Game Review: Lego Batman

Billy O'Keefe - Mclatchy -Tribune News Service

Oct 20, 2008

Lego Batman: The Videogame

Reviewed for: Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

Also on: Playstation 2, Nintendo Wii, PSP, PC, Nintendo DS

ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ (cartoon violence)

Never has the phrase "If you like this, you'll like that" applied quite so perfectly as it does to the Lego video games, which are such a bizarre marriage of formulaic and distinct that they're practically a genre unto themselves at this point.

Yes, if you liked "Lego Star Wars" or "Lego Indiana Jones," you'll probably enjoy "Lego Batman," which does just about everything - good, bad and in between - those games did.

"Batman" marks the first time Traveller's Tales hasn't had a movie trilogy to lampoon, which means there are no instances of Lego characters playfully mimicking movie scenes we all know by heart. But while that aspect of the games is missed, there remains no shortage of the pantomimic, slapstick humor that made those moments so special. And by giving the nod to the comic books instead of the movies, "Batman" provides itself all the liberty it needs to invite as many villains as possible to the party.

That, in turn, makes possible "Batman's" other big first: the chance to play as the bad guy. While you'll log in plenty of time as Batman and Robin, the game's darker half - in which you witness the other side of the story as The Joker, Clay Face, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman and a number of other villains - is the real treat.

Best of all: Each half is as large as the entirety of "Lego Indiana Jones'" complete storyline. This, along with the now-standard option to "free play" finished levels and unlock additional bonuses with any combination of heroes, villains and user-created characters, gives "Batman" a ton of content for completists to uncover.

Ready to take the good with the bad? Here's hoping, because "Batman" brings with it the same problems that have blotted past Lego games. You'll still miss the occasional jump due to a misbehaving camera or bizarre spatial relation problem. Most puzzles are intuitively designed, but there remains the occasional, comically vague exception here and there. Playing by yourself means contending with a dimwitted computer as your co-op partner. And while local co-op works as beautifully as ever, those without the luxury of a willing friend still cannot enjoy co-op online, even on the 360 or PS3.

As always, though, these games operate under their own set of strange rules that, lack of online co-op aside, remain strangely acceptable more than not. If you've played a Lego game before, you're plenty trained to just accept these issues in order to enjoy the games' upside, which in "Batman" remains tremendous as ever.

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