LEGO Batman (Xbox 360) Review

Posted by James McGee on 10.02.2008

The Dark Knight goes cutsie. The result is a great game as only Travelers' Tales can provide.



I’ll admit to being a shameless Batman fanboy, but his video-game efforts have been mixed, at best. Thankfully, Travelers’ Tales has come to save the day. With games like Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones under their belt, these guys have proven to be some of the most consistently entertaining developers in the business, and one of the studios that I watch intently for new projects. You can imagine my excitement when Lego Batman was first announced, and I’m happy to say that my expectations were firmly met. There are a few rough spots—most of them lingering problems from the other Lego titles—but all in all, Lego Batman is a fun, satisfying game that is sure to please gamers and comic fans alike.


Tiny. Plastic. Bad-ass.

Gameplay

You spend the majority of your time in Lego Batman jumping, building up piles of bouncing blocks, solving simple puzzles and punching other little plastic men. If you’ve played any of Travelers’ Tales other Lego games, this all should sound pretty familiar to you. The great double-edged sword here is that the formula is brilliant, but it never changes that much from game to game. What makes each entry in the series great are the subtle changes that help adapt it for a new property. While the core gameplay is the same, Batman and his pals have a host of new abilities that help add depth to puzzles, in addition to just being a lot of fun to play around with. Batman and Robin have a variety of different suits that grant them special skills, such as walking up magnetic surfaces, gliding long distances, and breaking glass with a sonic beam. These fashion accessories are, no doubt, a tongue-in-cheek nod to the myriad—sometimes ridiculous—costumes you see on Batman action figures, and just one of many examples of Travelers’ Tales trademark sense of humor. Villains also have their own particular skills, including immunity to toxic waste, high-jumps, and super-strength. Despite the same ol’ jumping and punching action, all of these skills—combined with the game’s ingenious puzzle and level design—make Lego Batman seem like a completely fresh take on the tried-and-true formula.

Travelers’ Tales unwillingness to change their formula means that the bad points of gameplay also come along for the ride. Jumping can still be an occasional pain thanks to no real camera control and pre-rendered environments. Where combat and puzzles can be forgiving, platforming usually isn’t, which can lead to some frustrating moments. Full-on vehicle stages also make a comeback, looking and playing very much like the space-craft sequences from Lego Star Wars II…and that’s not a good thing. These stages are chaotic, with maddeningly imprecise controls, and are generally exercises in frustration. Latching onto a bomb with your Batcopter’s tow cable, then pulling it slowly through the air toward your target, only to get it caught up on a piece of scenery or watch it float harmlessly past the mark can make you a little crazy (maybe that’s the real story behind the Joker’s insanity!). A Batman game without his wonderful toys just wouldn’t seem right, but surely there’s a better way to work them in. Thankfully, there aren’t a great many vehicle stages, and the madness is usually over pretty quickly. These aren’t huge complaints in the long run, but the jumping problems and vehicles are lingering flaws that Traveler’s Tales should really tweak a little before the next Lego game.


Vehicle stages can be a hair-pulling mess.

Graphics

Like the gameplay, Lego Batman keeps the graphics deceptively simple. Character models look exactly like little Lego men, though they have a bit more flexibility. Environments tend to be pretty dark, which occasionally makes it hard to see exactly what’s going on. But this is Batman, and darkness is his natural element. Bump up the brightness a few notches on your TV, and you’ll be fine. The backgrounds are actually wonderfully detailed—seemingly much more so than any of the other Lego games. This incarnation of Gotham City is clearly inspired by the Tim Burton films, with exaggerated lines and quasi-art-deco stylings.

The only real qualm I have with the graphics, again, comes in how it affects the jumping mechanics. The backgrounds are not fully 3-D, but rather pre-rendered. So if the angle isn’t conducive for lining up your jump, tough. That’s really the only angle you’ve got. Again, this is a small nit-pick in an otherwise great package, but seeing as how platform jumping is such a big part of the game, it would be nice if it wasn’t such a chore sometimes.

Sound

Lego Batman recycles most of its sounds from previous games, but that’s okay. There’s something comforting and very satisfying in hearing the familiar rattle of blocks, jingle of studs, and explosion of pieces as you smash a table. All of these signature sound-effects are on their way to becoming as iconic for fans of the games as Pac-Man’s “wakka-wakka” or Mario’s mushroom power-up. They’re one of the things that brings a smile to my face whenever I drop a Lego game into the disc drive.

