LEGO Batman Review
A Review - By Gaetano Prestia
Traveller’s Tales knows the LEGO franchise. Including LEGO Batman, the company has developed five games for the toy franchise, all of which offer the same type of puzzles, the same level of difficulty, the same quirky and childish humour and the same sort of depth. While not one of the games offer anything revolutionarily different from the others, anyone who has enjoyed the formula in the past and has a liking for the Batman franchise will definitely find enjoyment in LEGO Batman. While the gameplay is the same as every other LEGO title we’ve seen, it’s set in an accurately depicted Batman universe, full with recognisable villains and Batman-esque plots.
Traveller’s Tales have gone in a completely new direction with LEGO Batman, making it the first title in the series that doesn’t follow a movie franchise. It doesn’t even follow the comic-book or 60s TV series of Batman. No, Traveller’s Tales have, in a move that might look like one major LEGO toy marketing campaign, decided to create an all-new Batman adventure that is seemingly focused around the toy collection. That means plenty of Bat-suits, weird contraptions and lots and lots of villains.
However, this isn’t really a bad thing. Mainly because it gives TT’s the opportunity to be even more wacky and childish than in previous games. The end result is a pretty humorous story direction with plenty of memorable moments from the characters, both in cutscenes and in-game.
The story follows the escape of a whole bunch of villains (so yeah, pretty much every villain in the Batman universe) from Arkham Asylum, with Batman hunting them down and bringing them to justice. What a coincidence that The Joker, Riddler and Penguin were all in the same place at the same time.
LEGO Batman offers some unique gameplay aspects that allows for the incorporation of a lot of the main characters. The first three acts put you in control of Batman and Robin, allowing you to switch between the two in good ol’ LEGO fashion. The two also have their own number of great special suits. Batman has a flying suit as one, while Robin has one that allows him to walk on metal objects. The suits are incorporated into the puzzles a lot of the time, but can be used during combat and add something different to the gameplay.
The final three acts put you in control of the villains in a unique twist on the series. Thankfully, the direction is a welcomed one. While Batman is (meant) to be the star of the show, the villains definitely take the cake with some fun combat mechanics and special abilities. Each villain has their own unique attack, with The Joker’s hand-shocker the funniest and most enjoyable of the bunch. The levels aren’t as complex as the Batman and Robin ones, but because the combat is more enjoyable, the final three acts definitely making finishing the game that extra little bit extra interesting.
LEGO bits can collected just like in previous LEGO titles and they can inturn be used to purchase extra characters, such as Nightwing, Batgirl and Man-Bat, for use in Free Mode through any level. These characters are pretty much integral to finishing the game 100%, as the original characters for the first playthrough can’t collect some of the hidden objects.
One of the best new additions to LEGO Batman is the driving areas. Each level has a part we’re you’re controlling a car, boat or plane, shooting your way through to a boss-battle. It’s a welcomed change from the common button-mashing combat that is present throughout most of the game and gives the game a new (and fun) direction.
Unfortunately, while LEGO Batman has many great aspects that have been carried on from previous games in the series, as well as a few new great additions, the game still suffers from similar problems that plagued its predecessors. Firstly, the game suffers from incredibly bad AI. While the enemy AI rarely makes a mistake, the friendly AI in single-player often makes solving a puzzle frustrating and impossible. Sometimes if you have to stand in one area while the AI has to stand in another area in order to progress through the level, the AI will move off its spot even a little bit, therefore halting any possibility of progression. This happens far too often.
Secondly, there is no online co-op. With a game like this, where team play and puzzle solving with a partner is so integral to progression, online co-op should be an absolute necessity. For the 5th game in a row Traveller’s Tales have not included online co-op. It’s unacceptable.
The characters you’ll come across in the game have been design very well. Their personalities match what you’d expect from each character, with The Joker being, well, a joker, Robin being a geeky moron and Batman being the heroic villain-basher that everyone has come to love over the years. Gotham has also been recreated well, giving the game a dark tone often associated with the crime-infested city. Overall, the graphical presentation is good with nice textures and colours and accurate character design.
With the soundtrack, Danny Elfman provides a fantastic version of his movie score from the first two Batman movies in the 80s and the sound effects are pretty much identical from the other LEGO games.
The Final Verdict
LEGO Batman is fun, no doubt, but at its core it’s pretty much the same as every other LEGO title. TT’s really haven’t expanded on the franchise. However, the unique and humorous story, great character design as well as a few extra additions to the gameplay – like the Bat suits and ability to play as the villains and unlock new characters – propel this to the top of the LEGO game franchise.
Gameplay
7.4/10
Lack of online co-op as well as idiotic AI can sometime dampen the experience, but overall, the puzzles are fun and the combat is enjoyable and unique.
Graphics
7.0/10
Nothing spectacular and pretty much the same as what was in previous LEGO titles, although the design of Gotham, as well as character accuracy, must be applauded.
Sound
7.0/10
Great Batman soundtrack from the original 80s Batman films.
Value
7.5/10
No online co-op, but a lengthy single-player with plenty to unlock and a worthy play through experience with the extra characters.
Overall
7.4/10