Lego DC Super-Villains

Game Title: Lego DC Super-Villains
Released: October 16, 2018
Game Length: 43 Hours
Grade: A

Setup

The Rookie: One big difference in how they introduce you in this game is literally how you are a main part of the story. They immediately start you off in the custom character mode where you are limited to two of three abilities, a large selection of miscellaneous weapons & outfits, and your choice of specialized tweaks that were present in the previous games. These include your choice of about 30 different sound effects and a long list of colors for your effects. One new feature is how you can customize your legs separately. I personally established Henry the Hungry Hatchet-wielding Hiker. He was mostly green, with a big backpack, a hatchet in his hand, and a yellow glow in his other hand. It seems you were part of the Amazo Labs Project and given the power to absorb abilities from giant energy canisters found in various locations across the levels. While you might be a large part of the story, you will not always be present in the levels. In great Lego tradition, you have no dialogue and will be referred to as "The Rookie" or other various nicknames. You will be present in cutscenes. You can change any decision you make later in the game. Your character is imprinted at the very front of the character roster with an actual physical representation right down to the color you added to your hands. Any created characters are shown in the same way at the end of the roster. There is quite an improvement in what is available and how smoothly those additional items move with your body.

Levels: The developers made a brilliant choice in adapting the story of the villains inside the "Mirror Universe" secretly replacing the heroes. This creates a dilemma where the usual villains decide on becoming heroes for the betterment of mankind. Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen will be reporting on the story. How that story unfolds is quite unorthodox. For the first 10 levels, you will be both rescuing and recruiting villains for your army. Each one has a unique ability that will help you when a situation demands it. Then proceeds 5 levels where the heroes assist in fighting against this bigger threat. You are then presented with a choice after the final level to side with the heroes or villains. Don't panic! Your choice merely decides what one-minute cutscene plays before the credits. Your affiliation in your profile can totally be changed later on. The problem comes after the credits roll. Now you are presented with five "mini" missions where Lobo regales the story of the heroes. Ironically, you will be stuck spawning in this brand new environment until you finish them all. While it is still possible to visit Gotham or Metropolis, there is a certain transition period that makes the whole process unnerving until you complete them all. The cool part about all of this is how you can return to a level from inside the world hub (in addition to Free Play through the campaign) and complete a puzzle for a gold brick. Also, you can directly teleport to the locations for all your character needs: Stryker Island for Character Creation, Star Labs for red brick purchases, and Daily Planet for viewing concept art for each newspaper you unlock after obtaining 5 mini-kits in a level.

Combat: While everything runs a lot smoother than the previous games, there is ironically a lack of options when it comes to character skills. You have about four melee swings, a dash attack, four different ways to follow up a grab, one ground smash, and whatever constitutes as the character's skills. Many known characters who were quite flashy in Lego Batman 3 were unusually downgraded in a more realistic undertone. A lot of their abilities simply waste too much time with the need to aim your lunge at things, how you can be interrupted in the middle of casting, or how grenades sit on the ground for a few seconds before they explode. At the very least let me be able to fly with Kite-man! I guess it's still pretty cool to watch those who are capable of dodging or deflecting projects back at your foes. Characters with guns will continuously fire bullets when your reticle highlights objects. Multipliers are now skewed towards the number of different abilities you use over the number of times you strike an opponent.

DLC

General Information: There is a Season Pass that includes 4 character packs and 6 levels. The "main" packs cover Batman: The Animated Series, Shazam (the movie), Aquaman (the movie), and Young Justice. The character packs include a series of characters sporting new outfits from The Lego Movie 2, Justice League (the movie), and shows like The Flash, Arrow, and Black Lightning. While some of these packs are $1.99 or $2.99, the two packs with two levels each are $5.99. Although the characters don't have any new voice acting, the developers did compensate by giving them all new animations. Nearly every one of them have a unique idle animation. Characters who could spray paint graffiti have new art. There are a couple new drones that can be summoned. Some characters had to be modified with new - albeit weaker - move sets. So you won't be seeing Harley Quinn moving around on her skates listening to her boombox or Superman changing inside a phone booth.