New sounds are equally appropriate, and help solidify that, yes, this is definitely Batman. Danny Elfman’s score from the 1989 film provides the background music, and the voice cast is simply brilliant in their portrayal of Batman, Robin and their Rogues Gallery. Yes, I said “voice talent.” Like other Lego games, this one features no words—only grunts, mumbles, and mutterings. But the actors behind those sounds capture the characters so perfectly in their monosyllabic gibberish that it’s honestly a little astonishing. Batman grunts in a convincingly brooding tone. Catwoman purrs and coos seductively. Clayface utters the most adorable, dimwitted noises. These are small details, but the sound design adds so much to the game.


Playing as the villains adds some fun and longevity to an already feature-packed game

Lasting Appeal

There is a ton of content in this game. Two full story campaigns—one as Batman and Robin, the other from the villains’ point of view—make it feel like two, distinct games in one. After that, you have Free-Play mode, where players get to revisit each stage, switching between all of the various characters they’ve unlocked, using their new abilities to reach areas that were previously inaccessible. All of this character swapping helps in collecting the ten mini-kit pieces (which go toward constructing a unique Lego model for each stage) and the red brick (which unlocks extras like invincibility and suit upgrades) scattered about each level.

All of the studs players collect can be spent on upgrades, cheats, Batman trivia and extra characters. The latter will be a real treat for fans of the comic, as they will have the opportunity to play as Nightwing, Batgirl (the Barbara Gordon version), and other familiar faces from the comics. It’s a geek’s utopia!

Then you have co-op, which is always a big selling point for these games. Aside from the fact that one of the Xbox 360’s achievements (built-in replay value in themselves) centers on co-op, this is the type of game that is just more fun with a friend. The accessible, family-friendly nature of the Lego universe means that the partner you choose can be of virtually any age or video-game experience. In short, there are a lot of reasons to revisit Lego Batman, and the experience is enough fun that you won’t mind the extra trips through.

Fun Factor

And fun is the final word here. It should always be the top priority for games, and Travelers’ Tales never fails to deliver in that regard. Aside from the inherently satisfying gameplay, you have the signature humor at work that makes Lego Batman a joy to play. Though it takes cues from all corners of the Batman universe—films, comics, cartoons, etc.—this game does not adapt a specific storyline like previous Lego titles. While the story is simple—bad guys break out of Arkham Asylum, cause havoc, Batman and Robin have to round them up—it gets the job done, and proves that the developers can still craft a humorous narrative without simply spoofing famous movie scenes.

Most of the funny bits come during cut-scenes, which are filled with sight-gags and silly slapstick. Whether it’s Batman casually catching a Batarang (which he tossed about a minute and a half ago) without looking, or Killer Moth reaching longingly for lamplight while Joker tries to break-down the evil scheme, the writers have filled these scenes with plenty of little details to chuckle at. And on a side note: Yeah, Killer Moth is in this game. Killer Moth! That’s an obscure villain even for comic fans, and a sure sign that the designers had as much fun dreaming this game up as players should have playing it.

The 411

On the surface, Lego Batman may seem like the same game we’ve been playing since the original Lego Star Wars. But Travelers’ Tales has embraced the philosophy of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” in the best way. They have tweaked their winning formula to make sense in the context of the Batman universe, without losing any of the charm and accessibility that made the other Lego games such a success. The result is satisfying gameplay, tons of replay value, plenty of tidbits for comic fans, and above all, a lot of fun. There are a few minor flaws (although the vehicle stages feel like major flaws after a while), but the total package makes up for those. I’ll admit to being a little sad that there’s not another Lego-themed game on the horizon, but I’m certainly excited to see where the series will go in the future (Lego Justice League, anyone?).

Graphics	8.5	Maybe the best looking Lego game to date, the environments are beautiful, detailed, dark, and gritty, while characters are cute and perfectly blocky. The pre-rendered backgrounds do mess with jumping, though.
Gameplay	8.0	Lego Batman simply updates the formula that has worked in other games and adds a few new touches of its own. The results are satisfying on the whole but, seriously, we need to do something about those vehicle stages, Travelers’ Tales.
Sound	9.0	Danny Elfman’s score and some very expressive grunting make the sound design an integral part of the package here.
Lasting Appeal	9.0	With achievements, collectibles, unlockables, and co-op, you’ll be revisiting Lego Batman for hours after you’ve finished the two storylines.
Fun Factor	10.0	No other series embodies “fun” quite like this one. It’s just impossible not to smile while you’re playing this game.
Overall	9.0   [  Amazing ]

Screenshots
All 14 LEGO Batman Screenshots