| Batman & Robin | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developer | Probe Entertainment |
| Publisher | Acclaim Entertainment |
| Producer | Peter Jones |
| Designer | Matt Nagy |
| Programmer | David Shea |
| Artist | Guy Mills |
| Composer | Tim Follin |
| Series | Batman |
| Platforms | PlayStation,Game.com |
| Release | |
| Genre | Action-adventure |
| Mode | Single-player |
Batman & Robin is anaction-adventurevideo game for thePlayStation based onDC Comics characterBatman, and the 1997 filmBatman & Robin. It was developed byProbe Entertainment[2] and published byAcclaim Entertainment in conjunction withWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics. It is a sequel toBatman Forever, which was based on the 1995 filmBatman Forever.
The game uses elements of asandbox style game, such as real-time events, traffic simulation, and civilian population. The player can choose one of the film's three heroes,Batman,Robin orBatgirl.[3] Each character uses a unique vehicle. Batman drives theBatmobile, Robin theRedbird motorcycle and Batgirl uses theBatblade. In the game, the player travels aroundGotham City and completes various individual missions, such as preventingMr. Freeze from robbing a bank. Most of the events are not triggered; instead, each event occurs at a certain time. For example, Mr. Freeze's bank robbery occurs at 7 p.m. The player must find clues and discover the plot with the help of the Batcomputer. If the player cannot find enough clues, the event occurs, failing the mission. Some situations are derived directly from the plot of the film, while others were conceived for the game.
Acclaim originally scheduledBatman & Robin for release in the third quarter of 1997, in order to coincide with the film's theatrical release.[3] Acclaim chairman and CEOGreg Fischbach commented on the decision to delay the game until 1998: "We recently told analysts that we might take a small loss this financial quarter because we chose not to release product that we felt wasn't done. I'm talking aboutForsaken andBatman and Robin. Now, the old Acclaim may have pushed these products into the marketplace and wouldn't have dreamed of saying toWall Street, 'We're sorry, but we're not going to be profitable this quarter.' So this is a new stance for us."[4]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 47%[5] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |   [6] |
| CNET Gamecenter | 4/10[7] |
| Consoles + | 75%[8] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 2.375/10[9][a] |
| Game Informer | 5/10[10] |
| GameSpot | 5.7/10[11] |
| IGN | 5/10[12] |
| Next Generation | [13] |
| PlayStation Official Magazine – UK | 6/10[14] |
| Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine | [15] |
Likethe film, the PlayStation game was critically and commercially unsuccessful, as it received generally unfavourable reviews according to thereview aggregation websiteGameRankings.[5]Game Informer gave it a mixed review, over two months before it was released Stateside.[10]IGN gave a mixed review; they praised the graphics, music and a selection of characters to play, but were critical to the controls.[12]Next Generation was more critical to the game, criticizing the graphics, level design, gameplay and controls.[13]GamePro gave a positive review in terms of graphics, sound, and gameplay, but was critical to the controls.[16][b] There was also a version for theGame.com handheld which got worse ratings than the PlayStation version.
The game won the award for "Most Faithful Use of a Movie License" at the 1998OPM Editors' Awards.[17]
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