Batman: The Animated Series: There is one level included in this pack that will take you through Joker's "home" and the final fight sequence at the abandoned theme park in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. It might be hard to remember an artistic piece like this one way back from 1993, but it still retains that spooky atmosphere the series did so well. The level and the characters carry a cell-shaded look that you might have seen in Lego: Dimensions. While the characters themselves don't have much going for them in the action department, they did include members like Mad Hatter and the most memorable Captain Clown with real robotic sound effects when he moves. The Joker's chattering teeth has been replaced with a plane reminiscent to the ones seen in the movie.

Shazam: This pack includes two levels that takes you through the mall and the final sequence of the movie. You'll see a bunch of the Lego sets up on display. Each of the kids throw things like baseballs, apples, ice cream, slushies, and markers. Eugene Doi has the ability to summon an actual drone with a working headlight. Pedro Pena rolls into a ball. All the characters are capable of transforming into their superhero counterparts. Darla Dudly does gain her super speed. All the monsters are present and have their own list of unique animations.

Aquaman: This pack also includes two levels that take you through a couple gladiator fight sequences between the two brothers and inside one of the water structures. While I didn't generally find the playable characters too interesting, it is worth noting that Mera is capable of using her water magic on Lantern platforms.

Young Justice: This pack includes one awesome battle sequence that replicates the events in "The Summit" from Season 2 Episode 19. You take control of each of the heroes as they all fight a separate villain. The animations are slick and the puzzles pretty decent. Artemis is able to transform into Tigress and back pretty quickly. Aqualad is capable of shooting both water and lightning. Miss Martian is able to transform into her white alien form.

Environment

World Hub: There's a few new surprises when it comes to exploring the world. Being able to explore sections of both Gotham and Metropolis is a real treat when you well-designed cities with actual buildings you can enter and explore. There will be stores, museums, diners, banks, and libraries. Whoever designed the puzzles deserves a raise since each one is as intricate as the last. You still gain a gold brick for solving a puzzle or unlock a character for completing a quest. Keep a close eye on your phone to read follow-up text messages from the events you just completed. One particular one I remembered was how Trigon texted me how Raven was still not accepting his calls. The time will always be shown too. While you cannot explore the world map in a 3-D environment, you are still able to teleport directly to level structures and map points. Although, it doesn't quite make sense to "shift layers" when there are no points on the Watchtower and the third area requires you to use the access point. If you wish for a more immersive experience, you can always turn off your HUD. Challenges now have written hints to where they are located. In addition, "File Finder" has hidden 30 unlockable characters in chests scattered about in the world. "Modest Misdemeanor" will allow you to initiate spontaneous missions to destroy recycle bins, drive criminals to their destination, steal candy from a baby (literally), break into vans, or break into vaults. A couple things actively change in the world after you complete them: Newspaper stands will now highlight saving the trees when you modify the printer inside the Daily Planet and Jimmy Olsen's clone will stand outside the office after completing his quest.

Puzzles: The game improves dramatically by including a small hint with an option to immediately switch to a character that you need for a puzzle that you saw in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 and sort the character roster by ability that you saw in Lego: Ninjago. The filter doesn't quite include every possible ability. While "Advanced Swimming" is listed, "Projectile Rebound" and "Scale" are not. You can hold the left or right trigger buttons to scroll the list and press the left analog stick to reset it. These filters do not prevent you from choosing anyone not highlighted. The ability to turn invisible can now only be activated when a security camera is locked onto you. Characters who logically can shoot more than one beam, like in the case of Superman, will automatically change into the correct beam when you lock onto a certain puzzle element.

