Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
Released: November 11, 2014
Game Length: 37 Hours
Grade: B-
Movies
Trilogy: Before I break down the game's features, there are some questions that need to be answered regarding how the film industry fits in with the story. The initial release might have been in November 2014, but this has spurred on quite a number of films since then. Although all of them borrow elements from this very game, the only ones that come close are perhaps the first and third films. The first film Bizarro League released February 2015 covers one of the DLC packages about Bizarro and lasts a mere 48 minutes. It includes a teaser for the second film Attack of the Legion of Doom that revolves around Martian Manhunter and lasts 77 minutes. With the teaser at the end of that film, we finally get introduced to Braniac in Cosmic Clash. The story might be similar in scope to how he wants to collect things through his shrinking device (including how certain aliens ended up in those glass jars), but the vast majority of runtime is dedicated to Batman trying to retrieve his friends that are lost in different periods of time. There might be quite a few voices you recognize from other media, but certain characters like Lex Luthor and Joker sound very different.
Others: Beyond that - see what I did there - are a few independent pieces. Gotham City Breakout shows Batman and his (older) friends go on an adventure while the Teen Titans try to substitute for the problems Superman has in Gotham City while away. The Flash covers his own unique set of shenanigans while experiencing Groundhog Day, listening to Doctor Fate & Zatanna sing, and pass some trials to obtain the Speed Force. Aquaman faces his problem head-on with his half-brother Ocean Master and a very different looking red ring wielder Atrocious.
DLCs
Season Pass: Although not initially available, the developers introduced a Season Pass for $14.99 that gets you 6 packs. These include their associated characters, levels, and their vehicles. I say that loosely because it does not include the character pack from Batman Beyond. In all seriousness, I think it should be included. While certain bundles will only contain characters, there is a set of packs that include six playable levels that can be completed in roughly 15-minutes each. 5 packs are based on existing media while the 75th Anniversary covers a wide-spectrum of different Batmans. It might be worth picking up the whole thing on sale if you bought the trilogy pack since it is currently absent from the package.
Free: There were two packs that can be downloaded for free that add an abundance of interesting characters. The Rainbow Character Pack adds Rainbow Batman that can deflect lasers while throwing rainbow-colored batarangs and Rainbow Raider that has its own array of weird colorful lasers while gliding down rainbow-colored stairs. The other pack, Heroines and Villainesses adds 10 female characters including Raven, Batwoman, Power Girl, (flyable and colorful) Vixen, The Spoiler, Plastique, Killer Frost (not immune to being frozen), and Starfire. Mera, Aquaman's wife, has some functionality with her fluid water abilities and Terra has an overabundance of flashy rock particle effects added to all of her abilities. These beauties seemingly jump higher than the other characters.
Man of Steel: The Man of Steel pack was one of three released as a DLC with the original game. Similar to the film, it includes a level where Jor-El narrates as they attempt to escape Zod's army. Other characters include his wife Lara, their robot Kelex, and super-versions of Zod and his comrade Faora, film re-skin of Superman, Tor-An, and a Zod Agent. One interesting tidbit is that Lara will be holding a baby Kel-El in her hands that will need to be placed inside the ship.
Dark Knight: The Dark Knight pack is another that coincides with the 2005, 2008, and 2012 Batman Trilogy. Alfred amusingly tells a story as Joker fights off the Batman while vehicles run through a tunnel, as seen from Batman: Dark Knight. Another section is included where you play as Batman after the vehicles crash downtown. The nurse-outfitted Joker is spectacular as one of few who can shoot explosives at silver bricks. Other characters include a non-transformation Bane, Commissioner Gordon, Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow with a potato bag over his head, the film's version of Catwoman, SWAT member, and the film's version of Two-Face.
Anniversary Pack: The last available pack at launch includes 75th Anniversary where you play as Joker and Harley Quinn smashing up an empty party room. There are so many different versions of Batman to play with too! You might be disappointed when discovering Azrael-Batman can only glide at best, but he can dig, deflect lasers, interact with panels, and see in dark places. Flying is reserved for the Batman from Brave and the Bold show and the cape-tapered Vampire Batman. You have muscle Batman (from Dark Knight Returns), gun-wielding Batman (from Detective Comics 27), a Batman with very high black-and-white contrast sense (from Gotham by Gaslight), Batman using Sinestro's yellow ring powers (from Sinestro Corps), and magnetically-equipped Zebra Batman (from who knows where).
