There's something wildly addicting about LEGO games. That something is the smashing and collecting. Once again, a new LEGO Batman rolls around and completionists everywhere are pulling out their hair and screaming at their television sets. This is the first LEGO Batman game to appear on the newest generation of consoles. We got to try this game for Xbox One.
The story for the game is as follows:
"the Caped Crusader joins forces with the super heroes of the DC Comics universe and blasts off to outer space to stop the evil Brainiac from destroying Earth. Using the power of the Lantern Rings, Brainiac shrinks worlds to add to his twisted collection of miniature cities from across the universe. Now the greatest super heroes and the most cunning villains must unite and journey to different Lantern Worlds to collect the Lantern Rings and stop Brainiac before it’s too late."
There's more than 150 characters within the game, a bonus level inspired by the 60s Batman television series, and even specific theme songs that play on cue for certain characters. We'll get back more to that later on.
If you've played the last two Batman games, then you know exactly what you're getting into. However, while this game is called "LEGO Batman," it plays more like "LEGO Justice League." While Batman is pretty awesome, having the game open to more of the DCU heroes makes it a lot more fun and gives the player more willingness to come back for more. My biggest problem with the last LEGO Batman game was that it felt like it took forever to grab a hold of other characters.
The opening mission is Batman and Robin on the quest for Killer Croc. You learn the basics of the game here, as told by Batmite. You get the basics of the game here and one big thing you'll notice is that you can switch Batsuits or Robinsuits at will by holding down the "Y" button and selecting from the "Gadget Wheel." This is a nice break from having to construct a place for Batman to change his outfit in story mode. It makes the game run a tad bit smoother.
The game is exactly what you expect. Gameplay-wise, it's almost identical to the previous titles in the franchise. As always, there's two ways you can play through: go through the story as quick as possible or try and collect everything, which means having to replay certain missions in order to get everything. Keep in mind that collecting everything means you can unlock and buy new characters and even get Red Blocks which change how the game is played, like doubling the amount of studs you collect.
The next few levels are exactly as you'd expect. You take on some villains of from the DC Universe and then have to team up with them to stop Brainiac. We played about three hours into the game and got through what felt like the end of Act I; however, as you do in LEGO games, we also explored a bit too.
There are a few glaring problems in this game though and the first, which is something that comes up every time there's a new game, is the camera angles. During a scene where (spoilers) Robin has to fight Batman who is under Brainiac's control, a contraption falls that Robin has to build and use. After building and using the object, the camera centers on Batman, whom you have to go punch. The problem is that the block fell far enough away where Robin is off-screen and there's no way to move the camera to see where Robin is going. Spoiler Alert: I spent 5 minutes trying not to fall off the edge to get over to my target. The camera problems continue throughout the game. It's surprising that this wasn't something that was fixed since it's been a problem with the LEGO games since LEGO Star Wars.
The game is pretty good about letting the person playing the game know what to do. Throughout the game, it points you in the right direction. In a few cases though, where you have to do something for the first time, the helpful hints are gone. When you get used to playing a game that leads you are, you come to expect it. At one point, while playing as Killer Croc and two other characters, there was an object that needed to be moved. Throughout the level, I was told what I need to do or there were some very obvious panels that needed to be messed with. Now, there was nothing. After smashing everything in the room, I jumped into the water as Croc... Ugh.... He sinks. This was the first level with water in it where I was using a large character. It was aggravating and this wasn't the first time something like this happened in the game. Frankly, LEGO Batman 3 can be a little annoying when it comes to introducing a player to new gaming elements. It tells what to do for everything, except for certain elements you try on the first time.
The final real annoyance was the combat system. Obviously the game just has you pressing "X" a ton, but the problem was that the character felt uncontrollable. Every time you're in a battle, and you defeat one guy and want to move to the next, the character wouldn't move with you. They'd jump forward or go the opposite way. Basically, there's no flow to combat, and while it's understandable that this isn't a Batman: Arkham game or Shadow of Modor, players should expect some sort of flow within the combat.
As far as the look goes for a next generation system, it's hard to tell. Everything looks pretty clear and crisp and the lighting effects are really nice, but it's LEGO, a series of games not really known for their amazing graphics. More than anything, you'll be more focused on how great the voice acting is in the cut scenes.
Annoyances aside, there's a lot of fun, smaller moments in this game. Nothing brings me more joy than having Wonder Woman fly around the screen while the 70s Wonder Woman theme song plays. If you fly around with Superman, the theme for the 1978 Superman: The Movie plays, but the Wonder Woman theme is infinitely more fun.
One of the other new additions to this game is the ability to fly in space and battle. It's a lot like some of the boating and Batmobile battles from the last game, but surprisingly more fun and far less frustrating. You fly around, blowing up other ships and while the gameplay is pretty stripped down, it's a nice break from punching and kicking everything in order to collect studs.
Also, there's some great guest stars in this game too. Aside from Stephen Amell appearing as Green Arrow, each level contains a situation where you have to save Adam West from some peril. The best guest appearances come from Conan O'Brien, who serves the purpose of showing you around the JLA Watchtower, and Kevin Smith, who unleashes a fury of puns and introduces you to the Condiment King, who is also unlockable. As weird as it might sound, I found this to be pretty awesome, almost as awesome as when I found Dex-Starr, whose "meowing" voice-over will cause you to hit mute on your television faster than it takes Barry Allen to play a game of Risk.
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is exactly what you'd expect but bigger. Everything that made these games fun is still there, including a mildly comedic script and a plethora of amazing characters to play as. If you've enjoyed the LEGO Batman games in the past, you'll love this newest installment. However, if you find LEGO games to be tedious and redundant, then it's more of the same. The sad thing about this game is that it won't bring in new customers. LEGO Batman may be a lot of fun but the franchise isn't doing anything particularly new to revitalize the game. Sure, it's better than LEGO Batman 2, but not better enough to warrant people on the fence to buy it. It's fun, it's bigger, it's badder, but not too much has changed to breathe new life into it. DC fans and LEGO game fans will love this game though.
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is available November 11th in North America on Xbox One, Xbox 360, Playstation 4, Playstation 3, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, Playstation Vita, and PC.