[360/PS3] - LEGO Batman Review

[AgtFox]

LEGO Batman Review

Title: LEGO Batman
Platform: 360/PS3 and all other platforms, including Steam
Developer: Traveller’s Tale
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
ESRB: Everyone 10+
MSRP: $49.99 (360/PS3)
Editor: Loren 'AgtFox' Halek

What's Hot: Best LEGO game yet, playing as the villains, original story, a lot of funny parts

What's Not: the LEGO gameplay template is getting long in the tooth

LEGO Batman is the newest game in a series that has seen two Star Wars games and an Indiana Jones game. This newest one is probably the best one by Traveller’s Tale so far, most likely because it has an original story and does not need to rely on repurposing the story of motion pictures into a game. Here we have a game built upon playing as both the heroes and villains through three hub episodes on each side.

The very opening of the game sees the Rogue Gallery breaking out of Gotham and splitting into groups with the Riddler leading one, Penguin another and Joker all by himself. That is how the episodes are divided and you can choose any episode you want. I decided to go through them in order of course, so I started with the Riddler’s five stages. He brought with him the likes of Clayface, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Two-Face. Each of the stages is centered on at least one of them. In fact, before each stage they have a short text explaining who the Batman enemy is and their backstory which will of course help people that don’t know much about the comic universe.

The first thing I realized playing through these initial stages was that there were several places where Batman and Robin were useless to do anything such as move items with orangish handles on them. Anyone that has played a previous LEGO game knows that you can later come back to it once all characters are unlocked and you can freeplay through the game. This is a common LEGO game staple by now, so no one should be too surprised by this revelation. There is at least one cool thing in this game though and that is that Batman and Robin can change suits at stations they either build via uncovered bouncing LEGO blocks or ones that are already there. Batman can put suits on that allow him to glide over chasms, use bombs to blow up silver LEGO items, a suit with a sonic gun to crack windows and wear a red suit to survive through hot areas. Robin’s suits are one with magnetic feet to walk up magnetic areas, a technological backpack suit that lets him use electronics, an attract suit that lets him vacuum up LEGOs and an underwater suit that allows him to go to the bottom of water tanks. When you gain use of other Batman heroes like Nightwing and Batgirl, they can also use many of these suits. The suits add a different element to this game than previous LEGO games, so it is much appreciated.

Once through the Riddler section or one of the other two episodes, you can go back to the Batcave and pull a level by two screens that will then change the perspective to Arkham Asylum and allow you to play as the villains from the episode you just completed. You play through a number of episodes as different villains, usually one of which is the main enemy in the episode. You play through episodes revolving around their setup of the plan that Batman and Robin foil. On the villain side you start to run into characters with super strength (Clayface, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, etc.) and ones that have special abilities such as Ivy, Two-Face and Clayface’s ability to walk through acid or Riddler’s ability to hypnotize people with his cane. Those are just a few extra options that the villains have over the heroes. The places I talked about above where Batman and Robin couldn’t do anything, characters like Clayface could move something that requires super strength. Playing as the villains is easily the draw in this game because their sections are far more fun than the hero side of things. Add into this the fact that if you went through just the good guy’s side of the game it would be over pretty quick and makes the game shorter than the others.

Much like the other LEGO games there are a ton of characters to unlock on both the hero and villain side of things. Also like previous games, after you beat the game once it is totally up to you whether you want to go for the whole 100% or not by going through each episode via freeplay and unlocking all the stuff in them with different characters. I personally usually have so many games to play that I don’t do much with the backtracking and collect-o-thon that this kind of thing turns into. Your mileage will always vary in this case, but the fact is that LEGO Batman has the same type of replay value as the other games have had.

It is also important to note that this game does have co-op gameplay in it, but you can only play locally and not online. As I was playing through by myself I was finding that my friendly AI was even more useless than I remember it being in LEGO Indiana Jones. You almost always have to beat up the enemies and do everything. The game almost calls out for you to play co-op with a family member. Playing with another person makes the game that much more fun than playing through it by yourself. That is not to say the game isn’t enjoyable by yourself, but chances are you’ll have more fun with someone else.

The only thing that holds this game from being classic in my mind is that the LEGO game template has become a bit long in the tooth. You destroy everything to get a boatload of LEGO pieces, play through a puzzle or two and maybe drive a vehicle here and there. All they are essentially doing is putting different characters in the same sort of gameplay template we’ve seen before with different level design. Is this a bad thing though? Probably not because children for sure are going to love the game and older people will probably enjoy it for the Batman information it provides and the story/funny parts it contains

LEGO Batman is an easy buy recommendation, but certainly not the classic it could have been since it is essentially the same gameplay in a different suit. Traveller’s Tale can certainly continue popping these games out and making lots of money for their publisher, but maybe trying another angle with these all-ages LEGO games would be a good change of pace. Come for the playable heroes, but stay for the villain’s side of the coin and you’ll have a lot of fun.