Batman Beyond: Only a month later, the character pack based on the Batman Beyond TV series (released January 1999) became available. Characters include their versions of Ace, cane-equipped old retired Batman, and The Joker. Mr. Freeze might look like a simple re-skin at first, but try swapping him out to see that his head detaches from his body with robot legs. You can reattach it by swapping back to your body. Other characters you might be less familiar with from the show are an easy way to light-up dark places with Blight, Bonk, and Inque. Since this pack does not include a level, it costs $1.99 instead of $2.99.
Arrow: The Arrow Pack that was released January 14, 2015 covers a level where Oliver and Slade Wilson must venture through a camp of enemies on the stranded island seen in the TV series that came out in October 10, 2012. The new Green Arrow feels like a re-skin of the current unlockable comic-book version while non-masked Deathstroke is perhaps the only person who can pull a bush over their head. The pack also includes Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Island Goon, Huntress (with explosive arrows), Dark Archer, Arsenal, and Canary (re-skin of Black Canary where she uses a weapon instead of her voice). By the way, the game lists a few of these characters as their actual name and not their hero types. What is interesting is that Felicity has the added ability to cloak.
Bizarro: So the developers finally decided to add a trailer to their DLC. Although there is a level you explore with all of your friends, it really helps if you watch Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League first. The film explains quite a bit, including about the Weird-radium changing the standard Green Lantern to summon chickens and Bizarro's Green Lantern in summoning teddy bears. Each of the characters are in explicit detail with Bizarro's reverse abilities of heat breath and frost vision, Batman constantly readjusting his helmet and the bat insignia upside down as well as explosive batarangs, rusted Cyborg with his freeze ray, and Green Lantern constantly holding his head in fear. In addition, you have the all-powerful Darkseid (that occasionally hovers when you aren't moving) and his minion Desaad that comes with already lightning-infused weapons.
Suicide Squad: The last purchasable pack came out in March 2015 and shows off the characters in preparation of the Suicide Squad film that was released in August 2016. The pack, simply called The Squad, had a trailer and includes a level where you break through a prison gathering members like Deadshot, Deathstroke (with a mask), El Diablo, re-skinned Harley Quinn, Katana, the lovable King Shark, and Captain Boomerang. Oh, and Amanda Waller is in there too.
First Impressions
Advertisements: When I first booted up the game, I was psyched in watching Tt Games Gotham City in mini-kit form. Sadly, something strange happens when you get to the main menu. For some reason, they decided to add a semi-Watchtower alert system where you can see the recent news of the most recent downloadable packages and trailers. It was very awkward and very annoying as it appears every time before starting and exiting the game. This lead to confusion when watching the beginning sequence of the Lantern Corps. I thought this was supposed to be about Batman! Without knowing anything outside Green Lantern from the Justice League, I knew things were going to go in a completely opposite direction than I envisioned before starting.
Space Suits You, Sir: My game appeared to be running quite smoothly until I reached the third level. That's when everything that could go wrong did. The suit token never appeared. The gold insignia never fell. I couldn't enter the rocket in outer space. Cyborg fell in a hole next to the elevator and couldn't get out. I had to start the level from the beginning because checkpoints don't save the game - it is more of a way to alert you when there is a usable save machine nearby. Exiting to Windows doesn't save the game and is no different than forcing the program to close. I made a few changes, adjusted the resolution, and even tried using the non-DirectX 11 version. After attempting the level about six times, I finally made it to the very end and resolved to never touch that segment again.
