Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: The Familiarity of Powersliding

The mascot kart racer has seen a major resurgence in recent times, with the next few months packed with adorably familiar faces zooming around on outlandish tracks. From the caricatured visages on show in F1 Race Stars to the comforting plushness of LittleBigPlanet Karting, it’s a pretty packed marketplace. As Mario Kart established long ago, this is a genre that lives or dies based on its multiplayer; it was with a sense of trepidation that we sat down to try out Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. It comes down to this.

The game’s multiplayer is divided between online, in which up to 10 players can compete, and offline splitscreen which supports four players on most consoles, with an extra player being supported on Wii U thanks to the GamePad’s screen. Additionally, while the online mode only supports competitive mode, if you’re playing offline with some mates you can work co-operatively to try and beat the computer.

The first thing to note about the game is just how familiar it all feels; if you’ve ever touched a kart racer, then its combination of boosts, jumps and drifts will feel like second nature. With regards to multiplayer, this means anyone with even the slightest level of competency in the genre won’t have any problem leaving the AI racers in the dust on anything but the hardest difficulty setting.

“

If you’ve ever touched a kart racer, then its combination of boosts, jumps and drifts will feel like second nature.

Partly, this is down to the balanced range of weaponry on offer; while each of the characters has a unique ‘All-Star’ move, there are no blue shells here. Granted, if you’re in last then the odds of you getting one of the more powerful weapons is increased, but as it should be, individual skill is the only real guarantee of moving you up in the rankings.

While on the topic of individual skill, one of the best features on offer in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is that experience gained in multiplayer transfers over into your single player campaign, and vice versa. It’s a nice touch that really encourages inviting mates round for a game; after all, four lots of experience means that when they all head home an even wider arrange of powered-up characters will be available for you to use in the World Tour campaign.

The way it works is that each character earns experience points when racing in order to level, up to a maximum cap of five. Doing so unlocks mods for that racer, which are fixed bonuses that can be switched between pre-race in order to customise the character to suit your playstyle. So if you’re a fan of Knuckles but find his handling somewhat lacking, you’ll be able to pimp it out after reaching a suitable level in order to excel with the red echidna.

The nature of the levels, with most featuring some combination of land, sea and air racing, means that they feel suitably varied but inevitably you’re going to have some tracks that you perform better on. When we tried it out, racing on land usually saw us fly into the lead but the second we took to the air and had to deal with navigating vertically as well as horizontally, in order to pursue boosts and dodge weapons, things got slightly messier.

It’s this part of the multiplayer experience where Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed stands out. While much of the gameplay is reminiscent of other games in the genre, the fact that you’re likely to be better than your mates in certain vehicles than others means level selection becomes that much more important, and you’ll want to try them all. Throw in the well-balanced weapons and ability to mod characters to suit your playstyle and you’ve got a multiplayer experience with a focus on skill as much as fun.

Sumo Digital is creating a game that’s shaping up to be a refinement on a familiar formula that tries to be different from most other offerings out there; just don’t expect it to transform the kart racing genre, despite the title.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and is not a car, boat or plane. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: The Familiarity of Powersliding

The mascot kart racer has seen a major resurgence in recent times, with the next few months packed with adorably familiar faces zooming around on outlandish tracks. From the caricatured visages on show in F1 Race Stars to the comforting plushness of LittleBigPlanet Karting, it’s a pretty packed marketplace. As Mario Kart established long ago, this is a genre that lives or dies based on its multiplayer; it was with a sense of trepidation that we sat down to try out Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. It comes down to this.

The game’s multiplayer is divided between online, in which up to 10 players can compete, and offline splitscreen which supports four players on most consoles, with an extra player being supported on Wii U thanks to the GamePad’s screen. Additionally, while the online mode only supports competitive mode, if you’re playing offline with some mates you can work co-operatively to try and beat the computer.

The first thing to note about the game is just how familiar it all feels; if you’ve ever touched a kart racer, then its combination of boosts, jumps and drifts will feel like second nature. With regards to multiplayer, this means anyone with even the slightest level of competency in the genre won’t have any problem leaving the AI racers in the dust on anything but the hardest difficulty setting.

“

If you’ve ever touched a kart racer, then its combination of boosts, jumps and drifts will feel like second nature.

Partly, this is down to the balanced range of weaponry on offer; while each of the characters has a unique ‘All-Star’ move, there are no blue shells here. Granted, if you’re in last then the odds of you getting one of the more powerful weapons is increased, but as it should be, individual skill is the only real guarantee of moving you up in the rankings.

