Review

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

It seems that the stars have aligned again. Last year, we got to experience the awesomeness that is LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. This year we’ve got LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, one of the best DC-inspired games I’ve ever played!

The LEGO Batman 3 plot is centered on Brainiac’s need to collect things. Based on an early version of his character, this alien android has been shrinking cities and storing them in bottles on his massive space ship. As with all villains, he grew tired of “settling” on his current acquisitions and decided to go for bigger game. I mean, why take cities when you can shrink entire planets? The only thing standing in his way are DC’s wide assortment of heroes (and villains) who are determined not to live out the rest of their days in glass bottles.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the LEGO games’ formula, it requires  players to work their way from point A to B in mostly linear levels. They’ll use multiple characters per level, switching back and forth between them in order to utilize their special abilities and solve puzzles. Batman may be needed to find clues that other character can’t see for instance. Enemies can be dispatched with simple button mashing and the platforming segments are rather forgiving; the LEGO games are made to be accessible to all ages. Throughout the adventure, gamers will collect studs which can be used to purchase new characters, vehicles, special perks (Red Bricks) and more. They can be found scattered around the various environments and in everything, promoting large scale destruction. Beyond that are other collectibles hidden in each level that can only be obtained by select characters. Once a level is completed in the campaign, a free play version is unlocked. Here is where players can use any of the characters they’ve unlocked (and/or purchased) to find those remaining goodies. All of these elements, combined with the fan service from whatever featured franchise (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc.) creates hours of fun for the whole family.

Of course, this basic formula has evolved over the years. The stories being told are more sophisticated than previous entries, yet aren’t too complicated for younger audiences to follow. Voiced cutscenes still provide TT Game’s unique brand of humor, the worlds are more realized then ever before (with an awesome attention to detail in LEGO form), and the combat is just as entertaining as ever. Honestly, punching LEGO minions in the face and watching them explode into studs never gets old. LEGO Batman 3 ups the ante again with new features that could become franchise staples.

One new element comes in the form of special action segments. For instance, when Brainiac first attacks the Watchtower – the super heroes’ base of operations – we’re introduced to a flying section in the same vain as Resogun. You control a spaceship or hero that flies in an orbit around the Watchtower as you blast alien ships with rockets and lasers. There’s also VR puzzles where you don Tron-like gear and move around a grid within a computer. Sometimes you’ll have to activate switches before the floor drops from underneath you. Other times you may have to stop a Brainiac virus while avoiding the gaze of his sentries. These types of diversions don’t offer any real depth but they do break up the repetitive gameplay with a nice change of pace.

Another new element is how the hubs (the places that link all of the levels) are done. In LEGO Marvel, gamers could explore a studded version of New York City. There was plenty to do in that sandbox between levels, allowing for hours of fun in a large area; you could really stretch your legs as you flew, swung, or super jumped around the city. I couldn’t wait to do the same in Gotham and Metropolis as I just knew TT was going to expand on the hub environments. That wasn’t the case, at least not early on. The majority of the game takes place in cramped places like the Batcave, Watchtower, and the Hall of Justice. Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome to play around in these places. But going from a large open world to small “buildings” was a bit of a letdown. The good news though, was that late in the campaign I was able to unlock the Lantern home worlds (sans Oa) to explore. Nok, Odym, Okaara – every planet is available with its own set of collectibles, puzzles character unlocks and more. It was extremely cool to be able see Atrocitus’ throne on Ysmault and fly around as Saint Walker on Odym.

In terms of size, each planet isn’t that big; it takes less than a minute to circle one completely. That said, there are multiple planets to explore. Add this to the more cramped places I mentioned earlier and you actually have more hub space then in LEGO Marvel. Regardless of how big these places are what makes them great is the liberal sprinkling of fandom that spreads to every corner of the game. Nods to the DC films, TV shows, and comics are well placed. Heck even classic tunes can be heard while playing; Wonder Woman’s TV show theme plays whenever she takes flight. Then there are the heroes and villains of DC. The long list of playable characters ranges from the well-known (Superman, Batman, The Joker, Lex Luther) to the lesser known (Giganta, Bleez, The Question) and everything in between. Some are really out there like the Green Loontern, which is Daffy Duck as Duck Dodgers wearing Hal Jordan’s costume. There are also notable cameos from the likes of Adam West and Kevin Smith. Basically there’s more awesome here than anyone one nerd can handle!

My only real complaint is the same complaint I’ve had since I first started playing these games. And that is the incessant need to rip control away from the player to show a puzzle based cutscene. I get it; this button will unlock that door across the room. There’s no need to stop the game and pan over to the door, linger there for a few moments before causally bringing the focus back to Batman who’s standing on the button.  I can understand demonstrating this sort of thing at the start of the game (like a tutorial) but after hours of play, it should be a thing of the past. Even young children don’t need this much hand-holding.

All and all, Beyond Gotham is very entertaining game. It features loads of DC content, a huge roster of characters, fun exploration based gameplay, and more. There’s no online play and the hand holding does get old. That said, it offers up great couch co-op and the most important part, Batman! What more could you ask for…you know, besides online play?