batman forever
Batman Forever: The Worst Game I Ever Rented
I rented a lot of games when I was younger. Video stores, rental
shacks, and even supermarkets offered the chance to play games I had
never read about in Nintendo Power or GamePro, and some of my all-time
favorite games were discovered among their shelves. But I also rented a
lot of bad games. In the time before the internet, and particularly
before online video game criticism was readily available (N64.com aka
IGN), the only sources gamers had to find out what was good were either
magazines and friends. Money and time was wasted, as Sturgeon's Law was
in effect even then.
And while I rented a lot of crap, none of it was as bad as Batman Forever, undoubtedly the most misspent $3 ever given to Video Spotlight. This was a game so unplayable it took me hours to get past its first stage. This was a Super Nintendo cartridge game that had a loading screen. Batman Forever was a crappily-made licensed game based on a crappy movie. Ugh.
Fifteen years later and Batman fans really have great things to cheer about. Arkham Asylum was a triumphant superhero game and this week's Arkham City may very well surpass it. We should have at least a first hour review of Arkham City from Nate this week, so look forward to that, but first, let's take a quick rewind to Batman's lowpoint.