While on the topic of individual skill, one of the best features on offer in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is that experience gained in multiplayer transfers over into your single player campaign, and vice versa. It’s a nice touch that really encourages inviting mates round for a game; after all, four lots of experience means that when they all head home an even wider arrange of powered-up characters will be available for you to use in the World Tour campaign.

The way it works is that each character earns experience points when racing in order to level, up to a maximum cap of five. Doing so unlocks mods for that racer, which are fixed bonuses that can be switched between pre-race in order to customise the character to suit your playstyle. So if you’re a fan of Knuckles but find his handling somewhat lacking, you’ll be able to pimp it out after reaching a suitable level in order to excel with the red echidna.

The nature of the levels, with most featuring some combination of land, sea and air racing, means that they feel suitably varied but inevitably you’re going to have some tracks that you perform better on. When we tried it out, racing on land usually saw us fly into the lead but the second we took to the air and had to deal with navigating vertically as well as horizontally, in order to pursue boosts and dodge weapons, things got slightly messier.

It’s this part of the multiplayer experience where Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed stands out. While much of the gameplay is reminiscent of other games in the genre, the fact that you’re likely to be better than your mates in certain vehicles than others means level selection becomes that much more important, and you’ll want to try them all. Throw in the well-balanced weapons and ability to mod characters to suit your playstyle and you’ve got a multiplayer experience with a focus on skill as much as fun.

Sumo Digital is creating a game that’s shaping up to be a refinement on a familiar formula that tries to be different from most other offerings out there; just don’t expect it to transform the kart racing genre, despite the title.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and is not a car, boat or plane. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: The Familiarity of Powersliding

The mascot kart racer has seen a major resurgence in recent times, with the next few months packed with adorably familiar faces zooming around on outlandish tracks. From the caricatured visages on show in F1 Race Stars to the comforting plushness of LittleBigPlanet Karting, it’s a pretty packed marketplace. As Mario Kart established long ago, this is a genre that lives or dies based on its multiplayer; it was with a sense of trepidation that we sat down to try out Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. It comes down to this.

The game’s multiplayer is divided between online, in which up to 10 players can compete, and offline splitscreen which supports four players on most consoles, with an extra player being supported on Wii U thanks to the GamePad’s screen. Additionally, while the online mode only supports competitive mode, if you’re playing offline with some mates you can work co-operatively to try and beat the computer.

The first thing to note about the game is just how familiar it all feels; if you’ve ever touched a kart racer, then its combination of boosts, jumps and drifts will feel like second nature. With regards to multiplayer, this means anyone with even the slightest level of competency in the genre won’t have any problem leaving the AI racers in the dust on anything but the hardest difficulty setting.

“

If you’ve ever touched a kart racer, then its combination of boosts, jumps and drifts will feel like second nature.

Partly, this is down to the balanced range of weaponry on offer; while each of the characters has a unique ‘All-Star’ move, there are no blue shells here. Granted, if you’re in last then the odds of you getting one of the more powerful weapons is increased, but as it should be, individual skill is the only real guarantee of moving you up in the rankings.

While on the topic of individual skill, one of the best features on offer in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is that experience gained in multiplayer transfers over into your single player campaign, and vice versa. It’s a nice touch that really encourages inviting mates round for a game; after all, four lots of experience means that when they all head home an even wider arrange of powered-up characters will be available for you to use in the World Tour campaign.

The way it works is that each character earns experience points when racing in order to level, up to a maximum cap of five. Doing so unlocks mods for that racer, which are fixed bonuses that can be switched between pre-race in order to customise the character to suit your playstyle. So if you’re a fan of Knuckles but find his handling somewhat lacking, you’ll be able to pimp it out after reaching a suitable level in order to excel with the red echidna.

The nature of the levels, with most featuring some combination of land, sea and air racing, means that they feel suitably varied but inevitably you’re going to have some tracks that you perform better on. When we tried it out, racing on land usually saw us fly into the lead but the second we took to the air and had to deal with navigating vertically as well as horizontally, in order to pursue boosts and dodge weapons, things got slightly messier.

It’s this part of the multiplayer experience where Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed stands out. While much of the gameplay is reminiscent of other games in the genre, the fact that you’re likely to be better than your mates in certain vehicles than others means level selection becomes that much more important, and you’ll want to try them all. Throw in the well-balanced weapons and ability to mod characters to suit your playstyle and you’ve got a multiplayer experience with a focus on skill as much as fun.

