LEGO Charm, Batman Style

Published October 1, 2008

Developer Traveller's Tales has struck gold with its LEGO series, weaving unrelenting charm seamlessly with constantly varied gameplay and worlds so chock-full of creativity you'll want to traipse through them time and time again.

The dynamic duo goes LEGO!

This time the LEGO series takes aim at another American icon, Gotham's stalwart defenders, Batman and Robin, in LEGO® Batman™: The Videogame.

LEGO Batman defines light-hearted fun in gaming.

LEGO Charm
For those unfamiliar with the LEGO game franchise, Traveller's Tales picks up where your imagination left off as a child by creating every character, enemy, item or vehicle with LEGOs, and more importantly, designing gameplay that incorporates LEGOs into every corner of the game.

For example, many of the puzzles involve breaking apart and rebuilding new items with LEGO pieces, high scores are attained through collecting truckloads of LEGO studs, and new characters can be made by mixing and matching LEGO parts.

At no time during any of the plentiful story sequences does any character ever utter a word. Every bit of the plot, humor, and drama is handled exclusively with excellent animated hijinks and an occasional grunt, giggle, groan, or guffaw.

From the comically taciturn gaze of Batman reproaching the overzealous antics of a victorious Robin, to a brilliantly comic turn by the villainous Clayface playing "blocks" with a vault load of gold, LEGO Batman defines light-hearted fun in gaming.

Pick 'em up and throw 'em 15 times for an achievement.

Heroes and Villains
Where LEGO Batman differentiates itself from its predecessors is in its approach to the game's story. Previous LEGO games have been based off of movies, but this time LEGO Batman gets its own story. After all, as great as The Dark Knight is, it's not exactly LEGO-friendly.

In LEGO Batman, our heroes are faced with a mass breakout at infamous Arkham Asylum, including such notorious Batman foils as Two-Face, Catwoman, Mad Hatter, and Poison Ivy. It's the big hitters though—Riddler, Penguin, and Joker—that harness the miscreant power of their fellow villains in a three-part criminal saga (Riddler headlines the first, Penguin the second, Joker the last) that Batman and Robin must thwart.

In a startling but much-welcomed shift, you can play not just as Batman and Robin but also as the villains themselves. Put your LEGO criminality to the test in a comically villainous attempt to retake Gotham and finally spoil Batman's reign of justice.

Suit Puzzles
While cartoon action is found throughout all of the LEGO games, it's the puzzles that make these games go 'round. While LEGO® Star Wars™: The Complete Saga used The Force as the base for much of its puzzles, LEGO Batman derives the bulk of its brain-teasers from the many varied power suits at your disposal.

The Joker always has a good time.

For example, in order to navigate a particularly large gulf, you may need to access Batman's Glide Suit, climb to a high point, and fly across. You'll also need Robin's Attract Suit to vacuum up spare LEGO parts to create special items, or Batman's Demolition Suit to destroy particularly troublesome barriers. Whatever the puzzle, you can bet a special ability or power suit lies at the heart of the solution.

Freeplay and Co-Op
Longtime fans of the LEGO games can sleep soundly knowing that two of the franchise's most beloved features are front and center in LEGO Batman: cooperative support and free play. At any time, fire up a second controller and jump right into the action with a friend, making action a shade easier, and every cooperative puzzle much more fun to complete.

Replay any level you've already completed in Freeplay Mode, allowing you access to whatever characters (villain or hero) and power suits you want at any time in your quest to track down and unlock every last LEGO Canister and Power Brick in the level.

Arkham and the Batcave
In addition to the game's story levels, there are oodles of challenges at the hero's home base, the Batcave, and the rioting Arkham Asylum. If you can find every canister and complete every puzzle, achievements are earned for these levels. At the Batcave and Arkham, spend your hard-earned LEGO studs on new characters, items, and extras to use in Freeplay Mode.

LEGO Batman: The Videogame continues what has already become a sterling tradition of brilliant game design, filled with charm and creativity appealing to everyone, child or adult, hardcore or casual. This time, the game branches out with a story of its own, and the exciting new chance to experience the Batman mythology from the villain's perspective. To the Batcave!

Article by Ryan Treit