Lego Batman: The Videogame
Latest screenshots
View the gallery
LEGO Batman: The Videogame
Holy building-blocks Batman!
Batman has seen its share of video games, movies, television shows and comic book titles over the years. This DC vigilante and his boy wonder sidekick, along with an impressive collection of villains, comes to the smashing-blocks franchise with LEGO Batman: The Videogame. Traveller’s Tales has proven over the years with similar titles such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones that miniaturizing our favorite iconic characters into the world of LEGO’s is good, clean wholesome fun for people all ages. With several LEGO title’s under their belt, has this series perfected their winning formula or should you skip this bat-adventure?
Gameplay
Traveller’s Tales did something unique with LEGO Batman, foregoing an immense library of plots and story-arcs, they created an original tale. This takes the player on a completely unique adventure full of unexpected twists and turns, which proves quite refreshing. I hope TT continues doing this in any further LEGO titles. All the charisma that comes with a LEGO game remains untouched; Batman as the stoic and mysterious man in black and Robin as the playful and energetic goof. There is also a magnificent cast of villains appropriately thrown into the mix, all having their own insane quirks and delusions of grandeur. The game hasn’t changed much from past LEGO titles either, all basics are here but there are some new additions to that prove both exhilaratingly delightful and exceedingly frustrating.
While combat in Batman hasn’t changed much from other LEGO titles, it does employ combat devices like fighting combos, which give players a sense of authenticity. When fighting an enemy, players can press ‘B’, allowing characters grab hold of their enemy. Then by pressing either the ‘X’ or ‘B’ button they can perform one of two unique attacks available to that character. Of course players can still button-mash their way to victory, but the game entices players to do more by way of achievements for slamming goons to the floor as Batman and back flips as Robin. The game also arms players with some of the tools Batman has at his disposal, most notably the grappling hook and batarang. Batman’s grappling hook works similar to Indy’s whip in LEGO Indiana Jones, while the batarang tool works quite efficiently by holding down the ‘X’ button. Targets are then automatically identified by maneuvering the Bat-symbol over the screen using the left control stick. The batarang must return before new targets can be identified but in the meantime, any out of reach enemies are swiftly cut down. The only downside about the batarang is its necessity to be used for some enemies and objects and how easy it is to forget about this handy item even exists.
Like its sibling games, LEGO Batman divides each level into chapters within a total of six acts, the first three give player’s control of Batman and Robin in heroic like fashion through the streets of Gotham and the Bat Cave with a secret level in Wayne Manor. Here the game makes use of various costumes and vehicles to create puzzles. Costumes are easy to change between and players don’t need to fret about losing a costume; the game simply replaces one costume for another identifying each one as belonging to a specific character using color coded changing stations. The costumes force players to play together or solo players to switch between the caped crusaders in order succeed. Once a costume is unlocked, it’s then available in the bat-cave; the area players can retire to purchase a variety of characters, vehicles and data in-between levels. Even if some of these outfits don’t make much sense at times, they add a level of fun to the game that I felt was missing from the last LEGO game. Beginning with act two, players can access a screen within the Bat Cave taking them to Arkham Asylum and switching control to the villains that have been unlocked. These chapters give players insight as to how each of their ingenious master plans came into fruition but this is also where the game’s humor and silliness shines. Each of these rogues have their own “powers” that makes them unique such as Joker and his joy buzzer (special achievement if you manage to shock your mirror self), Poison Ivy who kills with a Kiss and the Riddler who can take control of certain civilians making them do his bidding.
While the game puts an entertaining twist on the Batman universe, it isn’t without the problems seem in past LEGO games. Studs still spill out and bounce off in frustrating directions and disappear as an in-game animations shows what new treasure was unlocked. There’s a few costumes that add frustration such as Batman’s Glide suit where judging landings is not all that easy to do. There are also entire levels around either car, boat or plane chases that will turn uber-geeks like me into giddy children. If it wasn’t for puzzles requiring exact precision that can be difficult with awkward driving mechanics, these levels might be a little easier especially for young children. I also found a few instances where studs had been placed just beyond reach and while the inclusion of the batarang will get a few of these knocked free, most often you will just stare longingly at them with hopeful wishing. The order in which villains are fought seems to switch from overly easy to beyond difficult as was the case with Mr. Freeze, one of the first villains fought by Batman and Robin. I admit it took me some time to defeat him as the same difficult camera that exists in every LEGO game, is present here as well. I lost many lives in early Penguin levels because it was impossible to tell what indeed was blowing me up after destroying objects. I would think by now, Traveller’s Tales would have fixed some of these annoyances but at least they seem to be improved a little. Anyone who found LEGO Indiana Jones maddening will feel some relief.