Sumo Digital is creating a game that’s shaping up to be a refinement on a familiar formula that tries to be different from most other offerings out there; just don’t expect it to transform the kart racing genre, despite the title.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and is not a car, boat or plane. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

MechWarrior Online Open Beta Date Announced

We've written about it several times at IGN, some of you have even been lucky enough to get into the closed beta, but now everyone finally gets a chance to try out MechWarrior Online on October 16th. While this is not the official release of the game, Piranha Games is launching the open beta, driving more users into their game so they can continue to make balance changes, tweak performance and continue to polish the next mech combat game.

To learn more about MechWarrior Online, check out our in-depth wiki. If you want to see the machines in action, as well as get the developer's take on what makes certain mechs and maps special, then head on over to our always-growing video index.

Anthony Gallegos is an Editor on IGN's PC team. He enjoys scaring the crap out of himself with horror games and then releasing some steam in shooters like Blacklight and Tribes. You can follow him on @Chufmoney on Twitter and on at Ant-IGN on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Report: EA Sought to Acquire Valve

Electronic Arts was apparently prepared to pay up to $1 billion in order to acquire Valve, according to a new report.

The New York Times claims to have seen a report which lists the various opportunities Gabe Newell has had to sell the company in the past.

"Valve has been pursued over the years by Electronic Arts, which would very likely have valued Valve at well over $1 billion had the talks progressed that far," it explains.

The article goes on to say the claims come courtesy of "two people with knowledge of the discussion who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private".

Why said talks broke down isn't clear, especially given that EA's COO Peter Moore recently voiced his support for the company, describing them as being "on the cutting edge of the future of this industry". It may have something to do with Valve co-founder Gabe Newell, who has apparently long been convinced that the company would "disintegrate" if it was ever bought by another company.

"It’s way more likely we would head in that direction than say, ‘Let’s find some giant company that wants to cash us out and wait two or three years to have our employment agreements terminate,’ he said.

Had the deal gone through, EA would have gotten quite the bargain; Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter estimates that Valve would today be valued at around $2.5 billion, mainly thanks to its Steam digital distribution service. The company is also believed to make far more money from Steam than it does from actual sales of its own games.

This number only looks set to go up, especially with the recent news that the company will be "jumping in" to hardware development.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Daniel Craig to Play James Bond "At Least Five Times"

Daniel Craig will play James Bond “at least five times,” and if studio executives have their way, he will be the longest-serving actor in the role.

Roger Moore currently holds the record, having played 007 seven times in official Bond flicks.

MI6 broke the news when announcing that Sony Pictures has reached a new co-financing deal with MGM to continue making Bond movies.

The studio apparently hopes to start making Bond flicks on a two-year cycle, meaning that Bond 24 could hit in 2014.

The next Bond film – Skyfall – hits UK screens on October 26 before reaching the rest of the world in November.

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN and is hoping to replace Craig as Bond. His idle chit-chat can be found on both Twitter and MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Wanna See The Avengers Again?

Yeah, yeah, yeah -- you've already seen it 16 times. But that doesn't have to stop you from checking out The Avengers again now that it's returning to theaters for a special Labor Day engagement.*

The film's Facebook page says Avengers will be back from August 31 to September 6, which should tide you over until it hits Blu-ray on September 25… But just in case it doesn't, check out old Thanos in the clip below:

*Of course, technically speaking, Avengers is still playing in a handful of theaters, many of them of the lower-end, mom-and-pop variety. But this special run will presumably return it to the big multiplexes of the world, where you can pay 50% more but also not have to worry about sticky floors (or seats).

Talk to Movies Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN and on Facebook.

Source : ign[dot]com

Wield Godlike Power in Harold, a Playable Saturday Morning Cartoon

“My goal is to create a downloadable game with the quality of a triple-A game.”

Sure, like I haven’t heard a game developer tell me that a thousand times before. But for Moonspider Studios CEO Loris Malek, he’s taking aim at his goal by somewhat nontraditional gaming means: he’s hired a team of the most talented 2D animators he can find and is creating a Don Bluth cartoon that happens to be playable with a controller.

