Lego Batman: The Videogame

Game Title: Lego Batman: The Videogame
Released: September 29, 2008
Game Length: 30 Hours
Grade: B+

Content

Story: I must preface that this game came out before the LEGO films. So don't be expecting me to talk about how awesome Lego Batman was when it came out almost a decade later. In fact, most of what was shown in that movie is completely different than what you see in this game. I must also mention that although elements might be somewhat similar to that of what was contained inside the Batman films, the game does not cover the movies.

Perspective: With another deviation from the other LEGO games, Lego Batman sets up the events in each of the levels from both the heroes and villains side of the story. There is a total of 30 levels that are split into three segments with each one having Batman & Robyn fighting against a separate villain. Each of the three episodes has a separate scheme led by The Riddler, The Penguin, and The Joker. Each side of the story also has their own self-contained levels that utilize their own customized vehicles that run by land, air, or water - though, there are only a total of 5 vehicle levels (as there is not a land-based vehicle level on the villain-side).

Characters: What is interesting to note is that this game has the fewest possible characters (46 in total). For one reason, the game introduces the concept of "suits" (to which I will cover more down below). There is also all the additional work they put towards customizing the vehicles, some of which were available for purchase in the store. However, I found it oddly suspicious that Extra Toggles does absolutely nothing. The idea of including a function that I normally look forward to using for different background characters in certain levels that does nothing is a major oversight. What is surprising is that the Nintendo DS Version has 69 characters. Despite their abilities being simplified in the portable addition, the non-masked versions (excluding Bruce Wayne) are mysterious absent in the PC version.

Abilities

Suits: Story Mode is usually a time where you play as only two characters through the main segments of the game. Free Play is the time where you pull out about 8 characters with all their exclusive abilities that unlock secret areas for collectables. Now in addition to those options, you can now switch out your character outfits. This extends the number of abilities to incredible lengths - sometimes too much - when you have Batman/Batgirl or Robyn/Nightwing alternating between their own exclusive gadgets and gizmos. Our main character has their standard outfit, glider suit, detonator suit that drops remote-detonated bombs, heat protection suit, and sonic suit that breaks glass (Thermal Protection Suit is on the Nintendo DS only). Our side-kick has a Magnetic Suit that allows him to walk up walls, Scuba Suit that lets him sink to the bottom of water rather than float on the surface, Technology Suit that allows him to access tech panels and move small devices, and an Attract Suit that allows him to gather up spare parts and assemble them into a new item (Bio Suit is on the Nintendo DS only).

Suit Upgrades: To better accommodate these new abilities, they chose to arrange some of the power bricks to unlock new abilities. From the Villain's side, many of these will improve your overall health and multiplier traits. On the Heroes' side, many of these will automatically improve (without prompting the sub-menu every time you restart the game) that specific suit for the better. Faster Batarangs & the chance to hit more targets are two must-haves for the game. Armor Plating for the demolition outfit that makes you invincible to bullets might seem overpowered, but this truly is a lifesaver when setting up explosives against forever-spawning enemies. Giving your sonic suit the option to damage enemies and break down windows just out of your reach is nice. Seeing where all the tiny objects are for the Attract Suit and gathering them up quicker are two other quality of life improvement I suggest getting too. Any other upgrade not mentioned above might also... suit your needs.

Abilities: Because of the lack of characters, the vast majority of abilities that are necessary for certain puzzles are locked to a very limited number of characters. One such puzzle that is a purple machine with a fan requires an electrical shock from the Joker. He is only obtainable after you play one of his missions in the third chapter. For the most part, all the characters emulate the same behaviors of the previous game with their own diversity in how they swim, walk, and climb. There are also a few new surprises, like the ability to grab enemies and throw them in the distance. Each character has two interesting idle animations, like how Mr. Freeze looks down his scope or Ivy flaps her hair. The grappling hook is no longer automatic and allows you to pull-up manually at your own pace. Check out some other things down below:

• Several characters like Robyn and Harlequin will do back-flips if you press the jump button at the same time pressing in the opposite direction they are facing. Flexible characters like Clayface can double jump, but Mad Hatter uniquely pops a propeller out of his hat when pressing the button twice.
• Mind Control is a new thing in the DC Universe with characters like Riddler, Mad Hatter, and Scarecrow all having access to it. Although the "question mark" might indicate that only Riddler has access to these areas, any of these three can be given permission.
• Like a few other characters, Harley Quinn can use a gun. However, you may not realize that she also has access to a giant mallet. Have some fun with it sometime.
• Unlike how Batman crawls underneath the tightrope, Robyn walks on top like the acrobat he is. He occasionally juggles enemies with his feet. All the heroes that have suits are also ones that can use batarangs to chain-attack targets from a distance.
• Riddler will use his staff for almost every activity - pulling levers, hanging on rope, and attacking foes.
• Mr. Freeze is unique in the sense that he carries his freeze gun everywhere he goes. He picks up enemies and hold them at the end of his gun. He will climb ladders and drag his gun around when extending himself one-handed over rope. He is the only person who can freeze liquid and turn people (including his allies) into blocks of ice. His suit also allows him to pass by any sort of hazard. He is one of the stronger characters that can lift heavier objects.
• Joker is an amusing character that not only has the ability to power generators but cause electric shocks (even showing the Lego skeleton during the process) with his Joy Buzzer on enemies. He seems to always land on his back whenever he lands and pushes objects by leaning into them with one-hand. He will sit on levers to make them go down. Occasionally he will make laugh "chirps" when you are using him. Despite having the option of choosing his traditional or tropical versions, there seems to be no difference between the two.
• Penguin can fire his umbrella gun and launch explosive penguins from a distance. The penguins will only explode if they run into something that requires an explosion or you force-detonate them yourself. Penguin will open his umbrella to slowly fall down and carefully balance over tightrope.
• Scarecrow moves around with his hands out like its Halloween. He also has a rather lengthy melee ability that terrifies people with some gas. This merely stuns them for a brief moment. The mini-figure has surprisingly really bright red eyes when compared to the others.
• Ivy's primary ability is to grow plants, but she can also be very useful when reaching platforms. She likes to temporarily stun enemies by kissing them within melee distance or throwing poison gas from a distance. Although the "charm" access might be first seen as only available to Ivy, the Villainous Access is available to both Catwoman and Harley Quinn as well.

Presentation

Whimsy: While the previous games showed a more realistic approach of the movies they were covering, this game goes to great lengths of showing a more traditional goofy side of the material. The cutscenes are toned more towards making quick gags and slapstick comedy, like how Batman lures Catwoman with a bowl of milk or how Killer Moth can't resist reaching towards bright lights. There are numerous examples of brand-marked structures built with the most minimal number of bricks possible. There are wacky vehicles you can ride around like the crocodile or Joker mechsuit. It is as if the developers made the primary focus point for the game to be more comical than entertaining.

Level Design: As brilliant as it is to make every level centered around a specific character, the boss fights were generally long and complicated with several different phases. Most of the characters had to be "stunned" a specific way before you could hurt them. Finding out how can get quite exhausting. Mr. Freeze required you to outrun his gun for around five seconds. The only way to make Harley Quinn stand still is if you made her dizzy flipping in different directions. How do you survive against endless waves of minions? Well, you don't seem to get hurt if you keep attacking! I very much liked how they included all the original music like Waltz To the Death for Man Bat's fight that also plays in reverse (alas, I did not hear Partyman).

Marketing: If you remember all those Lego sets passing down the Toys R' Us aisle, know that this isn't the game that brought them all out. When it comes to the exclusion of the Batman Theme outside the parameters of the DC Universe, there are only perhaps a dozen sets, with a nice Collectors one from Comic-Con 2008. Most of the sets don't even properly replicate the ones in the game. However, many people might remember the super cool McDonalds toys! One set that was released in 2013 for the Batman Begins Movie - The Bat vs. Bane: Tumbler Chase - had a built-in code that allowed you to download this game for free (until December 2014). The Epic Games Store gave out the game for free along with a bunch of other ones back in the week of September 19th, 2019.

Miscellaneous

Other: Time to cram all the other fun things I noticed into one paragraph! I noticed all the vehicles had their own abilities to figure out - one tugged bombs, another went underwater, one fired torpedoes, and one could go through chemical ooze. Your ally AI can go from extremely helpful to a sack of potatoes that blocks your way. The character bios for each level was a nice touch. Information on the history of Batman had to be unlocked, with one final entry "The End?" that points towards a sequel. Although the items you suck up with the Robin Attract Suit does stay with you even if you switch characters, it will only stay on that specific character. You can still use both characters to distribute the items into the machine. The photo-sensitivity warning at the beginning is related to how the police siren lights flash around the entire screen. I was able to have a 44.9% completion rate without touching any of the Joker levels and 88.5% completion after saving all 25 civilians for the Hush mini-figure. I found the two bonus levels and achieving 100% to unlock Ra's al Ghul too difficult.

Summary

Review: Lego Batman went to some extremes working on the narrative and mechanics. They added more functionality with the suit system, grappling hook, batarang targeting, and puzzles. The game adapts two separate perspectives from the Heroes and Villains to create its own chain of events outside any of the films. However, the levels are designed around encountering each of the characters might have been a bit too unorthodox when it comes to what was required from you during a boss fight. They also clearly didn't work on expanding their pool of playable characters in this game as it has the smallest roster of the series and a non-functional option meant to unlock more during a level. Despite this, the feeling of being Batman is sincere. Most of the characters are unique in their puzzle-solving, idle animations, and interactions. The foundation of Tt Games previous games are also present. No matter how you view the game, it definitely holds out as a classic to play.

 

2-23-2023