If you haven't played LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham yet, you don't know what a crazy ride you're missing. If you have played it, well, let's be honest... There's no way you've gotten to 100% yet. It's just impossible, in a game of this size, to complete it fast. There are over 150 playable Minifigures in LEGO Batman 3, all of them plucked from DC Comics history and continuity. It goes without saying that there are plenty of obscure characters in that enormous catalog, but there are some longtime fan-favorites as well. Here are ten of the most desired DC characters that you'll want to play as, and what you have to do in the game to get them. Getting your virtual hands on the Atom is a big deal in LEGO Batman 3. Throughout the Free Play hubs and worlds, you'll run across elaborate rat-maze contraptions that only someone very small can access. Don't bother trying to use Brainiac's shrink ray to shrink down another character to enter the maze; the effects of that gun only last for a few seconds.
You can always unlock the "Mini Characters" Red Brick, which turns all of your characters that small, but it's a pain to go back and forth to the Extras menu just to turn it on, and then do the thing, and then go back to turn it off, etc. The easiest and quickest way to access those small areas is with the Atom, who can shrink at will. The Atom can be acquired during the level "The Big Grapple," but only in Free Play mode. After escaping the big green dome bubble with Plastic Man, go around to the open area between Green Lantern (who's still being mind controlled by Brainiac) and the dome. Destroy the three silver items there and then build with your brand new LEGO bricks. This triggers a grappling hook to the left, so go to it and grapple and it creates a bunch of green toxic goop all over the floor. It also creates a hovering cleanup vehicle, which you should use to mop up the goop. Next, go park your hovering vacuum car over the contraption you built a minute ago with those exploded silver pieces.
Two levers pop up; pull them and there it is: the Atom character token. In the Watchtower, go to the Trophy Room. Fly up to the platform on the right side of the room. Use Brainiac to shrink the statues, and shazam. There's Black Adam's token. Deathstroke can be found in the "Big Trouble in Little Gotham" level, and is easy to get regardless of whether you're in Story Mode or Free Play. In the second area, where Flash and Joker team up to fight bad guys at Joker's carnival, look for five fireworks spinners. Use a grappling hook to pull on each one, and after they've all gone off, you're rewarded with Deathstroke's character token. From the Hall of Justice hub, jump down the big hole into the Hall of Doom area. Outside the Hall of Doom is a swamp area where you'll find a long row of mushrooms growing. Look for the mushroom that has a circular, glowing gate around it. That's right: it's a race. Just follow the gates and jump on each mushroom in turn, and you'll get Doomsday's token as your reward.
You'll want to have plenty of coins saved up for Doomsday; at 1,250,000 coins, he's one of the most expensive characters in the game. As long as you're at the Hall of Doom, you might as well go ahead and get... Go inside the Hall of Doom and work your way through the various character quests until you get to one called "Five Studs Please," in which Ms. Quinn herself gives you a mission. After you've spoken to her, several patients will appear inside the Hall of Doom. Go and speak to each one in turn, and then have them follow you to Harley. She'll give you her character token as your reward. Kilowog can be found as you enter the big temple in the "Need for Greed" level. Pull down the big pillar and then look for a birds nest with 3 eggs inside. Destroy the eggs and then destroy the big bird that appears. Claim Kilowog as your prize (if you can get past the baby bird murderer guilt). While Free Playing in the London part of the "Europe Against It" level, look for the wrecking ball near the bus.
Have Brainiac shoot his blaster at the wrecking ball, and it will grow bigger. That's all you have to do. The wrecking ball falls on its own onto a boat, which dispenses Lobo's token. In the "Space Station Infestation" level, fly up and look on the right of the armory. There's a missile here that Brainiac can shrink. Destroy the crate that appears and then fly back up to nab the character token for Reverse Flash. While you're in this level, you can also get... During the Firefly boss fight, go around to the left of the spot where you started in this area. Look for a blue grate above you and use a power suit equipped with magnetic control to open the grate. Switch to a flying character (or suit) and soar up into the grate to get John Stewart's token. Swamp Thing is one of the characters that comes in more than one flavor. You have your original Swamp Thing, and then there's the New 52's version of Swamp Thing. Let's grab them both. The fourth character quest that becomes available in the Hall of Doom is called "The Garden of Love."