Yes, animation has been given top priority in Harold, a sidescrolling platformer where you control a veritable doofus. See, you’re a guardian angel’s apprentice, and in order get your people-protecting Master’s degree, as it were, you must complete the final exam in which you steer the clumsy Harold through timed obstacle runs where pratfalls and dangers constantly befall him.

The obstacle course also happens to be a race against other sad-sack mortals, however, so you’re competing with your fellow guardian angel apprentices for the top finish times. As such, you’ll need to egg Harold on with divine bolts of lightning, sabotage other racers, and use your godlike powers to look ahead in the race and clear a path for Harold as he ignorantly runs toward certain death.

And prepping the course for a smooth run is all you need to worry about, big job though it may be, as you don’t actually control Harold’s movements outside of jumping. Like the 2009 LucasArts platformer Lucidity, the stage is constantly advancing and you can’t stop it. Your job is to make sure Harold doesn’t kill himself, thereby causing you to flunk your guardian angel SAT.

Things start simply enough, but before long you’ll be constantly juggling hazards and looking for any shortcut you can in order to shave precious seconds off of Harold’s time. Gators ahead in a river you need to traverse? Give ‘em a holy whack on the noggin with your divine hammer. Is Harold nervously tiptoeing across a teetering plank bridge? Give him a nudge forward by pulling the bridge tight at each end and then release it to rubber-band snap the young man into gear. A total of four worlds – desert, jungle, beach, and snow – house multiple stages each, adding up to a pre-replayability total of about 6-8 hours of gameplay.

And as for those animations? You truly have not seen a video game look like this since…well, ever. “I wanted to make the first game that would look like a Walt Disney movie,” Malek says enthusiastically.

It shows. Film-quality cartoon cutscenes form the introductory sequence, finale, map introductions, and even mid-race moments. Harold is one game where you’re not likely to want to skip any of the cutscenes. Now that would be a divine miracle.

Ryan McCaffrey is the Executive Editor at IGN Xbox. He used to own a DeLorean, which is weird. Follow him on Twitter, on IGN, catch him on Podcast Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Source : ign[dot]com

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - "Ultron Unlimited" Review

Warning - full episode spoilers follow.

The problem with Ultron is that, no matter how many times you pound him into scrap metal, he always returns in a new body and with a new plan for wiping out humanity. The Avengers learned that the hard way in this week's episode of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. "Ultron Unlimited" picked up where "Behold... the Vision!" left off a few weeks ago, as the robotic villain sought to replace the Avengers with his own, "perfected" Synthezoid Avengers. Unfortunately, "Ultron Unlimited" turned out to be the first instance where the show's new, largely standalone approach to episodic storytelling took its toll.

The problem is that the idea of the real Avengers battling their evil replacements is a little too familiar coming so close on the heels of the Skrull invasion saga. Hawkeye even seemed to point out that fact when he quipped, "Just so we're clear, I'm the real me." That brief moment of levity didn't do much to spice up the conflict, however. Even Vision's fight scenes felt strangely diminished, as the character was far from the unstoppable powerhouse he was in his first appearance. Chalk it up to his conflicted feelings on his mission, I suppose. The best that could be said for the action in this episode is that, like in "Assault on 42", the fact that the Avengers were fighting inhuman opponents allowed them to be more brutal and decisive in combat than animated superhero shows typically allow. The rampant battling was entertaining enough, just not particularly noteworthy.

The focus on Avenger vs. Avenger brawling meant that Ultron himself was largely relegated to being a backseat player. We were never given a clear idea of what Ultron's larger goal was beyond swapping the Avengers out for Synthezoids.It was cool to see the team eventually unite to battle Ultron in his all new, all adamantium shell, but by that point the episode had too little running time left to take advantage of the scenario. And while Vision's evolution from uncaring soldier to would-be human was engaging, it could have been fleshed out and expanded upon. That's to say nothing of Jocasta, who played so little role in the episode it's enough to wonder why she was introduced at all. I don't know if she's intended to return before the end of the season, but if she does, hopefully the writers will actually do something with her and her relationship to the Pym family.