Vehicles: This one sort of caught me by surprise. Sound effects are much better than in Lego Batman 3 with appropriate horns, police sirens, and a soundtrack of Joker laughing for his vehicles. Running your vehicle through sludge will permanently slow it down and leave a trail of ooze behind. Every vehicle has working headlights when you reach dark areas. While it is true that I wished Lobo's bike could actually fly, there are some interesting things to find when you drive each one of these. The standard bike allows you to lift up and perform a wheelie. There are large vehicles that will only large characters: Darkseid's Hover Destroyer (with pads that glow in the dark), Killer Croc's Battle Chomper (with actual chomping action), and Steppenwolf's Hover Bike. Motorcycles have a bit of a drift added to them when making turns. Pressing the RB button will enable your boost and spin planes. The Batmobile and Bat-Rocket enables you to eject yourself into the air if you hold the button down. The Daily Planet News Van spins the dish on top really fast. The Garbage Truck not only beeps when you are backing up but allows you to dump random trash out the back. Joker's Truck shoots out laughing gas that causes civilians to drop to the floor laughing. Scarecrow's Harvest of Fear shoots out fear gas, but whether or not civilians fear it or you is up for debate. Penguin's Duckboat shoots out three ducks. Wonder Womans's invisible jet does indeed turn invisible, leaving only you and the particle effects from the wings. While Killer Frost Ice Car at least lets you aim snowballs at targets, it does not freeze them. The bat boat is technically a two-seater (and not usable for races). Supermobile has a toy horn and uses fists that POW targets close-range. The Fireworks Van unfortunately does not blow up or shoot fireworks. The Lexsphere is one special vehicle you find in front of Lexcorp that will have an AI tell you a series of fun facts while you drive it. You will also have a chance to ride an alligator through a race. Races are most generous on the timer and have some great funky music. There is the addition of glide races, but I found it much easier to cheat by switching to a flying character when they became too frustrating to complete.

Red Bricks: Things get a bit more difficult when you have to spend 250 million studs for the 10x multiplier. Not only do you have to find red bricks in levels again, but you have to visit Star Labs to purchase them. There are quite a bit of fun ones this time around. Party Hats will remove masks, like in the case of Firefly or Hawkgirl, but will not change custom pieces like Detective Chimp, DexStarr, Grid, any large creatures, or any custom characters. Big Heads will enlarge the vast majority of characters, including B'dg, but it does not work on Chang Tzu, Cyborg in his big form, and Krypto. Mr. Freeze will enlarge but not his glass headpiece. The Ventriloquist's head grows but not the dummy. Pew Pew is a fun little modifier that changes gunfire sounds to actual dubbed sounds (does not work on any bullets fired during special moves). Confetti Mode will shoot confetti every now and then when striking enemies.

Details: The game options provide an additional difficulty option of "Rookie" or "Advanced" before starting a campaign. Subtitles offer small, medium, or large options. There is a hint system that shows a visual display of your character and how to replicate the action, but I had to quickly turn off that feature. Characters were designed with mugshots in the roster and police profiles for their powers & biography. Photographs have gone full circle with every character now being capable of taking a selfie. This system is fully supported when you spray paint graffiti over a poster or defeat a boss. There are maybe a half of dozen characters that will ask you to take pictures of them in front of specific locations. There is a good chance you will hit that 90-photograph limit in the gallery. Thankfully, you can delete any you come across in case you snap one with your eyes closed. Goon Control will require you to obtain henchmen that either help grapple or form a human ladder or trampoline. They will converse amongst themselves when you are collecting them during a level. Tracking will mute the colors of the screen. Police Department Badges appear over your head when you engage in criminal activity to alert you when police officers are trying to track you down. Characters you swap out will be diverted through a red boom tube. The advertisements and banners throughout the cities are animated. Beams not only lock onto puzzle elements but enemies while they move as well. The fight with "Robert" was pretty good with how you receive a mini-map, patrolling monster, and places to hide behind when he passes by. Quite a few characters, especially the large ones, can't dance. There are quite a bit of reprising voice actors with people like Mark Hamill playing the Joker & Trickster and John Borrowman voicing Malcolm like he did in Arrow. I ended with a 91.5% Completion: 83/130 Mini-kits; 265/270 Characters; 196/224 Gold Bricks; 29/36 Spray Paints.

Glitches: For a game this size, there are going to be problems. Most of these problems are blatantly obvious. When you try to force someone to dance while they are trying to attack, they will shake uncontrollably. If you try to lunge at something in an unusual place, it is possible to catch yourself inside an impassable area (like a cubicle where you mind control a person). I've noticed how my ally will appear in the most peculiar places where it would be impossible for them to get out from. Other problems just happen on the spur of the moment. There are a couple dozen spots where any of my vehicles would get caught up in on-route. I tried to use a simple bicycle during a race and somehow got the wheel stuck inside a warehouse when I performed a wheelie. There was one gliding race that stopped me dead in my tracks twice, one after another, when the monorail completely covered over the ring. I'm still unhappy how you must choose the option to "save & exit" for any progress in the world hub to be saved before quitting the game. They tried to widen the field that keeps you within your detective mode tracking down an item, but there was a massive glitch that eventually crashed my game. Thankfully, it only happened once. There seems to be a huge issue with how the game transitions from your initiation of a puzzle element, the animation from an accepting character, and the consequences of your character's action. Not only can the game stall in the action but doing anything like de-activating detective mode, attacking, moving out of position, or switching characters has a small chance of either failing the procedure or breaking it entirely. I recall once trying to assist the Monarch Theater and getting stuck watching as both characters forever animated without any dialogue. There were about six photographs with the bosses that didn't show either of the characters in the shot.

