The old-fashioned Lego smash-em-up model still works The excellent rendering of Lego structures Too easy to get stuck on one level for 15 minutes In thousands of years' time, after some Great Event that probably happens and buries us all under metres of dust, future archaeologists will dig us up, and what will they find? Amongst the rubble, bones, and Nokia 3310s, our legacy will be billions upon billions of Lego bricks, a remnant of the world's most beloved and ubiquitous toy. Lego games, on the other hand, sit alongside their video game brethren in the ephemeral category - existing only from console generation to console generation, pleasing owners only as long as their runtime.There's nothing wrong with that, as long as the 20+ hours you spend in-game manage to entertain and enthral as much as the bricks themselves. The problem here is that Lego Batman never captures my creativity, my imagination and my block-loving heart as much as Lego games have in the past. In fact, at several points in the game, I feel downright bored.
Playing the game itself is fiddly, time-consuming and confusing. The suits, which give different abilities to a handful of characters, are equipped via a wheel, but you have to remember what each one does; you'll find yourself hesitating, trying to recall whether the Demolition Suit or the Space Suit was the one that destroyed silver objects, while hordes of endlessly spawning goons run at you and your AI companions (actual, powerful superhumans) fail to do much in the way of helping.And all that is when you know what you're supposed to be doing. Though small tutorials help you through the first stages, the game is annoyingly silent when it comes to certain areas or abilities, and you'll have to figure out for yourself that Object A needs to be destroyed or that Character X can walk through fire.Sharp Dressed (Bat)ManThough the outfits are fiddly, there's some interesting stuff to be found in the characters’ wardrobes. Batman has a sensor suit that allows him to see invisible objects, and several characters have a suit that turns them into a human lightbulb.
Sadly, there are also a couple of duff ones - like a hazard suit that lets you hoover up ‘radioactive’ objects that turn out to just be green and yellow Lego - and a special suit that Robin has to wear to make him smart. Poor Robin.With an overly sullen interpretation of Bruce Wayne's grumpy alter ego, Lego Batman 3 has clearly attempted to replicate the brooding, damaged figure of Christian Bale's Caped Crusader, but what we get is much closer to the sociopathy of Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman; nowhere near Will Arnett’s charmingly unfriendly Batman in the Lego Movie, either.Meanwhile, The Joker has a voice like the Mad Hatter, with all the sinister villainy of a slightly perturbed bunny, and Solomon Grundy - the swamp-zombie with a penchant for crime and murdering - is recast as a big, stupid, lumbering Hulk-like figure. bat is a big part of superhero games, but the Lego series has never quite managed to get it right - punching, shooting and smashing up the scenery is infinitely more enjoyable than having to deal with waves of weak henchmen that too often feel like filler.
Boss battles are treated more like puzzles, with quite a few requiring you to wait for the enemy to throw a vital object at you before you can continue. This isn’t necessarily a terrible thing, and it’s usually a great opportunity to use a variety of powers, but when every boss battle is the same rinse-and-repeat waiting game, it starts to get a bit grating.Colour-matching mini-games and surprising levels - like a romp through a miniaturised Paris - mix things up between regular, linear stages, but these are quite few and far between, and the mini-games do get tedious after a while. Many of the powers are repeated from Lego Batmans of the past, as well as Lego Marvel Superheroes, though the constant costume changes may leave you longing for a return to Marvel Superheroes' relative simplicity.Glimpses of humour stand out brilliantly, from the bizarre (an enemy's tentacles being cut up into sushi) to the silly (the superheroes becoming possessed by the emotions of the Lantern Corps, leading The Joker to become all soppy and Flash incredibly possessive).
The gags are slightly let down by the insistence of the writers to point out how dumb they are all the time, with Wonder Woman constantly rolling her eyes at bad puns, and a badly misjudged inclusion of Conan O'Brien as the Batcave's tour guide. His constant, irritating and unfunny jokes will tempt you into throwing him off the Batwaterfall, and it comes across as a strange and unnecessary attempt at pop culture appeal.The game is at its best when it's being self-referential and giving a sly nudge-nudge-wink-wink to DC's fans. Tucked away in the Batcave is a set from Adam West's Batman, which plays the original theme; Wonder Woman's flight is accompanied by the '70s TV theme; unlockable characters include Ace the Bat-Hound and Bat-Cow. In fact, the roster - standing at over 150 characters - ticks even the most obscure boxes (ketchup-wielding villain Condiment King, anyone?).Lego Batman seems to be going the same way as regular, fleshy Batman was a few years ago, pre-Dark Knight trilogy.