"Ultron Unlimited" was at its best when it focused on that family dynamic and Ultron's Oedipal relationship with his "mother," Janet. It's too bad Hank didn't make his long-awaited return here, because there's plenty of good material to mine with these characters. A script that downplayed the Avengers and devoted more time to Ultron's efforts to both please and supplant his father would have worked a lot better. Sadly, as far as I'm aware, this was Ultron's final appearance for the remainder of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The most we can do is hope that Avengers Assemble takes a slightly more dark and psychological approach to the character.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Del Toro Talks Pacific Rim

In this recent video interview with the LA Times' Hero Complex, director Guillermo del Toro talks about the creative process behind his upcoming kaiju vs. robots film Pacific Rim. Take a look at the video below for the full, 15-minute interview:

Source : ign[dot]com

The Shining Prequel in the Works

It may be the stuff of nightmares for fans of a horror classic, but rumours are circulating that a prequel to The Shining is on the cards.

According to the LA Times, Warner Bros. is considering a return to the Overlook Hotel, with the prequel plot focussing on “what happened before Jack Torrance, his wife and their psychic son arrived at the haunted retreat.”

Shutter Island scribe Laeta Kalogridis has been brought on-board to produce alongside partners Bradley Fischer and James Vanderbilt.

But the Times’ source was at pains to point out that any Shining prequel “was in a very early stage and not even formally in development” and had no word on whether Stephen King - writer of the original novel - would have any involvement.

So would you like to see this particular prequel get the green-light?

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN and all work and no play makes him a dull boy. His idle chat can be found on both Twitter and MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

PlayStation Network Maintenance This Thursday

According to the European PlayStation Blog, the PlayStation Network is set for “scheduled maintenance” that will occur beginning on Thursday, July 26th. The maintenance will last for 16 hours.

The times listed for Europe (BST) are 4pm Thursday afternoon through 8am Friday morning. That translates to 8am on Thursday through midnight Friday morning (PT).

During the planned maintenance period, the PlayStation Store will be down for all platforms, as will account management and registration. However, Sony does note that “if you wish to play online during the maintenance, then you may be able to do so if you sign into the PSN before the start of the maintenance window.”

The US PlayStation Blog has yet to comment on the planned maintenance period, but chances are this outage will affect the entirety of Sony’s worldwide PlayStation Network. However, we’re still waiting for confirmation on that front and will update when we hear more.

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.

Source : ign[dot]com

Dead Trigger On Android Faces Rampant Piracy, Now Free

It's been said many times that Android developers find it hard to make money on Google's mobile platform, and this sad tale is further proof of that.

Developer Madfinger Games announced via Facebook on Monday that it's making its zombie first-person shooter Dead Trigger free on the Android platform, down from the lowly price of only 99 cents. 

But it's not a new "freemium" model that drove Madfinger's decision: It's what they refer to as the "unbelievably high" piracy rate on Android.

"At first we intend to make this game available for as many people as possible -- that's why it was for as little as buck," the developer explained on Facebook. "However, even for one buck, the piracy rate is soooo giant, that we finally decided to provide DEAD TRIGGER for free.

"Anyway, DEAD TRIGGER is not FREEMIUM, it always was and still remains FREE-TO-PLAY, that means, all players are able to play it without IAP (in-app purchase)!" the statement concludes.

While recent hacks have compromised in-app purchases on iOS, such a move would still be almost laughable on Apple's mobile platforms, where the App Store enjoys a much higher level of security for all but a select few jailbreakers. But it's a sad statement on the Android platform, when users aren't willing to part with even a buck to indulge in a quality game.

Meanwhile, Madfinger still offers Dead Trigger for 99 cents on Apple's mobile platform, and apparently has no plans to change its pricing scheme there.

Source : ign[dot]com

Louie: "Daddy's Girlfriend Part 1" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

I love Louis C.K. Only he could use the sentence, “I wanna f**k Scarlett Johansson“ as an example of times he’s been prejeduced. After all, he’s pre-judging her!

Per usual, I’m a sucker when it comes to scenes between Louie and his daughters. Jane’s oh-so peeved, “Why do I pay you tax?!” over Louie taking her French fry was hysterical. But of course what really got this episode’s story rolling in this scene was Lilly and Jane agreeing Daddy should have a girlfriend.

Louie’s search for a girlfriend got off to a typically terrible start and his disastrous hook up with a fellow comedian was great in its horribleness. Her constantly pointing out that she didn’t like having sex with him was pretty much a nightmare made real, capped off by her simply stating, “You’re bad at sex! You’re bad at it. It’s one thing you’re not good at, Louie.”

Louie fantasizing about the various teachers at Lilly’s school was another standout sequence, as even while fantasizing, he got more and more desperate, not making any distinction between who he was imagining.

