The Dark Knight has visited the world of video games over a dozen times since the 1980s. Like so many different game adaptations, the Bats found himself in all kinds of awkward, horrible situations. There have been good times, and there have been bad. Batman has been taken advantage of on systems like the Amiga, and then he’s risen to glory on the Xbox.

Eidos has come out and said that Batman: Arkham Asylum is as close to perfect as they’ve ever come for developing a video game (via Kombo.com - http://360.kombo.com/article.php?artid=16174). Let’s hope they’re right. The game certainly does look like a glorious mix of Splinter Cell and Batman, and that’s just what the doctor ordered as far as I’m concerned.

"Bane" trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum:

So, then, let’s get excited for a new foray in Gotham by taking a look at Batman’s varied video game past. We’ll brush over three of the worst Batman games ever released, and then we’ll approach three of the best. It ain’t gonna be pretty, I can promise you that.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (N64)

Holy shit. Okay, this isn’t Superman 64 bad… but damnit. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is a 3-d punch fest that runs the gamut of glitches. It doesn’t look all that bad, except when it’s in motion, but the gameplay is unbelievably repetitive. No, you don’t constantly fly through rings, but you do spend 90% of your time rapidly punching bad guys. And why the hell does every unconscious body evaporate?

Batman Beyond was a solid series. One of the best animated shows, if you ask me. This game basically slaps that concept right in the face.

Batman Forever(SNES, Sega Genesis)

Have you seen the movie? Case closed.

The Best

Lego Batman (360, PS3, Wii)

Lego Batman is both the most recent Batman game and the most recent in the Lego series. In that sense, it’s exactly like all the Lego games that came before it; it’s a comedic reinterpretation of the stories and characters from the Batman universe. Players roll through the world, as either heroes or villains, and smash items to collect Lego pieces that allow them to unlock goodies.

It’s all about collection and beat ‘em up gameplay in this one, but it’s a formula that works. Lego Batman didn’t really push the envelope at all; it just played with what already worked.

The Adventures of Batman & Robin (SNES, Sega Genesis)

This one was available on the SNES, Genesis and even Sega CD and the Mega Drive. I had it for the SNES. The title came out with the clear intention to replicate the art style of the animated series running at the same time. One of the better looking 2-d Batman iterations, the SNES version of the game sported platforming, Batmobile driving and even detecting segments.

What’s most interesting to me is the fact that each platform’s version of the game was almost entirely different from all the others. The SNES version was the platformer, the Sega units all had a slightly varied Contra style side-scroller. Supposedly, the SNES version had more levels and more bosses. Winnar!

Batman: Vengeance (Ps2, Xbox, GameCube)

We’ll earmark Vengeance as the best Batman title to grace the digital world… until Arkham Asylum, of course. It’s a 3-d stealh action game that closely mirrors the world of the animated series. In fact, it carries Mark Hamil and Kevin Conroy as the Joker and Batman. For this fact alone the work is an absolute standout in a field of mediocrity. It’s a great looking game that brings solid music and voice acting to the Bat-table.

It certainly isn’t perfect as it often finds itself bogged down by the camera and difficulty, but it’s easily the most fun you’ll have playing Batman.