It involves going outside and helping Poison Ivy out by putting out some fires. Have her follow you all the way around to the left of the building and Swamp Thing will be waiting for her there. He'll give you his own token when you hand her over. The New 52 Swamp Thing is found on the Orange Lantern homeworld, Odym. Leave the main village and look for a collection of small huts. Destroy the crates there, then blow up the sliver lock that appears. Go inside the hut and you've got the token. LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, Lego, Batman, DC Comics, Video Games, TT Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Tips, How-To, Minifigures, characters, Unlockable The Best Comic Book Movie News From Around The WebI wanted to actually play the game first and after 22 hours of playtime and roughly 65% of all collectibles found I’m ready to say that LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is… well, it’s a game I’m happily going to give even more hours to until I reach 100%. The uncomplicated action combined with the gratifying reward system is addicting.
I spent many nights playing this well past 4 AM. It’s a game where you always feel like you could do just one more thing and then call it a night and it just pulls you in deeper and deeper. The affection the creators of this game have for the source material is evident throughout. It’s the most charming and the funniest LEGO game yet, in my opinion. Adam West is the greatest factor here. As much as I enjoyed rescuing Stan Lee in LEGO Marvel, Lee is famous for his writing and West is famous for his comedic timing. The end result is an all-around more hilarious set of challenges and his narration of the bonus level had me in stitches. The rest of the humor in the game is the usual LEGO formula of taking iconic characters and exaggerating their personalities to 11 while also keeping it cute. This leads to amusing gags like Cyborg turning into a washing machine as his “Stealth Suit,” Alfred’s serving tray being used as a shield to make him impervious to flame, and a very Schwarzenegger-inspired Mr. Freeze.
I also still find myself cracking up about one of Dick Grayson’s “Holy___, Batman” line weeks after hearing it. Switching between suits has always been a big part of LEGO gameplay and LEGO Batman 3 makes those transitions easier than ever. Now when you approach a hot spot requiring a specific suit, just pressing a single button will cycle to that outfit automatically. The Resogun-esque levels are a great new addition, but much like the rest of the game it could have been more of a challenge. The VR mini-games are also especially fun and feature a stylish presentation. Couch co-op in a LEGO game can be the most fun thing in the world if you and your partner have good chemistry. However, if your Player 2 cares nothing for comics and even less about video games you’d be better off playing alone because they’d just slow you down with their endless questions or frequent mistakes — Yes, I’m speaking from personal experience! One nice feature is that you can customize the way the co-op play is presented on your screen.
There’s the static split screen (which I prefer) and then there’s the more dynamic version that splits, joins, and swirls about your display depending upon where players are located within the stage. It’s entertaining for fans of all ages, but adults are going to have the most fun because they’ll notice all the callbacks to classic stories they love. Catching the references is half the fun! And it’s not just about spotting obscure characters or homages to Batman films and stabs at bad comic films like Halle Berry’s Catwoman, there are countless nods to shows and movies like Tron, Doctor Who, Jurassic Park, and other properties hidden throughout the game and even tucked within the end credits. It has the funniest end credits I’ve seen in a game. Hours upon hours of content. Many games only take 6-10 hours to finish and then you’re done forever (well, you could play them on a higher difficulty if you choose, but mostly done) but if you want to get the full LEGO Batman 3 experience you’ll be investing around 24 hours or more.
