- 3 months 28 days ago Released Platforms November 11th, 2014 (U.S.) // On Facebook // On Twitter The third installment in the Lego Batman series once again finds Batman joining forces with other DC Superheroes - this time heading into space to stop Brainiac and Prince JAR from using the Lantern Rings then from Destroying Gotham City. To reach Oa, complete the Green Lootern's "Permission to Launch" Quest in the Watchtower to enter the Moon Base. From there, you'll need 30 Gold Bricks and have completed one of the Lantern planet levels to construct the portal that will send you to Oa. The portal itself can be found outside the Moon Base. You can reach it through the vent inside the base or by simply walking outside and looking for it. Vertical columns of light will point out the location of every collectible. Shatter the glass crystals behind the entry portal with a sonar attack then dig in the dirt underneath to unearth the bricks needed to build a Spinner. Push the green side to open the small building next to you and grab the Gold Brick inside.
Destroy the gold lock on the building pictured above to open the door then send in Robin's Toy Wonder to access the Techno Terminal inside. There are three power supplies powering the laser grid protecting the Gold Brick. Bust the nearby green crystals and charge the Electricity Terminal behind them to turn one off. Next, use a stealth character to sneak in the nearby building and throw the switch inside to turn off another. Finally, use a giant character to bust through the cracked ground and step on the button underneath to deactivate the laser barrier. Destroy the green crystals at the base of the spire pictured above and build a Techno Terminal out of its remains. Use the terminal then hop up the platforms (or fly) to the first switch and pull it. Work your way up, pulling switches as you go until you reach another Techno Terminal. Use it and a box on a nearby platform will open up. It's a Gold Brick! You'll find a plastic tunnel on top of one of the spires. Shrink The Atom (or use the Mini Characters cheat) and send him in the open end.
Work your way down the tunnel, hitting the buttons as you come to them to clear a path. Step on the button at the end and it will open a nearby container. Exit the plastic tunnel and collect your Gold Brick. Did you want to try out those vehicles you've been collecting? This is the place to do it. There are 12 races on Oa and each one awards a Gold Brick. Use projectile attacks on the three targets around the building. Each time you hit a target, one of the torches will lite. When all three are lit, the building will open. Equip a Hazard Suit before heading in to collect the Character Token. Find the small building surrounded by three torches. Extinguish the flames and the front door will open. Send in a character with super strength (like Superman) to smash a hole in the cracked floor to uncover a button. Step on the button and collect the Character Token. Use a character with the 'sense' ability to detect a set of footprints. Follow them to another 'sense' spot. Keep following footprints until you come to a dirt mound.
Dig in the dirt to uncover a chest with a gold lock. Use a laser to bust the lock and interact with the bricks inside to build a Techno Terminal. Use the terminal to open a nearby container housing the Character Token. In a canyon you'll find five rocks shaped like chickens. Destroy them all within the time limit to earn a Vehicle Token. On top of one of the tall spires is a swarm of bats. Use someone with the 'sense' ability to detect a button on the floor. Step on it and the nearby structure will open up revealing a switch. Pull the switch and another will open up. Blow up the silver box inside with an explosive attack and interact with the resulting bricks to build a Spinner. Push the green side and a Vehicle Token is yours. 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.