![]() With the likes of Clayface, Killer Moth, Man-Bat, and more, the Villain Story is arguably more interesting and versatile than the Hero Story. Freeze can turn enemies into solid blocks of ice, and Harley Quinn can seduce guards into opening new passages. The Joker can use his electric handbuzzer to charge generators, Mr. Playing as the villains is also much more varied than Batman and Robin, since they have a much wider set of skills. ![]() This isn’t a simple retread of levels, but rather a whole new set of locations. The Villain Story is unlocked after completing the first act in the Hero Story and lets you play as the different villains and experience events from their point of view. What really makes these missions fun is the Villain Story and Free Play mode. You never get stuck on anything for more than a minute or two and most puzzles simply require throwing a switch, weighing down a platform, or finding a way to break a large object. As for puzzles, they find the perfect balance between challenging and breezy. The actual jumping feels good, but the limited camera control makes it incredibly hard to line up your jumps, which can result in several minutes of frustration since you simply can’t make out the correct elevation of direction a platform is set on. Platforming is a huge part of LEGO Batman, but it’s also sadly the worst. Combat is as simple as mashing a button to smack enemies and holding it to throw Batarangs to hit them at range, so if you’re looking for deep combat mechanics then you might want to look elsewhere. It’s actually a clever way of mitigating the immensely smaller roster, so it’s neat to see how the different elements of the game are balanced with these two characters in mind.Įach mission tasks you with plowing through waves of criminals, jumping up, down and across various platforms, and solving puzzles to progress. The different suits are also unique to each character, meaning Batman can’t wear Robin’s suits and vice versa. Suit stations appear through each mission and can enable you to glide, interact with special technology, use a sonic gun to break glass, and more. Since Batman and Robin are the only initially playable characters, you have to swap out which suit they’re wearing to gain access to new abilities. ![]() The typical LEGO formula sees you swapping between different characters to use an array of abilities to navigate through each environment. They also make great use of Batman’s roster of villains, implementing the likes of Bane, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and more to give you an exciting boss fight at the end of each mission. Each act is broken into five missions (four on foot and one in a vehicle) and do a commendable job of mixing platforming, combat, and puzzle solving into a fun experience. The first is centered around the Riddler, the second focuses on the Penguin, and the third features the Clown Prince of Crime himself: the Joker. The game is broken into three acts with three major villains and their gang of baddies wreaking havoc on a different part of Gotham. The plot of LEGO Batman is simple: all of Gotham City’s villains have broken out of Arkham Asylum and Batman and Robin need to find them and bring them back. This design choice calls for a more simplistic storyline that can be told purely by visuals, which is a neat restraint to see executed, but it also makes the story feel less engaging and more like a series of loosely connected events than a firmly established narrative. LEGO Batman was released back when Traveller’s Tales avoided dialogue entirely and had all of the LEGO interpretations of characters mime, grunt, and perform slapstick humor to get their story across. The recent games feature a mix of newly recorded dialogue and actual audio clips from the source material the games are based on, but that wasn’t always the case. If you’ve only played the modern LEGO games by Traveller’s Tales, then jumping into LEGO Batman might be a shock. While returning to this game has undoubtedly been a rush of nostalgia, there’s also a few aspects that haven’t aged nearly as well as they could have. I first played LEGO Batman when it launched in 2008, but when I saw it featured in Xbox’s Games With Gold service earlier this year, I quickly claimed it so I could replay it and write a review, since that’s what I do now. I’ve played virtually every game Traveller’s Tales have crafted starring everyone’s favorite interlocking brick system, so to say I’m a fan of this studio and their work is a bit of an understatement. Xbox 360 version reviewed on Xbox Series SĪs much as I love complex, emotionally nuanced, and thought provoking works of art, I also love the simple joy of smashing things to pieces in LEGO games. Available On: PC, DS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360
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