Batman Forever, like just about any original Acclaim game, is nothing original. It uses the same 2D, side-scrolling, fight action that games have been using since Final Fight and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It's an established genre, and experienced gamers know what to expect from it. If done right, it's a lot of fun, but if done wrong, it's torture. For all intents and purposes, BF looks pretty painful. Four frames of animation a character, low-res graphics, and a useless soundtrack are ingredients for disaster. But at the same time, Batman Forever exudes an insidious charm worthy of the Joker.

Why? The gameplay is decent. Batman and Robin each have a huge variety of moves players can try, with different animation depending on your combo meter. Since you have a huge number of enemies, you get a lot of chances to practice.

Special devices expand each of your characters' abilities and you get some pretty cool powerup effects, like the Batarang, or the Bathook, while battling hordes of enemies that pour onscreen. Another nice touch are the powerups, which are plentiful, sometimes literally pouring on screen.

However, these touches don't bring the game above the mediocre level. Both a curse and a blessing, the large number of powerups and enemies lead to confusing gameplay, as you're never quite sure who you're punching, or what just happened to call down BatLightning on your enemies. Poor collision detection gets frustrating, too, when you get grabbed and thrown from inches away.

What really palls in the long run, though, is the ability to button-mash your way to victory. Being able to pull off special moves with no real effort pleases the casual gamer, and provides no incentive to explore Batman Forever's gameplay in further depth.