And then, like the light at the end of a tunnel came… Parker Posey! The intercutting of Louie in his standup act, talking about how difficult it is to ask someone out, and seeing him go back to that book store over and over did a terrific job of underlining how much Louie wanted to make something happen… And have us simultaneously rooting for him and dreading what might happen. And I loved how his fantasies about her ran the gamut from passionate, book aisle sex to her laughing and having fun with Lilly – imagining her as the perfect girlfriend and surrogate mother all at once.

How amazingly bad/funny/great was Louie’s big, rambling “I’m going to ask you out” speech? The funniest line had to be when he said it must be difficult to be a woman in New York where you’re nice to a man and, “They respond by just torpedoing towards your vagina.” The whole time it felt like he may be ruining everything, so it was so satisfying to see things end on a very optimistic note, as she accepted his offer of a date.

Let’s cross our fingers for Louie next week, when this story continues… Though I know better to hold my breath for this to work in the long-term.

Source : ign[dot]com

Batman: The Dark Knight's TV History

The Caped Crusader. The Dark Knight. Batman has been reinvented many times since his creation in 1939, having at times represented all that is goofy about comic book characters and then all that is dark and serious about comic book characters.

With the super-mega-off-the-charts anticipated The Dark Knight Rises opening in theaters, we figured it was time to take an updated look at the history of Batman on TV. The character has been the focus of a huge amount of animated series that have been wildly divergent in styles. And of course, he’s also appeared in live-action on TV, including in a series that remains one of the most iconic comic book adaptations ever. Hey, that sounds like a good place to start!

Batman (1966)

This show holds a complicated place in the history of both Batman and comic book adaptations in general. Batman was a hugely popular series, and it's the reason Batman became one of the most recognizable and popular comic book characters in the world. Beyond that, it also made icons out of several Batman villains – The Riddler was an almost forgotten character until Frank Gorshin's gleeful portrayal and thanks to this show everyone soon knew who The Joker, Catwoman and Penguin were.

Of course where this show causes problems for modern fans is the tone – the epitome of camp, Batman, didn't take the title character, his "chum" Robin, or anything else in Gotham City seriously. While Batman was played with mock seriousness by Adam West, this was clearly a very jokey, very tongue in cheek series. Let's put it this way: is there any other incarnation of Batman where the Caped Crusader and the Joker are in a surfing contest with each other?

Because of this show and its popularity, comic book heroes would be perceived by many in the mainstream as very silly creations, something it's taken years to undo – and there are still articles about Batman that can't resist a "Holy something, Batman!" or "Bam!" joke in the headline.

The thing about the 1960s Batman though is that it's a very well done and very funny show. The show was intentionally played a certain way, and in that respect, it's a success. There are some completely hysterical, wacky sequences throughout this show, which is very much a product of the '60s, in all its trippyness. We all now know Batman as The Dark Knight, and that's how it should be these days. But this series showed that if you did play Batman for comedy, it could be legitimately funny. (Unlike, say, Batman & Robin).

The Batman/Superman Hour (1968)

With the Adam West TV series making Batman a household name, an animated series was the next natural step to capitalize on the Caped Crusader’s popularity. And while the Superman segments of this series were previously produced, the Batman segments were brand new – and featured many of the villains familiar to viewers of the live-action series, such as Joker, Penguin and Riddler, plus some like Scarecrow who never appear on the West series.

Batman and Robin were voiced by Olan Soule and Casey Kasem – and it wouldn’t be the only time famous radio personality Kasem would play the Boy Wonder. Ted Knight provided several voices again – again reflecting the live-action series – Commissioner Gordon and Batgirl had prominent roles.

The Batman segments of The Batman/Superman Hour would be repackaged many times on their own, including under the titles Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder and The Adventures of Batman.

The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972)

The New Scooby-Doo Movies was the second series starring the ever-popular paranormal investigating dog and his human friends. The episodes were an hour long – certainly unusual for a cartoon, though still a bit questionable to be called a "movie." On this show the Scooby gang teamed with a different guest star each week – some were real life celebrities, some were fictional characters.

An example of the latter is when none other than the world's greatest detective teamed up with Scooby-Doo. It's a bizarre pairing, and it actually happened twice – Batman and Robin were among a handful of repeat guest stars on The New Scooby-Doo Movies.

In both episodes, the villains were Joker and Penguin, both now widely known thanks to the Adam West series. That show's influence is certainly still felt here, as Batman & Robin don't act that dissimilar to the Adam West/Burt Ward incarnations.

