![]() And when Batman sends the Joker to prison, there’s a cutscene that shows the villain pointing a gun at his own head. And while it doesn’t appear that any cute little LEGO characters actually die during gameplay, hundreds are smashed into little LEGO bits. Mayhem here is part of the intended fun, and players are encouraged to break as many objects as possible-from streetlights to walls to LEGO people galore. And the story, while miles away from Christian Bale’s movies, is arguably a wee bit bleaker than those of previous LEGO games ( Indiana Jones, Star Wars). These little snippets are, in fact, far better produced than the Hanna-Barbera Batman cartoons I remember from my youth.īut while Gotham may be a brighter place in LEGOland, it’s not altogether sunny.Ĭompared to Robin’s crayon-colored getup, the landscape around him feels a bit gritty. ![]() Bad guy Clayface skids around in an office chair like a 6-year-old while his fellow villains plot and scheme. It’s actually the cutscenes that are the most enjoyable segments of the game, anyway: An overanxious Robin leaps off a ledge while a more pragmatic Batman opts to take the stairs. In the very first level, I was smashing bad guys, placing bombs and throwing grappling hooks like crazy when, all of a sudden, I got stuck behind a virtual wall and couldn’t get out. The game does a good job of training you in more “expert” maneuvers as you go along, and solving puzzles breaks up the monotony of, well, breaking up the bad guys.īut while LEGO Batman is simpler than some of those other video games out there, it has moments that will prove frustrating for some players. It’s a relatively simple game, designed more for casual players than obsessive ones. Along the way, Batman and Robin use grappling hooks and batarangs, drive the Batmobile, change into new outfits (which give the dynamic duo special powers, like walking up walls or the ability to place and detonate special bat-bombs) and build virtual LEGO structures-many of which they need to advance to the next stage. Here’s the best part: While today’s cinematic Batman is the ultimate loner, this game is best played with a pal.įor half the game’s 30 levels, players put on Batman’s cowl (or Robin’s mask) and fight their way through Gotham’s seedy underworld, populated by a gazillion villains, most of whom can be easily (and literally) dismantled with a few well-timed whacks. The music comes from Michael Keeton’s 1989 Batman, and the game’s plot is straight from the gamemakers’ imaginations. Robin gallivants in chipper red, yellow and green duds. LEGO Batman: The Videogame appears to reject today’s bleak Batman and instead takes its cues from campier incarnations from days of yore: The Dark Knight is in his familiar gray outfit from the comics and Saturday-morning TV. Unless, of course, you take Joker’s snarling question at face value and ask LEGO to make a kinder, gentler (and funnier) Gotham. Not exactly the right stuff for a kids’ video game. Indeed, the entire city of Gotham has become a place of nightmare, filled with shadows and darkness and impending doom. Never the cheeriest of superheroes, Batman has recently become the cinematic poster boy for heroic angst. And, though the Joker wasn’t talking to Batman, he might as well have been. So says the evil Joker in The Dark Knight, the bleakest Batman movie ever.
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