Lego Batman

If you liked LEGO Star Wars and LEGO INDY, then LEGO BATMAN is already in your Playstation....'nuff said. If you didn't like them...you won't like BATMAN...if you didn't try them, you should.

The LEGO games are fun for the whole family, young and old, the animated LEGO movie links to the gaming threads are wild & wicked and worth the purchase on their merits alone. The format for Batman is much like the Lucasfilm game sets, just not directly connected to any particular movies...although (thankfully) the Danny Elfman music (circa 1989) runs throughout the game, the style is generic Batman via LEGO LAND. The villains have teamed up to escape Arkham Asylum and the Dynamic Duo must stop them...each villain has a story arc to unlock, before free play is possible in the related locations...so like the previous installments, replay value is high, you can return to the story setting later as several optional characters including the villians themselves in order to find hidden "trophies" to build in Wayne Manor (part of the Batcave hub, where menus, story progress and unlockables lie). This way the same tales have many variations for players to explore, collecting the coin-like "studs" as currency for upgrades and unlockables. There's roughly about 30 separate levels to play, 15 in the hero chapters and 15 levels i the villain chapters.

LEGO BATMAN characters have individual moves, Batman for example can put baddies in a choke hold and throw them. An exciting addition to LEGO combat is the BATARANG, which will lock on targets for distance attacks. Introduced also, are special suits for Batman and Robin, these make certain combinations of characters a necessity for passing stages or solving puzzles...For example, in true comic book fashion,Robin can get a Magnetized-suit to scale metal walls, I can't explain the pleasure that came from watching Robin lumbering and buzzing up surfaces (sound fx here are classic) Other moves are standard for the LEGO games: grappling hooks for platforms and punching and kicking.

The character design is great and Gotham looks good...there are lest characters to be unlocked here than in any other LEGO game so far and lest upgrades as well. But as for the characters there are so good choices from the Batman Universe....Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Two-Face, Poison IVY, Mr. Freeze, Riddler, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, The Mad Hatter, even Bane.Like the heroes, each villain has their own special weapons and moves...I bet you can guess Banes.

Another LEGO staple is the mix and match at the hub, where you can customize a character for free play by swapping the pieces around.

No major complaints, it just seems smaller than previous efforts, maybe because no direct movie-tie-in was done...like the Trilogy format.
I do miss the "character quirks" introduced for LEGO INDY, like the fear of snakes and rats, effecting character behavior. Admittedly it doesn't work well with the superhero genre. Also, since this is a Traveler's Tales project with Warner Bros. and not Lucasfilm, don't expect to find any hidden Star Wars characters this time....sorry.

You'd figure that with two Lego Star Wars games and Lego Indiana Jones already under their belts, Travelers Tales' Lego games would be getting kind of stale. Well, you'd figure wrong. Lego Batman features everything that was enjoyable with the aforementioned games, and slaps the Batman license on it to boot. Playing as the Caped Crusader and his sidekick Robin, you traverse a Lego-fied Gotham City and take on the usual rogues gallery of baddies. Fans of the Batman comics will be happy to see plenty of familiar faces: Joker, Nightwing, Batgirl, Hush, Bane, and plenty more are all here for your amusement. If you've played any of the previous Lego-based games, you should already know what to expect here, as Lego Batman offers up plenty of funny and comical moments supplemented with tons of unlockables and bonus characters to boot. The game looks good and even offers Danny Elfman's classic Batman theme, rounding out the presentation. The only downsides to Lego Batman are the same flaws that were apparent in previous Lego games: the difficulty is simple to say the least, and the game isn't that long at all. Still, with the hordes of unlockables to find that will hold your attention and keep you playing for a while. All in all, Lego Batman is a fun and family friendly diversion that anyone can enjoy and easily pick up and play.

This is the fourth game in the LEGO series and aimed at DC Comics fans of Batman and Batman fans of all ages!
Like the other LEGO games is better to play with the aid of a second player, but this time unlike the LEGO StarWars and Indiana Jones games, puzzles and tasks can be performed without a second player. The puzzles here are challenging but simpler than previous LEGO game releases. But again players must revisit levels time and time again to gather the bat-canisters and red blocks. If all are collected new levels will open.

The controls are very easy to handle/operate, I must mention Batman and most of his friends have special combos when attacking the bad guys, push round and round buttons or round square for alternate moves.

Your mission is to become Batman or any of his allies including Robin, and later as you unlock them; Alfred, Batgirl, Nightwing, Commisioner Gordon and others., to capture the classic super villains of Gotham City including Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freese and others. Once you finished an entirestoryline mission, the game will unlock Arkham Assylum and lets you play as the villains! Depending the number and location of missions you have completed as the good guys, that's how many characters you'll unlock on the bad guys side of the game. This is probably the most original aspect of the game as it lets you become a bad boy or girl and wreck havoc in Gotham City.
Once you complete a mission in story mode you can revisit it many times over in free play and use new characters and vehicles you have unlocked. In the villain side of Arkham Asylum you can create your personal hero/villian male or female, (I tried to recreate the original Batwoman by Bob Kane) in the same manner as in the Lego Indiana Jones game.

Like its previous Lego games, you must find special canisters, red blocks and complete the meter on the screen to unlock all kinds of extra goodies.

The game's soundtrack music is taken directly from the Batman 1989 feature film. The mini movies are very funny and quite original. Though it might feel as a repetition of previous games to expert gamers, to Batman and Lego fans is quite the treat! I highly recommend it for all fans young and old like me, lol!

Note that all characters have their own distictive animation and movements and expressions aside from the ones in the mini movies.

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