the movie, which focused on the fear aspect and the villainous Scarecrow.
Some of the gameplay is not executed well. The token Batmobile sections also feel more like you have been dropped into a random drifting title. However, the graphics are great for the time, and the game deserved better than the low-key reception it got.
Batman games continue to get more obscure. From story-based ones to those involving Lego, they never fail to surprise. There are even some that have not even featured Batman himself. No doubt more will arrive soon, to add to the Caped Crusader’s gaming legacy.