Graphics & Sound
The graphics haven’t changed from LEGO Indiana Jones except to give the game the backdrop of dark and grim Gotham. It’s easy to tell which objects are destroyable and which ones are not, most of the time. If you aren’t a huge Batman fan like myself, some of the character unlocks will seem unfamiliar, but the eye to detail with characters like Bat Girl, Nightwing and even Hush is impressive for a LEGO game. Sound effects from past LEGO games seem to be recycled and with an overly repetitive soundtrack, I found myself turning the sound off. Beyond that, this is a LEGO game, cartoony and simplistic but with nice hidden details that only fans of the Dark Knight may appreciate.
Value
With a return of the “Free Play” mode, this game offers tons of hidden agendas from flying helicopters to strange puzzles that seem random in their solution. Solo players will find the A.I. frustrating, but co-op players should have little to no difficulty. With a lack of online co-op however, unless you are a completion-ist or achievement junkie like me, you may find little reason to re-play levels as the caped crusaders or any of the rogues gallery.
Conclusion
LEGO Batman is a fantastic addition to this series by Traveller’s Tales. Whether you’re a parent looking for a family friendly game that young kids can enjoy and play without much help or a Batman fan who always wanted to run around as a the caped crusader; the game doesn’t miss on any mark. That being said, I would have thought by now that the LEGO series of games would have been perfected, and while I understand how much work goes into making any videogame, they are still playing with the same engine just different art-work. Hopefully we’ll continue to see more LEGO games; the series has been careful what they use for material. With that said, I would hate for them to see a winning formula and start turning everything into LEGO’s – I don’t need to see LEGO Barbie or LEGO Jaws. While nothing can top the Star wars LEGO games, anyone who enjoys the series or Batman, cannot miss picking this game up and adding it to their collection.
Verdict
For anyone who found LEGO Indiana Jones frustrating, this is a must buy. If you’ve been hiding under a rock and haven’t tried the series yet…go out now and buy it.
Pros
+ Original Story
+ True to the Batman Universe
+ Two fighting-combos unique for each character
+ Complete with Grappling Hook and Batarang
+ Play as Batman and Robin or any member of the rogues gallery
+ Rogues steal the show with humor
+ Easy control for young children and Family-friendly
+ Original puzzles and new levels built around car, boat and plane chases
+ Great unlockable characters like Nightwing and Hush
+ It’s Batman...
Cons
- Some puzzles seem to have random solutions
- Studs are sometimes beyond reach, can disappear while animations run
- Same difficult and awkward driving mechanics
- Same awkward camera
- Shouldn’t this series be perfect by now?
Final Verdict
Here's a small guide to help you understand our evaluation of games.
PRESENTATION GRADE
Can be from the game's box to the contents of the booklet, and even the game introduction. (Intro, menus, options, etc)
GRAPHIC GRADE
Up to what point the graphics have been worked on my the developper. The design type, the effort used for textures and environments, as well as animations and framerate.
AUDIO GRADE
Is the soundtrack a good match to the game's style, he ambient sounds keeping with the gameplay and the sound effects clear and convincing?
GAMEPLAY GRADE
Placement of the controls and the inferface that the player with be using during the game.
REPLAY VALUE GRADE
The most important factor in the evaluation of a game. It identifies the lifespan of the game and the fun of coming back again and again.
During my time at E3, I was able to take both Sony’s Move and Microsoft’s Kinect for a spin. Though they’re competing largely for the same market, they’ve each tackled the task in very different ways. With this competitiveness comes both companies’ claims that they have the best solution. So who really wins? It may be too early to tell,... 
RSS Feed