Score: 4 out of 5 CoGs


Loren says, "Buy It!"

- Check out a co-op specific review of this very game over at Co-Optimus

- Review this title yourself over at Play It Review It

*Note: Review is based upon 360 version of the game

[bapenguin]

Nice job! I love the new format.

[roboninja]

Nice review, Fox. Of course, I would be remiss not to mention that the Steam version is only $29.99 I might pick that up.

EDIT: The links at the bottom are a good idea.

[AniAko]

I swear, if you guys get any more clever with integrating the site, I'll just SHIT! Awesome review Agt

[Typical Michael]

I am getting this for my birthday, I'm excited.

[AgtFox]

Originally Posted by roboninja

Nice review, Fox. Of course, I would be remiss not to mention that the Steam version is only $29.99 I might pick that up.

EDIT: The links at the bottom are a good idea.

I can put in the rest of the systems and prices, but I felt it would get to be a bit too long of a line considering this game is out for pretty much every system.

The links to the systems at the top are Amazon referrals btw and help the CoG Network as a whole (i.e. not just this site) if you use them.

I did put in "including Steam" on the platform line.

[Cupelix]

My wife and I still haven't finished our trips through Lego Star Wars, despite my love for the SW universe. I carry a Batman pocket watch, so hopefully this will have a level of charm that gets me through the game, since they do tend to get a little repetitive. I wonder if my wife will fight me for control over Batman...

P.S. I love the new user titles.

[AgtFox]

Oh yes, I hope to find some way to make the box for What's Hot/Not smaller than it is. Have to figure out how to do a graphic box instead of using a quote for it. It's the only thing that looks really odd in the reviews, but it does its job for the moment.

[TheFlyingOrc]

It's definitely a step above LEGO Indiana Jones. Funnier, better designed, and longer.

[dotbomb]

Nice review. My 5 year old has seen the commercials for this and is chomping at the bit to get it since we played through lego star wars together. Christmas is right around the corner. Both of us can't wait!

[SPBTooL]

Good review. My oldest girl is starting to get to an age where she can really play. It might be time I start stacking up on these types of games.

[roboninja]

Originally Posted by AgtFox

I can put in the rest of the systems and prices, but I felt it would get to be a bit too long of a line considering this game is out for pretty much every system.

The links to the systems at the top are Amazon referrals btw and help the CoG Network as a whole (i.e. not just this site) if you use them.

I did put in "including Steam" on the platform line.

Hey, no worries. I just wanted to point out the surprisingly low price on Steam. I would pick this up for the PS3 instead, as action/platformers tend to be better on consoles. But with the $20 price difference, I might just stick with Steam.

[Spigot]

I feel like an idiot, but I couldn't beat Mr. Freeze when I was renting this. I was playing the PS2 version and it just didn't feel 100%... I want to rent the 360 version and take it for a spin.

[Telefrog]

Great review! I would add that although the Traveller's Tale LEGO gameplay conventions are getting long in the tooth, most kids don't care. In fact, my kids would be happy if these don't change one iota from installment to installment.

[AgtFox]

Originally Posted by Telefrog

Great review! I would add that although the Traveller's Tale LEGO gameplay conventions are getting long in the tooth, most kids don't care. In fact, my kids would be happy if these don't change one iota from installment to installment.

Yeah, I put that in the 2nd to last paragraph where children probably won't care and older people will still enjoy the game.

[Blue]

Awesome review, thanks Fox.

My buddy picked this up for the Wii when it came out and we played through the first few missions. While I agree that the formula is getting a bit stale, it's surprising how just a Batman coat of paint can make me re-fall in love with the series. Fun levels, cute puzzles and a must for any Batman fan.

Once the holiday season winds down and we hit the dry season, I think I'll settle down and pick this up. Fun game.

[DjinniMan]

Well done on your review, you pretty much nailed it. Did you find it to be shorter or longer than Indy? I thought it was far shorter, but could be because I liked it more.

[AgtFox]

Originally Posted by DjinniMan

Well done on your review, you pretty much nailed it. Did you find it to be shorter or longer than Indy? I thought it was far shorter, but could be because I liked it more.

I think it is shorter if you only play the hero parts. If you also play the villain parts after finishing an episode it makes it longer than Indy.

[pomeroy]

Looks great. Definitely am going to play this at a much later date (probably when I actually play Lego Indy).

[agentgray]

I wish that Traveler's Tale would fix all the weird things that make these LEGO games slightly frustrating (weird camera, cliff falling, other character getting in the way, etc.). Every game in the series has had the same problems.

I don't think they will though because the millions of dollars they make justify not making it better. (I tend to think The Force Unleashed will suffer this same fate.)