LEGO Batman: The Videogame

After enjoying Lego Indiana Jones quite a bit over the summer and having fun collecting absolutely everything in it, it was a no brainer for me to grab Lego Batman. After all, Lego Batman was every kids hero growing up in the 90’s and no one ever made a good Batman game. What gives? Finally, as cliche as it may sound, a good Batman game has arrived. Not as good as it could be, but it’s enjoyable.

If you’ve played any of the other Lego games (Star Wars or Indiana Jones) then you know what to expect here. Batman is built off the same engine and plays pretty much identically. Traveler’s Tales really does need to go in and modify the downfalls of the engine, but it’s not unplayable as goes with the others. In fact, you’ll even see many of the same things you saw in Indiana Jones including a whip for Catwoman and the infamous elephants. You can tell the feel/animations are pulled straight from the other game.

But really, lets look at what Batman brings new to the table. There are 3 main stories again, each consisting of 5 levels. This time, the stories are “original”. I quote that, because they really aren’t anything special and they are totally predictable, but we aren’t following along a movie this time. On top of those 3, there are 3 additional villain levels. I’m halfway through the second one of those, but they take place at the same time as the Batman ones, you just get to see what the villains are doing at that point in time before their face-off with Batman.

There are of course a ton of characters and power-ups to unlock. This game brings 2 new unlockables to this game. First is unlockable vehicles and second is unlockable suits. Batman and Robin both have several (6 I think?) suits that allow them to perform different abilities. For example, Robin has one that allows him to walk up metal surfaces and Batman has one that allows him to glide. On top of that, you can purchase suit upgrades which are gained through levels.

Mini-kits are back in which you collect 10 pieces per level to unlock things and on top of that there is a hidden red brick in each level. These are actually quite difficult to find, but are similar in fashion to the mail/mailbox in Indiana Jones. They unlock things like score multipliers or other easter eggs.

Achievements look pretty standard. There’s some for beating the different stories, unlocking things and the whatnot along with some character specific ones. Freezing people as Mr. Freeze, scaring people as the Scarecrow, etc. The full 1000 won’t be to difficult, but will definitely take some time to find all those things.

All in all, a good time. Not to difficult, so don’t come here looking for a challenge. It’s a good time and the Batman universe is enjoyable to explore as Batman and friends. It features all the same downfalls as the other Lego games (mediocre camera, mediocre controls, some overly un-obvious puzzle layouts, etc) and it’s about time some of these things get fixed really. But if you’ve enjoyed any of the others, or you’re just a Batman fan looking for a good time, you’ll have fun here.