It’s not as weird as it sounds. Comicbook creators have been placing superheroes in unusual environments since Batman and Superman began. So placing the Caped Crusader into a high-powered rocket to battle interstellar versions of Brainiac and the Joker isn’t so far fetched. But does it work in a Lego game? Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Pros: 150 superheroes and villains; suits have different powers; space, the final frontier. Cons: Some control issues; needs more new stuff. Available now for 3DS, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, OSX, iOS This one takes a couple of hours to get going. Although you witness some funny space antics during the game’s beginning, you actually begin the game on Earth. I wondered, why am I here instead of in space where all the action is? Gameplay on Earth isn’t a chore, though. You chase after Killer Croc in the sewers of Gotham. You collect cool tech you need in the Bat Cave. There’s one point early on that’s really impressive because it showcases the power of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.
Batman is under the spell of a villain, and he becomes an ebony giant — made of hundreds of teeming bats. The setting is in the Batcave, and the view is as grand as the artwork in any videogame on the market today. It’s once you’re in space, though, that Lego Batman really takes off. From your spaceship, you battle, say, pesky flying enemies the Joker conjures up. There are lots of powerups, hordes of baddies and general destruction wielded on both sides. Fun puzzles are the signatures of the Lego games and they’re present pretty much every few minutes. They aren’t that hard, once you get used to them. And they make you feel smart, too, when you solve them. The thing is, some of the puzzles are presented badly. Most of the trouble comes from the tricky controls. When you press the triangle, up comes a wheel from which you choose a suit to don while you solve a puzzle. But the triangle is also used to change characters. Sometimes, these get mixed up. It’s even trickier with the circle button because that’s used for four different functions.
And at one point, you use the controller stick to move an arrow on a computer screen to place colored circles into the right positions. But it’s not clear that you have to move the arrow with your controller. The arrow’s hard to see anyway because it’s gray. If the arrow blinked or changed color, it would’ve saved me some needless frustration. Once you’re on the Watchtower with your pals in the Justice League of America, you pretty much know the controls and the kinds of puzzles that will be thrown at you. Over the course of the game, you’ll get to play as 150 superheroes and villains. Getting The Flash to move in super swift mode is awesome. So is flying as Wonder Woman. Once she gets airborne, the theme song from the classic Wonder Woman TV show plays. Even the Swamp Thing makes an appearance. (But where are the Spectre and the Phantom Stranger?) What kept me going was the humor in the cut scenes. Every major hero gets a good-natured ribbing and comeuppance, especially when the ego gets out of hand.
Superman’s especially guilty of this kind of swagger. Like all the Lego games, there’s a lot of wild adventure in store and an assortment of superheroes to meet and play as. But since this is the third Batman installment, more of the game should feel new. Nevertheless, it’s hard to resist Batman as a spaceman.3DS, iPhone/iPad, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360 Mixed or average reviews Mixed or average reviews- based on 36 Ratings More Details and Credits » See all 25 Critic Reviews users found this helpful See all 8 User Reviews LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham - The Squad Add On Pack LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham - Bizarro DLC TrailerHigh on the list of must-see-movies in 2017 is new animation The LEGO Batman Movie which spins-off very nicely from The LEGO Movie released back in 2014. Who knows how 3 years has passed since Warner Bros. fast-tracked the follow-up but we simply cannot wait for more LEGO to hit our screens.
Related: The LEGO Batman Movie Trailer The official LEGO Batman twitter feed has been churning out these brand new character posters for the past 30 minutes and we’ve been enjoying every one. Equipped with the trademark LEGO circles with which to click more… errrm, LEGO to, each character image is simply brilliant. LEGO Batman Movie sees Will Arnett returning to voice the caped crusader alongside Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth, Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn, Rosario Dawson as Batgirl, Zach Galifianakis as The Joker, Michael Cera as Robin, Mariah Carey as Mayor McCaskill and Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face. These posters follow the various other posters that were released just before Christmas. It seems the marketing department are keen to get the word out but we don’t mind, if it’s LEGO, we’re all over it! There are big changes brewing in Gotham, but if Batman (Will Arnett) wants to save the city from the Joker’s hostile takeover, he may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.
We’ve placed every image that they have released so far in the gallery below which you can click to enlarge. If you’ve missed our coverage of all things LEGO Batman click this way for a handy catch up. The LEGO Batman Movie is set for release in both the UK and US 10th February. Tell us if you’re excited for all things The LEGO Batman Movie in the comments below! Here’s the new trailer and poster for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No TalesFINALLY — no, really, for months we’ve been wondering when Warner Bros. might release a full cast list for The LEGO Batman Movie. Although several voice actors had already been announced, like Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn and Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, there were plenty more that remained a mystery; like, who’s voicing Bane and Scarecrow and Riddler and all those other delightful Bat-villains? And now we finally know. Warner Bros. has unveiled the full list of voice actors from The LEGO Batman Movie, which hits theaters one week from today.
Here’s what we already know: Will Arnett reprises his role as the Dark Knight from The LEGO Movie, with Michael Cera as Robin, Ralph Fiennes as Alfred, Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl, Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn, Zach Galifianakis as The Joker, Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face (fulfilling the promise of his Harvey Dent role in Tim Burton’s Batman) and Mariah Carey as Gotham’s Mayor. Here’s what we’ve been waiting for: Conan O’Brien will voice The Riddler, Jason Mantzoukas is Scarecrow, Zoe Kravitz is Catwoman (perfect), Doug Benson is Bane (you know, that makes a lot of sense), and Garfunkel and Oates duo Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome play Clayface and Poison Ivy, respectively. And yes, Channing Tatum’s Superman and Jonah Hill’s Green Lantern are returning, this time with The Flash, voiced by Adam Devine. There are, as you might have suspected, a few exciting cameos — if you’d rather wait until next week to experience them for yourself, then you should probably avert your eyes because we’re getting into potential spoiler territory.