Voices: For most of the game, the people filling in for their roles do a good job. It is nice to hear characters replay their character from other video games and animated shows. What's weird is when you encounter one of the many off-the-wall cameos, some playing as themselves in the world hubs. You have Kevin Smith who plays as some sort of movie producer. Conan O'Brien will be there to inform you what every room is every time you get close to him. Adam West yells for rescue as the citizen in distress and reprises his original role in goofy-fashion, as seen from various shows like Family Guy and Fairly Oddparents, just a couple of years before he died at the age of 88. Joe Alaskey reprising his Daffy Duck role of Duck Dodgers disguised as "Green Loontern" when visiting each of the planets, just a couple of years before he died battling cancer. Then you have Gilbert Gottfried reprising his role as Mr. Mxyzptlk from Superman: The Animated Series. I think the volume inconsistency is what irritated me the most. There is a distinct difference between when a character is narrating and when a character is dynamically responding to a situation. Perhaps they felt this was necessary as various sound effects tend to drown out what is being said. However, this occurs regardless if you are in combat or not.
Setting
Level Design: There are 16 standard levels, but it is questionable on whether there is a coherent story. I would have preferred the chance to visit various locations of Gotham City, Metropolis, Star Labs, and maybe even Atlantis. There are around five levels in Gotham City, six levels visiting each of the Lantern planets, a visit to Europe for one chapter, a few dedicated areas exploring the Watchtower, and one "bonus level" you can find outside the story. When it comes time to revisit any of these hubs, you may physically enter the map room, choose the map option in your menu interface, or simply press select to access "the universe sphere." As much as I enjoy seeing the small mini-kit versions of the level, it is hard navigating the map. Chapters "rotate" around the world hubs, and it is not always easy to find what you are looking for. Sadly, this trend continues as the tutorial insignias with Bat-Mite explaining how things work aren't as abundant as the previous game. Instead, players must rely on dialogue cues the characters state at the beginning of each segment. There are also a bunch of giant boss battles, pulled directly from Lego: Indiana Jones 2, accompanied with long slow-motion shots that tell you when to evade an incoming strike. It is a good thing we can see what collectables are available and choose which part of a level to start from like from Lego: The Hobbit.
Mini-Games: When it comes to collecting items, things go quite differently than in Lego: The Hobbit. Each level as a red brick that can only be obtained with Plastic Man and a Bat-Mite that asks you to find a specific item. The majority of golden bricks will be obtained in the various hubs on the Watchtower, bat cave, planets, Hall of Justice, and Hall of Doom. I came out with a 84.3% completion rate, 132/147 character tokens, 125/160 Mini-kits, and 217/250 Golden Bricks. There is one problem that might hinder your progress: quest chains will require you to complete things in sequence. In addition, the issue in Lego: The Hobbit where you must clear the area for the next quest to appear persists. There are six planets you will need to walk around with Daffy Duck, shoot down a set number of flags, defeat some monsters, escort people back to the quest-giver, and a few other miscellaneous tasks. These can only be obtained after visiting the moon and it is there you will also find another portal. The only place to unlock and use your vehicles are on the planet Oa. Vehicles are color-coded as purple and ships color-coded as yellow. Sadly, the way you must accelerate ships does not make them a viable alternative for the race sequences. Instead, the better levels are designed around side-scrolling ship combat. Other activities include a Virtual Reality program that moves you through a Tron-like interface and quests that will ask for specific purchasable custom character parts. There doesn't seem to be any way to lose in a program. You can still complete it even if you repeatedly die to the point where no studs will be rewarded.
Easter Eggs: There is plenty of content squeezed inside the pockets of this game to excite Batman fans old and new. There are plenty of Batman theme songs played on boomboxes, speakers, and the computer in several levels. They even added a fully original Batman level, complete with their old vehicles, outfits, locations, and onomatopoeia. Adam West makes a ton of references to the old show, like offering you a batburger or orangeade. He asks about dancing the Batusi. The old Batman carries a huge bomb over his head and you'll use shark repellent to rescue Adam West. For some reason, you will occasionally encounter a Weeping Angel that will move their arms when you move the camera away from them for a second. There are a few references to the previous Lego: Batman games, but they are subtle enough not to be required to understand the plot of the game. In addition to Superman's theme song that plays while he (including Supergirl and Superboy) flies, the developers found the time to add Wonder Woman's theme song that plays for every one of her characters. You'll also not want to miss the cutscenes in the credits.