Characters

The Stars: The main story will introduce you to some major villains. These characters are essential for making progress through the levels. There are canisters that will require you to collect three items to advance. Although you can collect them with any person, they must gravitate to a specific character and placed inside accordingly for the right toxin. Once you have it ready, a "smell trail" will lead you where to dispense it. While only the top three in this list are needed in this fashion, the others have had extensive work done replacing their standard attacks and specializing their grab mechanics. This extends beyond those with claws who continuously strike their enemies, firing several shots from their gun, or juggling opponents with a couple of their blades.

1. The Joker: Laughing gas has to be mixed with the collection of three funny objects, but that isn't the only thing in his arsenal. He can summon chattering teeth that explodes on contact with anything silver. He can spray explosive paint on walls to clear the way or cover over a poster with a copy of his face. Joker's toxic immunity allows him to hop through ooze like a little kid skipping through water puddles. Laughing is in his nature as visible "HA" appears over his head when he is standing around or firing his gun. He also likes to twirl while jumping and do a little flip when he lands. His standard strikes cycle through a bunch of things from his arsenal: a gun that shoots out "BANG" out of the nozzle, a thrown joker card that shoots out a boxing glove, his spray bottle, and even more extending boxing gloves in all directions. If that wasn't enough, he will even pound the ground, scattering a few cards in its wake. If something needs blow up quickly, he can throw out an explosive pie. It's easy for him to scare enemies by holding them hostage at banana point. He will even present a Jack-in-a-Box with, you guessed it, a boxing glove.
2. Scarecrow: Three scary items have to picked up and mixed into his cute little Jack-o-Lantern. This toxin will deter anyone that might stand in your way. Though that object is also very good at lighting up dark areas. Scarecrow is very good at creating a giant illusion of himself when sharing something funny on his phone or dangle people in the air. What happens next is anybody's guess. His standard attacks cycle between a simple punch, kick, and throwing three skeleton heads at the enemy. He can throw green capsules to stun people from a distance. Despite having parts of his mouth taped shut, he still seems zealous enough to shake his head rapidly when running or double-jumping. If you really want to see something crazy, watch him perform a spasm right before releasing a giant wave that destroys the area.
3. Poison Ivy: Having people do anything this gal needs done will require three flowers mixed into a small vial. Your swooning ally will let you know when it's working. There is no distinguishable difference between her two versions. Her standard attacks surprisingly match the plant cycle as vines sprout forth around you, plants erupt from the ground, and a small garden is left behind on the ground. Plants will encapsulate around you when you smash the ground and shoot out leaves when you feel like performing a little dance before releasing a deadly wave to your foes. There is no need to get your hands dirty when a brown vine is ready to dangle enemies in the air. It will follow you wherever you go until you are ready for it to bury them deep into the ground. While there are many people capable of growing plants using water or special toxins, Poison Ivy is one of four who can perform Chlorokinesis. This technique is a unique blend of time-manipulation and multi-building where you decide in which direction a plant should grow.
4. Clayface: Although he cannot maintain human form, there are three distinct sizes he can transform into. Big Clayface is a force to be reckoned with when he is smashing his giant muddy maces onto the ground. Get too close and he will stuff you inside his body. After that, he might simply eject you out with a chest bump or bounce you around in a nice little basketball. He can also mold himself into a sphere and do some damage rolling around. It is quite alright to switch to your ally since he continues in this form until you say otherwise. When he returns to his standard form, he will be able to hold people in a tight ball even when he decides to roll around. Though, you will have to nudge the people's head back into your shape whenever they are grasping for air. He can form a hammer to smash one of those park mini-games when he feels like it or turn his hand into a shovel to dig something up. Don't underestimate how much muck he can throw around even in his tiny form. Seems like he is leaving residue wherever he goes, that includes going through vents or those pesky console mazes. I guess that's why his body rattles around when he moves. Thankfully, he still maintains a sense of humor when he pretends to melt into a puddle when you least expect it.
