Heck yeah, it's a keeper. I pre-ordered an LE, but due to the first 9 months of code I wasn't that enthusiastic about it until lately though. The most recent Lyman code updates implementing Minor Villains has blown it through the roof. First, it's an iconic, nostalgic license. Second, it's a really good licensing agreement, unlimited access to all 120 television episodes, video clips, music, call outs, and even personalized call outs by Adam West and Burt Ward. It's the opposite of X-Men, Avengers, GotG, and TWD in that department.

The art is superb, the crane and rotisserie are really great, and it doesn't shove a bash toy in your face other than the crane very rarely, which is nice for a change. The shots are tight, particularly the very important orbits. That's perhaps the greatest downside of the game, though practice and skill can prevail. It's not a cheap drain game and ball times are decent. It's the ultimate stackers game. You can literally fill up the big color LED screen with mini TVs of various modes rolling on top of each other. Start with a Major villain like Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, or Joker. Add in Bat Turn scoring, then add in a Minor villain like two-ball Shame, or Egghead, Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter, King Tut, or Bookworm, then lock in the primary multiball or Villain Escape and you have more going on than your senses can handle. Or, choose to play deep and explore the villains through 3-4 levels rather than arrest them immediately, which will really boost your scores.

The videos make sense, they're keyed to specific villains and episodes, showing progress after various shots are made as Batman & Robin fight the villains. There are cool combo graphics of the Batmobile, Batboat, and even Alfred on a Bicycle, etc. Imagine what the game will be like after Batgirl, Batusi, and other tricks Lyman will add in the future!

Villain Escape is unimaginative at this point from a scoring stand point, though it has been programmed into the game for a while as a goal for arresting the main four villains, without any changes that I've noticed. If Lyman is true to form, there will possibly be similar goal/modes at the end of battling the minor villains or completing their various seasons, or who knows what else. I suspect it'll improve significantly before all is said and done and with any luck, it'll roll down TWD path of having numerous mini wizard modes.