Obviously, viewed now this is all ridiculous – It's Batman teaming up with Scooby-Doo! Of course, if you're a little kid, this is kind of the best, most amazing thing ever - It's Batman teaming up with Scooby-Doo!

Super Friends (1973)

For years the general public's main perception of Batman came from the Adam West TV series and this Saturday morning animated show. Of course, both portrayals of the Caped Crusader were just about as far removed from the popular Dark Knight incarnation of today as you could get, and yet the cheeseball, kindly, father-figure style Batman remains near and dear to many a viewer's heart for those of us who were a certain age when Super Friends aired over its long run, from 1973-1986.

Featuring an eponymous version of the Justice League called the Super Friends, because, you know, these guys are all friends, the show starred Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman, and Robin, the latter of whom the show's creators apparently felt was inseparable from his mentor. Debuting in 1973, the program was no doubt barely tolerable for adult comic-book fans -- and this in a time when superhero programming was much harder to come by -- but the kids loved it. Variations on the program would air with different titles and an ever-widening range of heroes and baddies, including some infamous inclusions like Wendy, Marvin and the Wonder Twins.

Many of Batman's enemies found their way onto the show, including the Penguin, the Scarecrow, and the Joker. Adam West voiced the character in the final two seasons of the show, though Olan Soule (reprising the vocal role he originated on The Batman/Superman Hour) and his stentorian-yet-gentle delivery handled the vocal chores for the bulk of the show, with Casey Kasem again voicing Robin.

The New Adventures of Batmn (1977)

This Filmation-produced animated series had Adam West and Burt Ward revisiting their roles as Batman and Robin. The Dynamic Duo were joined by Bat-Girl (voiced by Melendy Britt, who would later be the voice of She-Ra) and a completely bizarre character named Bat-Mite (voiced by Lou Scheimer, who would go on to voice many characters in Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, such as Orko). Bat-Mite was an annoying little creature from another dimension who considers himself Batman's biggest fan, sometimes helping him but most often just getting in the way. Not appearing in the series at all is Alfred (Bat-Mite probably drove him away).

Featuring a lot of the same campy humor and cheesy dialogue as the live-action 1966 series, The New Adventures of Batman is a far cry from The Dark Knight of today. Did we mention Bat-Mite had a prominent role!?

This series would be another that would get repackaged and integrated into other series in later years, with segments appearing in The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour, Tarzan and the Super 7 and Batman and the Super 7.

Legends of the Superheroes (1979)

Some Batman fans hate the 1960s Adam West series for its campy nature. Well, if you don't like that show, you might well implode when watching this. Adam West and Burt Ward donned the tights one last time for this bizarre pseudo-variety show, which does for the DC heroes what The Star Wars Holiday Special did for that franchise. And yes, that means horror beyond imagination.

Batman and Robin are joined here by a large group of other DC heroes and villains here, for what could be seen as the first-ever live-action incarnation of the Justice League. Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Huntress, The Flash, The Atom and Black Canary all got their live-action debuts, joining Captain Marvel on a show that for some of the above is still their only time to date appearing outside of comics and animation.

But don't get excited, because Legends of the Superheroes, which only aired two episodes, is truly, mind-numbingly awful. It's all played as broad, pun-filled comedy and not a lick of it works. There's one groaner after another, and seeing West, Ward (way too old to be playing "The Boy Wonder") and Frank Gorshin (back as the Riddler) doing such terrible material, it only elevates the legitimately funny '60s Batman series they appeared in more.

The first episode is at least watchable in a train wreck sense, as the heroes go outside and into action to try to stop a team of villains -- including Riddler, Solomon Grundy and Sinestro -- from their plan to blow up the entire world… a plan which the villains don't seem to have thought through, all things considered.

The second episode is even worse and watching it may cause harm to your soul. The episode is all contained on the shoddy set of the show, with a seemingly never-ending superhero roast, featuring Ed McMahon as MC. We only wish we were making this up.

How bad is this show? Well, there's a black superhero featured on the second episode, who goes by the name of Ghetto Man. Yes, really. Bad, stupid and offensive! It's a superhero trifecta! This would be the last time Batman would be seen in live-action until Tim Burton's first film – much like Batman & Robin, a long rest was greatly needed for Batman after this disaster.

Continue to Page 2, as Paul Dini and Bruce Timm create perhaps the greatest Batman adaptation of all time...

Source : ign[dot]com