5. Harley Quinn: There are technically three different radical outfits to choose from if you include the DLCs, but the one we are going to focus on is the original and most interesting of the bunch. This flexible acrobat skates around like she owns the place. You'll notice her stick out her foot, skate backwards, and perform a flip over the giant hammer with the POW logo on top when she jumps. She has a bag of explosive cupcakes that she isn't afraid to take a bite of before taking aim using her hammer as a baseball bat. That isn't the only thing surprising. Every now and then she will laugh her way down to the ground while riding a giant rocket. She has an artistic side with how she spray paints her face over posters. Enemies will occasionally find themselves holding tight on top of her giant hammer. If asked nicely, she will put them down and surrender her hammer right before striking them below the belt and blowing them a kiss. Though on nice days, you'll see her pull out her boombox that plays a segment of her favorite song "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" until she gets bored and hammers it away too.
6. Livewire: There are perks to being the pure embodiment of electricity. You are immune when exploring inside socket mazes. It's nice to see electricity shoot out in all directions around you. You occasionally phase out of existence when jumping around, performing strikes, or teleporting ahead. You can form spheres of energy in the palm in your hands or convert yourself into a giant lightning strike that wipes out the area. Laugh as you pass over water surfaces or light up vents when you travel through them. Don't forget to share some of it with your friends when you shoot lightning bolts, hold them in your fingertips, or phase through their body. Unfortunately, not all people in water substances will be fried by your presence.
7. Killer Frost: Contrary to Harley's skating techniques, gliding on ice takes a little more finesse. You'll nearly always see this gal with one leg up while leaving a constant trail of ice spikes behind her performance. Watch her spin and shoot icicles from her hands. The powdery snow that lifts her body up will certainly help her do a lot of damage. Though her strong point is encasing people in a giant block of ice you won't see from something simple like Superman's frost breath. These icebergs can be pushed around until you let gravity do the work after shooting one up into the air. Catch her unaware and you might just see her building a snowman out of all that dust. Though, I'd also watch for that pointy ice shield she can form to deflect beams.
8. Captain Cold & Mr. Freeze: Both these characters share a large pool of animations but are also distinctly different from each other. Their cold gun is strong enough to freeze enemies in ice, but they don't always use it responsibly. They just love encasing opponents in giant snowballs and rolling them around. Then when they get bored, they will complete the job of building them into a snowman. They will shoot giant snowballs into the ground and sometimes onto themselves when they are careless. Like Killer Frost, they can reflect beams with an ice shield. Captain Cold isn't too stable on his feet when he slips on ice after every jump and Mr. Freeze likes to waste shooting the gun directly into the ground to slow his descent.
9. Solomon Grundy: The larger members of the team don't normally have anything of interest beyond their ability to grab things or smash walls. Though, this undead member can be pretty ruthless. He will shove people into the ground and stomp on their head to finish the job. His standard attacks cycle between using his fist, the power of his ball & chain, and smashing people with Flash's gravestone. He also carries around Superman's gravestone to use in his ground smash. Given enough preparation, he will swing that prison accessory of his around the area.

The Maestros: While it can be dandy to see members like Eclipso sport his shield that breaks math, it can be more entertaining listen to people play music. In addition to Harley Quinn snapping her fingers to the sounds of her boombox, there are six members who can force others to dance to their tune.

