LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

Another Lego game released means another Lego game you can expect a review for. I may not be a diehard DC fanboy, but I like Lego games none-the-less so I started Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes with anticipation of that special kind of satisfaction that only Lego games can deliver. If you know what I mean then you probably have the game yourself. At any rate, this time around, TT Games has made their most ambitious move yet, creating an entire Gotham City to serve as your game hub. But does this new iteration on that same old formula bring anything meaningful to the table?

For the first time, a Lego game operates within the open world of Gotham City. This city is probably bigger than any level hub we have seen so far. Maybe 10 or 15 minutes to walk from one end to the other. Which is all fine and good, except that they use this open world to cover up the fact that there are only 15 levels in the game. The levels may be longer then they have been in the past but still, only 15. And of course what Lego game would be complete without having parts where you are left wondering what the heck you are supposed to do next. Luckily that only happened once or twice so that is progress. Along with the puny level offering there is plenty of optional crap to collect scattered throughout this open world, but if you aren’t one for doing all of that tedious work then you will find this Lego game very short and probably unsatisfying.

But not all of the changes they have implemented here are bad. Lego Batman 2 is the first Lego game to feature voice acting. And surprising as it may sound, the voice acting is pretty good. Even though there is a distinct lack of Mark Hamill, it is completely passable and the dialogue is actually quite well written. Plus they have revamped the combat system. It is still a lot of hitting square, but you only have to hit the henchmen once and they are dead. You can now string together a combo while you’re at it. At any time you can pick a baddie up and throw him down for studs. As you kill henchmen you see a little multiplier. You string together a few kills you will be prompted to hit circle instead of square and that will give you a large bonus to the number of studs you get for killing that enemy.

Other than that everything else is about the same. You have different suits that batman and robin use to traverse the 15 levels the game features. You will have another 250 gold bricks to collect to open some secret bonus level, buying another set of Red Cheat bricks, and building up Minikits, none of that has changed, and frankly at this point in the game, why would it? Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is a bit of a misnomer though. It should really be called Lego Batman 2 featuring Superman because he is the only other DC hero you get for the most part. There is a final battle that will feature a few other Justice League members but I can see that simply being a set up for a full out Batman 3: Justice League type of game.

In the end, Lego Batman 2 is a completely comparable Lego game. It may be a little light in the level offering and a heck of a lot lighter in the unlock able character offering compared to last time, but Lego Batman 2 doesn’t need 20 different forms of Harry Potter now does it? Just like we have seen time and time again, they have made minor tweaks to that age old formula and just like every time, I can really dig what they are doing. I don’t know if I would say it is the best Lego game I have played, but it is the most fine tuned. I have to wonder if this Lego craze will eventually die out. After all, I know they don’t sell as well as a Call of Duty. But they sell enough to keep them motivated to make more.