Gameplay
Suits: When you are advancing Story Mode, you'll come across "suit tokens" (only obtainable by their character) that will allow you to access another ability. These are only available to the main characters: Batman, Robin, Cyborg, Joker, and Lex Luthor. Gliding is hard-wired into Batman with him having quite a bit of the same abilities as before. Acrobatics is built into Robin with him naturally connecting his staff into holes. Flying bats will circle secret areas that require you to color the screen with the "sensor" ability. Although it might be difficult finding the right ability, you can now use Left-Trigger and Right-Trigger to swap suits and automatically switch to the suit by pressing the B-Button when approaching a puzzle element. All the suits have been modified to fit the character like Cyborg's stealth suit turning him into a washer and the Joker's demolition suit hiding him inside a Jack-in-the-Box. There has also been a graphical improvement in Robin's new Techno Suit that summons a tiny hover-board robot of himself and how the Hazard Suit has a better digital counter, sucks items from a longer distance, and shoots puffs of air.
Marvel-Inspired: I can't help but notice that a lot of concepts are pulled directly from Lego Marvel Super Heroes. Plastic Man can be flexed to various objects like Mister Fantastic. In addition to Wonder Woman's bracers deflecting bullets, she can also stand on a platform to deflect lasers like Captain America. Alfred, as well as a few other members, can put their shield down to temporarily avoid the flames like Captain America. A few characters have unique Y-button transformations: Superman can transform into Clark Kent and back again after using a telephone booth, Bane injects venom (you can physically see the process) to make him grow big, Beast Boy turns into a gorilla, Shazam turns into Billy Batson and back when lightning strikes after shouting his name (you can hear it), and Martian Manhunter turns into a muscle alien version of himself. You are still only able to switch characters in the world using a specific lever or after the credits roll. Green Arrow will automatically shoot an explosive arrow against silver bricks like Hawkeye. Atom will shrink and solve the same hamster cage puzzles like Ant Man. Ice-man's "hover" has been used for a few characters. If the DLC levels feel familiar, they are structured exactly like the Deadpool missions.
Interactions: There are a few things that aren't pulled directly from Marvel. Okay, so their Master Builder technique that combines objects together using anyone who has super speed comes from Lego Movie Videogame. Although characters do not have any throw abilities, there is now a combo meter that is physically displayed on the screen. Another cool thing is that things that can be built out of structures have a visible white glow shine out of them. Another fascinating addition is this idea of playing tribute for Adam West as each voice actor sings the beginning of the Batman Theme song after highlighting their character for a few seconds in the roster screen (even if you don't have them unlocked yet). When selecting Batman, he will simply fill-in "me me" instead of saying his name. Martian Manhunter, following his quirk within the story, will say "John Jones." There a couple of exceptions: Superman who sings in the style of his theme song and says "super me" at the end and Wonder Woman will attempt to sing in the style of her theme song. If you happen to have some DLC characters, they will sing as well.
Abilities
Unique: Things can get pretty crazy sorting out every character's abilities. For some puzzles, only one or two characters will do. Only Poison Ivy can use a plant patch. Either Grundy or Swamp Thing can use a swamp patch. Braniac is the only one that can shrink or enlarge items with his ray gun. Green portals will require Martian Manhunter. The associated suits will be required for loose pieces to construct objects, magnetic powers, glowing, and interacting gadget panels.
Wide-Spread: There's some puzzles that are open to quite a few abilities. Digging can be accomplished with the help of Lantern rings (with some having completely different animations), animals, or animal-like in appearance. Sonar either a suit, Canary, Kevin Smith's gun, Man-Bat, or Music Meister. Stealth requires a suit, Batman 1966, or Grayson. Treadmills require anyone that can use super speed like Superman or Flash. Mind Control can be used from a multiple of sources like Martian Manhunter, Braniac, Wonder Woman (through her whip), Mad Hatter, Music Meister, Gorilla Grodd, Poison Ivy, or Riddler. Freezing can be done by Superman (and anyone like him), Captain Cold, Geoff Johns gun, and Mr. Freeze. What's surprising is who can slip through grates as Martian Manhunter, Plastic Man, Ambush Bug, The Atom, Bat-Mite, Beast Boy, Doctor Fate, Manchester Black, Miss Martia, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Platinum, Polka-Dot Man, and Zatanna.
