Lego Batman fans: Ready for an all-new challenge? This fall “Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham” hits stores. A new trailer for the game was unveiled Tuesday. Clearly, the “Beyond Gotham” in the title is an understatement — in this installment of Batman’s Lego adventures, the Caped Crusader travels to space, realizing that he will need to team up with the Justice League and, believe it or not, the Legion of Doom to stop Brainiac. The villain is armed with the power of the Lantern Rings and ready to create universal chaos. With this third edition, the “Lego Batman” franchise has received a major expansion in player options and choices. As with previous versions, it stars the Dynamic Duo, but now players will also have 150 characters from the DC Comics universe to choose from, including familiar faces from the League of Justice and the Legion of Doom. Players will be able to travel to the Hall of Justice, the Batcave and the Justice League Watchtower, and they’ll be able to access Batman’s training modules on the Bat Computer, in addition to taking part in various challenges, battles and races.
Judging by the trailer, the game’s trademark sense of humor is still firmly in place. A brooding Dark Knight attempts to set the scene in space with a serious monologue but is interrupted by the Man of Steel, who repeatedly attempts to compliment his new, space-friendly Batsuit. Before Batman can begin again, the Justice League gets into the act, although Wonder Woman seems less than impressed with the suit. “Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham” is due out this fall for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, 3DS, Vita and PC. What do you think of the new trailer? Are you excited to play “Lego Batman 3”? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. ‘Superman/Batman’: Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor ‘Superman/Batman’ film release pushed to 2016 ‘Doctor Who,’ Batfleck: 2013 in review Josh Brolin ready for Ben Affleck as Batman Gal Gadot cast as Wonder Woman in Snyder film Gal Gadot casting: Comics world reacts on Twitter
Ben Affleck: Whom would you rather see as Batman? Ben Affleck: Roles that might inform Batman Ben Affleck’s Batman casting sparks backlashWarner Bros announced the release of three new expansion packs for LEGO Dimensions, the LEGO toy and videogame hybrid. The LEGO Batman Movie Story Pack, Excalibur Batman Fun Pack and Knight Rider Fun Pack broaden the selection of the world’s most popular entertainment brands allowing players to customize their LEGO Dimensions gameplay experience by mixing and matching favourite characters and universes with full compatibility. Coinciding with the release of the film on which it’s based, The LEGO Batman Movie Story Pack provides a deep, story-driven gameplay experience with iconic DC characters in six puzzle-packed levels and new LEGO Gateway bricks that allow players to build the batcomputer atop the LEGO Toy Pad. This is the only video game experience available for The LEGO Batman Movie, and it comes with buildable Batgirl and Robin minifigures and the 3-in-1 buildable Batwing which can be rebuilt into The Black Thunder and Bat-Tank.
Additionally, players can transform their Batman minifigure from the Starter Pack into The LEGO Batman Movie version of Batman when they place him in The LEGO Batman Movie levels within the Story Pack. Gamers can play the complete movie and band together with Batgirl and Robin to fight off The Joker and his team of villains. Batgirl’s batarang, glide and stealth abilities can reach areas with high security access and her Detective Mode is helpful in solving puzzles. Robin’s agility and dive skills also provide Vent Access. Players can also transform Robin into Nightwing, utilizing his deflect moves to bring the fight back to The Joker. Batgirl and Robin provide access to the new The LEGO Batman Movie Adventure World with its own unique Battle Arena with competitive split-screen local gameplay for up to four players. Batman fans can broaden their LEGO Dimensions gameplay with Excalibur Batman from The LEGO Batman Movie. The Fun Pack comes with a buildable Batman minifigure and a 3-in-1 buildable Bionic Steed which can be rebuilt into the Bat-Raptor and Ultrabat for additional in-game abilities.
Players can use Batman’s Master Builder and Sword Switching abilities to solve puzzles and take down enemies. Batman also provides access to The LEGO Batman Movie Adventure World and Battle Arena. The Excalibur Batman Fun Pack will release in Canada first at Walmart and will be available at all retailers on March 28, 2017. Michael Knight and K.I.T.T. from the classic 80s TV series, Knight Rider, are also coming to LEGO Dimensions. Players can add the iconic duo with the Knight Rider Fun Pack featuring a buildable Michael Knight minifigure, and a rebuildable 3-in-1 K.I.T.T., that can be rebuilt into the K.I.T.T. Jet and Goliath Armored Semi for upgraded in-game powers. In the game, players can activate Michael Knight’s dodging and dash abilities to solve puzzles and overpower enemies or use his Wrist Watch to uncover secrets behind x-ray walls and outsmart enemies by hacking into terminals and following trails. Players can also fight crime on four wheels with K.I.T.T., the highly advanced, artificially intelligent robotic vehicle, to boost their gameplay.
Michael Knight provides access to a new Knight Rider Adventure World with its own unique Battle Arena. The Knight Rider Fun Pack will release in Canada first at EB Games and will be available at all retailers on March 28, 2017.Despite the blocky, herky-jerky quality of their visuals, 2014’s The Lego Movie and its box-office-ruling spinoff, The Lego Batman Movie, were not actually filmed in stop-motion. (It would have cost tens of thousands of dollars to buy the bricks alone.) Instead, The Lego Batman Movie director Chris McKay labored to replicate the analog effect digitally, drawing on his work for TV shows like Robot Chicken. Given his experience, we asked him for some tips on how to make a (legitimately stop-motion) Lego movie of our own. Low-budget, of course—we don’t have tens of thousands either. Getting that perfect stop-motion feel requires keeping both your camera and the set nice and stable. McKay recommends a GorillaPod, a flexible tripod that can anchor a phone to most surfaces.
Securing the Legos is easier, since the pieces are designed to stick together. Just weigh down the sides of the set to make sure you don’t accidentally move it between frames. Good illumination is essential to achieving a professional look, but the small scale of the Lego pieces makes it tricky to use traditional stage lighting. Craft and hobby stores—especially those selling trains and holiday figurines—usually stock mini LEDs. McKay says they give Lego sets a cinematic sheen that makes the bricks look larger and more alive.Apps like Stop Motion Studio save you from having to manually stitch hundreds or thousands of images into a video. Simply open the app, take a photo, move your character a tiny bit, and then repeat. “You have to build or find everything you need on set. You can’t draw your way out of a problem,” McKay says. “It’s a lot more like live-action filmmaking than it is like animation.” Except you can bend surly actors to your will. As you’re manipulating figurines through a scene, don’t try to create hyperrealistic movements.