There’s SO much to do after you’ve wrapped up the main campaign. The number of unlockable characters, hidden side missions, gold bricks, red bricks, mini-kits, and more is just staggering. Plus there’s the bonus mission! The bonus level in this game is an homage to the Batman ’66 TV Series and it’s a thing of beauty that every fan of the show should witness. It’s comedic gold, wildly fun, and crafted with so much love that it’s hard not to smile the whole time you’re playing it. The game’s voice talent is stellar. Troy Baker, Adam West, Clancy Brown, Travis Willingham, Christopher Cory Smith, Dee Bradley Baker, and others really make the cut scenes count. And then there are the numerous celebrity cameos throughout the game, which were all quite good. Conan O’Brien especially brought a lot of humor to the game. The DLC looks like a load of fun. I haven’t played it yet, but The Dark Knight pack and the Batman 75th anniversary pack look like they add enough new elements to the experience and pay homage to things I love so they could be worth checking out.
The music is overwhelming. I love the Danny Elfman score as much as the next guy, but there should be customizable settings for sound. Instead there’s the option to turn the music off or on, not up or down. More variety in the score and the freedom to dial it down would be a major improvement. It’s more restrictive than LEGO Marvel or even LEGO Batman 2. The free roam of Gotham is gone and replaced by free roam of various hubs, which just aren’t diverse enough and quite limited. Flying around the Mario Galaxy-like planets is tremendous fun, but the kind of fun that just doesn’t last. Lot of wow-factor the first time soaring over Oa, though. Visually, I’ve always thought that these LEGO games should have more landscapes fully constructed of LEGO and I hope that as we move on to the newest generation of consoles that’ll be possible. I’d love to see a LEGO game with as little organic textures as possible and more bricks. I know “Beyond Gotham” is in the title, but I would like to have seen other locations besides just those from the Green Lantern books.
And a little Gotham — just a little — wouldn’t have been so bad. It no longer feels like LEGO Batman, but instead it’s really LEGO DC Comics Universe. Other than the Batcave and a brief venture through the Gotham City sewers, you don’t spend much time in Gotham at all. Nor any other DC city, unfortunately. Sure, you’ll have a boss fight in the Fortress of Solitude, but any other comic book locale is a Green Lantern one. A full level is set in Europe, but should’ve been a tour of various places like Star City, Fawcett City, etc. etc. Give me the ability to switch the voices of select characters off. While Conan O’Brien is uproariously funny, by the time he welcomes you to the trophy room for the 30th time you’re ready to douse that LEGO host in “Kragle.” Most of the characters are written well as far as LEGO caricatures go, but I found Wonder Woman’s super-charged testosterone to be an annoying way to portray that hero and The Flash’s need to claim everything as “Mine!” was a trait that I just didn’t understand.
*Reader Josh pointed out that this was explained in a cutscene that I overlooked. It’s called LEGO Batman 3, I should be playing as Batman when it comes time to win the game. Instead, you’re forced to play as Flash in order to complete the story’s final action. I did experience a few hiccups with the camera. On multiple play-throughs of the second level, the camera goes a little crazy during a boss fight with a giant cloud of bats. I want difficulty levels. The game does a good job of riding the line of being way too easy and being challenging enough to maintain your interest, but I’d like the option to crank it up a notch and also get the achievement/trophy for the hard work of overcoming that increase in difficulty. I suggest playing it on the Wii U if you’re in it for the co-op fun. The LEGO series isn’t exactly a graphics juggernaut so you don’t need the horsepower of a PC or a PS4 and the Wii U offers the convenience of giving Player 1 the touch screen controller and Player 2 the freedom of the entire TV.
Game review scores that are numbers get a bit iffy because some people see anything below an 8.5/10 as being the end of the world so I’m just going to give it to you straight on a more relatable grading scale that includes Full Price, Wait Until It’s Cheaper, Rent It, and Don’t Bother. LEGO Batman 3 is so enjoyable and has so much content that I think it’s worth Full Price for die-hard Batman fans and a Wait Until It’s Cheaper for the casual fans and folks who are just in it for LEGO. Of course, that’s if you love to find all the hidden items because if you’re seeking to complete LEGO Batman 3 at 100% you’ll find yourself 20 hours in and still only at around 60%. Anyone who’s just in it for the story could Rent It and be done with the main campaign in 10 hours or so, but seeing as how you’re reading this review at a site called Batman News I think it’s safe to say you’re a Bat-fan and this is a must-play for you and a fine addition to your gaming library.