Impression: LEGO Batman on PS3

Warner Bros.

Luke Skywalker, Bruce Wayne and Indian Jones. Three men living their lives in unrelated universes, until a series of small blocks brings them together. First there was LEGO Star Wars (the new movies, then original trilogy), next LEGO Indiana Jones and now LEGO Batman. Star Wars was a very welcome surprise that fixed the LEGO formula with two games, working out the kinks in Episodes 1-3 and nailing it with Episodes 4-6. The humor, characters and moments were all accounted for. Then Dr. Jones took a step back, not in humor or game play but rather in unfamiliar settings. The Indy settings are not as memorable as Star Wars. Then there was Batman, a franchise separate from LucasArts driven by Travelers Tales (developers of all four games). Unlike Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Batman has a wide variety of source material to pull from, from moves to comics to cartoons. So how does Batman stack up (puns are fun) to its LEGO brethren … let’s take a look.

Game play – Simple game play where nobody really dies, they just keep going just with less studs collected. The LEGO games have established a simple control and concept kids will dig, but thanks to the source material adults will latch onto.

Graphics – Simple is the name of the game. This is LEGO come to life but the backgrounds are surprisingly deep. Reflections, water, the environmental aspects represent very well on next-gen and the game feels like Batman from the sewers to roof-tops. 1080p support is very money.

Sound – Outstanding, pulled from the original Tim Burton movies, Danny Elfman’s 1989 score is pure magic. Star Wars and Indy also contained the memorable music from the movies, seems to be a staple of these games.

Design – It’s LEGO with Batman skins. The levels are very linear with plenty of replay value to go back and collect all the kits needed for 100% completion. Objects and getting from point A to B is easy to see and decipher.

Miscellaneous – The humor, all the characters from Killer Croc to Nightwing, Bane and lesser known Killer Moth … so many characters to choose from and each is recognizable.

Overall LEGO Batman is everything gamers expect. The same great formula that worked so well in Star Wars with tons of unlockables, great replay value, outstanding music and characters that are so much fun. Unlike with Indy, the new, non-recognizable environments don’t hurt Batman due to how many settings there are in all the various Batman properties. If you like Batman, if you like LEGO, if you like a fun very worthwhile gaming experience then LEGO Batman needs to be in your collection. Breaking molds, no, delivering what gamers want, yes.