Lego Batman: The Videogame  

Played on Xbox 360 

Reviewed by Coxster 

Following the same formula as Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones - Lego Batman: The Videogame should already be familiar with most players.   This time around developer Traveller’s Tales have decided that their next adventure should be that of the Dark Knight and Gotham crusader, Batman.   Without a doubt this would definitely be one of my favourite Batman games and the developers have done the license proud.   It would be a fair criticism to say that the Lego gameplay might be starting to feel a tad bit stale but when you weigh in how good it plays and how much there is to unlock here you can’t help but feel that you have definitely gotten your money’s worth. 

Along with Batman and Robin you’ll also come across all the usual bad guys that we have come to know from the DC comics.   Two face, Poison Ivy, Mr Freeze, the Riddler, the Penguin and of course everyone’s favourite villain The Joker, all make an appearance and it will be up to the Dark Knight and the Boy Wonder to save Gotham once more.   There is a weak plot here about all the villains escaping from Arkham Asylum but it’s obviously an excuse to get all the villains together in one room for Batman to confront.   It really doesn’t matter about the storyline because when you think about it it is meant to be a game based on Batman using Lego so you already know that the story is only a means to an end.   Another point of interest is that this game doesn’t follow the style of the movies that strictly, which is good because I prefer it being based on the comic rather than the movies.   For a Lego game stick closer to the comic makes more sense in my head.  

There are plenty of goons to take out and you’ll find yourself walking the streets of Gotham beating them into blocks while you collect the loot that explodes out of them. Along the way you’ll find suits that Batman will be able to wear to overcome obstacles that you find on the way. You’ll have upgrades and suits that allow you to walk up walls and glide over larger gaps, the only problem with all this is that you often won’t be able to progress through the levels until you’ve found the suits and usually the suits are virtually right before the obstacle you’re trying to get over which takes out a lot of the guesswork.   When you take into consideration that this is a game that is accessible for all ages you can forgive the developers for making everything a little bit easier.    

As with all Lego games up to this point there will be plenty of levers to pull, chits to find and secrets areas to unlock.   The biggest criticism I could give Batman was that it has inherited the same problems that Lego Star Wars and Indiana Jones had.   It is still hard to gauge jumps because it’s hard to tell the difference in dimensions in certain parts of the platforming action. The combat isn’t very varied and gets old pretty quickly and your AI partners can sometimes be pretty dumb and no do what you want them to do when you want them to do it.   It really is a shame that Traveller’s Tales hasn’t addressed these issues and when you consider that this is their fourth release on the home consoles it really should be fixed by now.    

The above points of interest I’ve made is not to say that Lego Batman is a bad game, quite the contrary in fact.   The presentation and gameplay is excellent, probably the best looking Lego game out of them all. The streets of Gotham look brilliant and there is good use of lighting and design.   The character models are all done superbly and still retain the likeness of their counterparts quite well while still retaining the humour of seeing them in Lego form.    The framerate is rock solid as always and the sound effects and music are all spot on.   It all feels very authentic and more than just a Lego game that has been reskinned to incorporate the Batman feel.  

Unfortunately you have to complete a level before you can save your progress and sometimes the levels can be quite lengthy.   I really would like to see an option in the future that allows you to save at anytime on any level.   Another thing would have been online co-op which I couldn’t find.   You can play co-op with a friend on the same console and when I played this doing that it was great fun for both of us as there are plenty of puzzles and levers that need both players to cooperate before you can progress.    I would like to see Traveller’s Tales start to think of ways that they can incorporate multiplayer modes and maps at the very least a solid online co-op options, gamers these days require it.  

Overall: 

If you weren’t a fan of the other Lego games than Lego Batman won’t change your mind, but if you enjoyed those then this one will be up your alley and well worth checking out.   It’s stylish, it’s fun and it lasts forever.   It’s one of those rare games that all the family can play and have fun with.   If you enjoy these games as much as I do then you’ll agree with me why I gave this one 4 out of 5.   I can’t wait to see what Traveller’s Tales do next but I really hope that they sort out a few of the problems that have started showing up.   Considering that we are now several games deep into Lego territory it’s going to be harder to forgive in the future.   As it stands there is plenty of platform fun and Lego Batman is probably the best one of the bunch.   Fork out some money for this one and check it out especially if you’re looking for a game to play with a partner or your kids.