Honorable Mentions: What's neat about this game is that there are abilities that are made available in a pure cosmetic way. For example, Green Lantern shoots fists, lays down an anvil, and can generate a green sphere. Sinestro lays down a giant spider and shoots out spiders that generate a few extras that crawl around on the ground. Music Meister dances fluidly wherever he moves, sings into his microphone, and shows off his orange hair when generating sound waves that stun enemies. Beast Boy makes quite a bit of transformations like shark bites, gorilla smashing, turning into a bird to fly, and transform completely into a gorilla. Shazam holds his hands up constantly, ready to hurl lightning bolts. He bounces, spins, and does quite a bit of other things. Giganta might cost you 1.25 million studs, but she has the ability to become a mega-mini-figure (or a semi-large figure with the mini character brick active) and shrink back down to size.
Idle: While many characters stand around, there's a few with minor alterations. Ace the dog scratches his neck. Wonder Woman and Orion spin around. Harley Quinn jumps excitingly and then briefly falls down. Ivy blows a kiss. Reverse Flash tires himself out. However, there are quite a few surprise features when you carefully glance through the list:
- Aquaman has a giant spectacle with fish flying all around him and a shark chomping over his head.
- Dex-star will climb up on Atrocious shoulder.
- Lex Luther will pull out a kryptonite and laugh.
- Flash eats some ice cream and does some fast push-ups.
- Alfred puts a tea cup on his plate and then tosses it.
- Booster Gold will take a selfie with his robot pal.
- Detective Chimp will put a magnifying glass to a banana and then eat it.
- I'm not sure why but both Firefly and Parasite with have a brief encounter with a chicken.
Overall Concerns
The Good: The graphics have been improved drastically. The little icons above the doors do help a tad in remembering where things are. You can see who the character tokens belong to before picking it up. Surprisingly for the first time ever, Extras remain permanently on even after restarting a session. Another thing that's new is how the characters look and point in the direction of your controller when selecting a suit. Unlike Lego Movie Videogame, the characters you have selected will be present when slipping through portals. The game might contain escort missions, but there is quite a bit of flexibility. Characters you follow will speed-up when you do, stop when you aren't right behind them, and respawn if you accidentally kill them. White beacons on the planet will show you quests while a green beacon shows where the portal is. A nice touch is when the mini characters power brick is first activated, the characters shrink and fall on their bottoms.
The Bad: The story isn't very good. Not only did they have to get the villains into the Watchtower, but they also needed the main characters visit each of the Lantern planets. There was a couple of strange sub-plots revolving the need to put on disguises while certain characters are dealing with the effects of the rings. There was just too much going on. You do not know what kind of red brick you unlocked until you visit the vendor to purchase it. Although cutscenes still play during Free Play, most of the dialogue between characters is absent. Sounds aren't in the best of quality with things like screeching tires being a distraction when they occur every five seconds in a vehicle. There is a slight delay in reaching your target when shooting beams over long distances. Despite how well flying has improved with the ability to use the right analog stick to move around, having the camera continue to move after you stop can be kind of nauseating. The camera spinning wildly when entering tight spaces can also be disorienting. Gravity was a slight issue with Lego: The Hobbit, but studs can now sometimes get away from you when on a planet.
Summary
Review: If I had to sum this game up in a single word, it would have to be - weird. There are a number of downloadable content packs with additional levels, vehicles, and characters. There are animated films that both better explain and warp the content in the game. Their choice of guest stars is unexpected. There can be some huge technical hurdles. The story seems too heavily invested in exploring each aspect of the Lantern Corps instead of exploring well-known locations of the Justice League. Planetary exploration takes some getting used as entire surfaces rotate when you move. Vehicles can only be used on one planet and even then they aren't very noteworthy. While the game did better visually, their choices of gameplay mechanics from previous games didn't really improve the game that much. Everything was completely different than what I expected to see from a Lego Batman game. I don't really recommend playing this game.
3-9-2023