Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel. With these words children in the 1960's would huddle around the television set, discussing what would happen to the caped crusader of Gotham. Nowadays, children and adult sized children get to huddle around their smart devices and become Batman. Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, developed by Netherrealm, the makers of the hit arcade fighter Mortal Kombat, allows players to take on the role of Batman and save the city of Gotham from the inmates of Arkham Asylum. Batman: ACL is meant to be played on the latest tablets, such as the Samsung Galaxy and Nexus Seven, even though it is compatible all the way down to the Apple iPhone 3G. Yeah!

Batman: ACL was developed on the Unreal Engine, the same game engine that was used to make Infinity Blade. And it shows. The graphics are as crisp as you can expect for a mobile game. While the controls are different from Infinity Blade, comparisons can be made. The developer took the same formula that made Infinity Blade and changed it just enough to call their own. However, some gamers might argue that the changes were made for the worst. Players will use swipe controls to make Batman punch and kick, while Batman is basically acting as a standing turret. Players cannot move Batman around in the map as they might like. One of the best parts of the gameplay is the Batarang. Quite honestly the game could have benefited from more use of the Batarang. To control the Batarang, players will use their devices gyroscopes and tilt the device back and forth, up and down, to lead the Batarang to their target. This is by far the most fun game mechanic in the whole game. It is disheartening that a developer with the pedigree of Netherrealm, would have a shoddy fighting mechanism, that sometimes will not register that the player has made the swipe or tap at the right time.

Batman: ACL benefits from having a big budget attached to it and it really shows in the graphics and sound of the game. Being the mobile version of the home console game, it is able to use the same voice actors. The voices of the cast offer some of the best acting in any mobile game. Gamers can find themselves becoming immersed in this tiny game just based on the sound alone, especially if the player has a set of headphones.

The graphics of Batman: ACL are above average for a mobile game. The details have a way of really standing out regardless of the screen size of the device. The game also has different skins for Batman including the style made famous by the 1960's sitcom. Batman: ACL is available on the iTunes store and on Google play store for $.99 and $5.99 respectively. It is safe to say that at $.99, it is well worth the download and price of admission. So, iPhone users have no excuse not to satisfy their inner bat.