Problematic characterisation, strange, unengaging storylines and a glut of superheroes/villains vastly more interesting than Batman come together in a finished product that never quite does the series justice. It really isn't a terrible game, all things considered, but it's not a good Lego game either. What Lego Batman needs - other than a personality adjustment - is a good old-fashioned reboot. We've had enough Lego Batman & Robin; it's time to see Lego Batman Begins.Lego Batman 3 has all the ingredients of the other, enjoyable, Lego superhero games, but is let down by clunky controls, poor signposting and questionable translations of well-known comic book personalities.This game was reviewed on Xbox One.Just like the other recent additions to the LEGO game series, LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham has plenty of vehicles to help you get around the brick universe. You'll need to unlock them in order to be able to drive them around. Want to learn how to unlock your favorite? Check out our guide below.
Unlock this truck by completing the Batcave or Watchtower VR missions after collecting the vehicle token from Ring Master 1. After you collect the vehicle token from Spaceship Shooter 2, you can get this vehicle from the Batcave or Watchtower VR missions. Go to the Oa hub area and look under the twin bridges to find some chickens. Quickly turn them all into bricks to complete the challenge for a vehicle token. Go to the Odym hub area and destroy the ten golden statues in the area. Then you can get the vehicle token. In the big clearing near the entrance to Ysmault, there will be seven blue flags. You need to finish the challenge to destroy all the flags before time runs out to get this vehicle. Collect the vehicle token from Stealth Collector 1 and then get this vehicle from the Batcave or Watchtower VR missions. Collect the vehicle token from Snake 2 and then unlock this through the Batcave or through Watchtower VR missions. Grab the vehicle token from Stealth Collector 3 and then unlock this through the Batcave or Watchtower VR missions.
In the hub area of Odym, destroy all the boxes in the back of a hut to find a hidden chest. Grapple it open and get the vehicle token. Go to the Batcave Trophy Room and smash the side of the current Batmobile display. Then, when you rebuild it, you will get the vehicle token for this one. Get the token from Shooting Range 1 and then unlock it through the Batcave or through Watchtower VR missions. In the Zamaron hub area, you have to complete the challenge to find eight chickens. Then you'll get the token. In the factory in Qward, there is an area with nine blue flags. Complete the challenge to destroy the flags within the time limit to get the vehicle. In the hub area of Ysmault, find the skeleton of a big creature. Nearby there is a little building with a broken roof. Break it open and get the chest inside to grab the token. Go to the Oa hub area and find the tall pillar to the north. Go all the way to the top and find the hidden button. Step on it and follow the path to the lever.
Pull it and find the silver crate. Destroy it and build the bricks to make a spinner that will open another crate with the vehicle token inside. Go to the Odym hub area and find the Reach mothership. Go to the nearby temple and hit both targets on each side to open it. Go inside to get the vehicle token. Go to the hub area in Nok and find a capsule in the woods. Follow its cord to a doorway. Go through, find a plant, and destroy it. Pull the lever to open the capsule and get the token. Collect the vehicle token from Stud Maze and then get this from the Batcave from Watchtower VR missions. Go to the dark side of Okaara and find the mounds of dirt by the woods. Dig them up and build the hook. Use it to open a nearby cave and grab the vehicle token. Get this vehicle through the Batcave or Watchtower VR missions after collecting the vehicle token from Spaceship Shooter 3. Go to the Zamaron hub area and find the portal next to the tower. Shrink the black statues so you can use it.
Get the vehicle token from Snake 1 and then get the vehicle from the Batcave or from Watchtower VR missions. Collect the vehicle token from Ring Master 3 and then unlock it through the Batcave or Watchtower VR missions. Collect the vehicle token from Spaceship Shooter 1 and then unlock this one through the Batcave or Watchtower VR missions. Find the trench in Zamaron and look for a blue plant. Destroy it and dig up the resulting mound of dirt to get the token. Collect the vehicle token from Stealth Collector 2 and then get this through the Batcave or Watchtower VR missions. At the entrance of Okaara, there are ten blue flags. You need to destroy them all in the time limit to complete the challenge and get the vehicle token. In the Okaara hub area, go underwater and find a chest. Open it up and grab the vehicle token. Nora has been writing for over a decade and playing video games for even longer. She has a special penchant for JRPGs, horror games, and Steam sales.