Batman: The Caped Crusader

Batman: The Caped Crusader is a 1988 action-adventure from Special FX Software, published by Ocean in Europe and Data East in North America. Designed by Jonathan M. Smith, it was released for the Amiga, Atari ST, C64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Apple II and DOS.

Gameplay

The game has two separate adventures that can be played in any order:

• A Bird in the Hand: The Penguin, posing as an umbrella merchant, plans to take over the world with robotic penguins.
• A Fete Worse Than Death: The Joker has kidnapped Robin.
• Comic panels: Each location appears as a comic-book panel on screen.
• Combat: Punch, kick and throw batarangs.
• Puzzles: Collect and use items to progress.

The comic-panel presentation was stylish and later influenced Sega’s Comix Zone. The game relies more on mazes and puzzles than on fighting.

Verdict

Batman: The Caped Crusader is a stylish, clever Batman adventure. Its comic-book look is charming, though its mazes can be confusing. Your Sinclair gave it 9/10.