1. King Shark: Large and in charge, it might surprise you to see this team member perform a Hula dance. Him and Killer Croc seem to love biting a chunk of ground and throw it at people. He may just use his teeth to eat of unsuspecting victims too.
2. Granny Goodness: Fitting to her name, she carries a giant purse to use as a deadly weapon in her ground smash. It must be because of all those carefully wrapped exploding candy she tosses out to people. I'm not sure where she keeps that phonograph of hers when she pulls it out and it is hard to know from what era that song she listens to originates from.
3. Calendar Man: It isn't quite clear what this fanatic throws at people. There seems to be an endless supply of calendar books and other random seasonal items in his arsenal. It is clear how much he cares about them with the number of times he spray paints them over posters and glues the pages together into a cape that enables him to glide across the city. He also surprises people with a giant cake to the tune of the Birthday song.
4. Music Meister: While his abilities aren't as elaborate as they were in Lego: Batman 3, he can still carry a tune. He throws explosive horns that make a sound when they explode and colorful notes when playing that one recognizable Rockabilly song. He puts on a show with those moves of his and takes a bow to the crowd whenever he stops moving. While he doesn't quite emit strong waves from the mic of his, it is capable of shattering glass.
5. Kanto: Not much is known about this fellow from Apokolips, but he seems to favor that lute of his. It is so hard that he uses it as a hammer when testing his mettle. Listen carefully as you'll hear Greensleeves and another song that sounded it came from the Renaissance.
6. The Ventriloquist: A lot can happen when you pair Arnold Wesker with that dummy of his, Scarface. Although quite absent in the previous games, much can be seen from how the master erratically moves the dummy in his hands. Their standard attacks includes slapping an enemy with his fist, the dummy, and the dummy's fists. When all else fails, he will simply throw the dummy at people, toss it high in the air when he jumps (he can't double-jump), or have the dummy carefully cover his eyes a second before slamming him into the ground. His movement includes being carried by the dummy has it walks, huddling behind the dummy while walking around, or grabbing hold of the dummy's base while running as fast as he can. Scarface isn't afraid to use that Tommy Gun when firing bullets in every direction, including when an opponent is thrown overhead. Whenever falling from a steep height, the two of them will hold each other tightly. What's very masterful is how Arnold is able to set a piano up for Scarface to play and continue to dance on the floor while inching their whole ensemble across the ground. Thankfully he packs his dummy away on his back when the man is trying to swim.

The Manics: Almost every character has some sort of laser or special ability. Even Lois Lane knows how to use a flashlight in dark place and throw her microphone with perfect accuracy through a series of targets. Some might use a unique weapon like a staff, sword, or Triton. Others will generate sparks in their strikes or display a range of colors so blinding that one might doubt their existence on the spectrum. I'd like to list each and every one of the 174 characters in the base game alone, but there are perhaps about a dozen that goes beyond the theatrics I listed below:

1. Anti-Monitor: He's ugly and he's big but that is what makes him so special. Like Fin Fang Foom, the sheer size this character can grow into is something you can't ignore.
2. Ares: As the God of War, it is impossible to ignore playing as this character when he has three different weapons he uses in his standard attacks floating around him. Every now and then he will lift them temporarily in the air as he maniacally laughs at his competition. His essence of red and black burns through his weapons as he uses them to slice through his enemies. When he takes aim, a barrage of daggers will circle around him as he lunges his entire body at his foes. His teleportation skills will leave a puff of black smoke when he jumps across the landscape or travels through vents. Fire will light up a path for him to glide gracefully down to the ground. If that wasn't fearful enough, growing into a massive giant might just do the trick. Though, I've also heard that the snakes on his head sometimes get in the way of a good photograph.
3. Beast Boy: Being a member of the Teen Titans automatically makes this character cool, but his ability to transform into animals is a little different than what you have seen in previous games. He will always be flapping his arms when you jump, ready to turn into a little green bird and fly away. Watch for the moment he holds his bottom since that is when he is about to turn into a skunk and spray everyone. He will turn into a rhino when charging at people. You can transform into bear form and do some heavy lifting. Though, he might just pass out from the sheer smell of his own odor. He will turn into a dog and dig up piles of rubble when you need the assist. Otherwise his attitude of sticking out his tongue shows how radical his attacks can be. He will morph parts of his body into all kinds of animals, including the kangaroo, when striking enemies. If he ever has the urge to go for a swim, his shark form will be glad to give you a boost in water.
4. Cyborg: Although he no longer carries all those cool suits he had in Lego: Batman 3, there are a few things you might recognize in this game. He still gets by security cameras by turning into a washer, but you no longer can do it on command anymore. He does turn into a giant cyborg and spin his mech suit around when attacking. His alternate outfits in the DLCs will also have a couple of cool idle animations where he pulls out a football to do some tricks and navigate around the digital universe through a virtual interface.
5. Darkseid: What a gentleman he can be by standing at attention with his hands behind his back while floating around like that. Things don't go too well for his enemies when he grabs them with an energy brace and hurl giant molten rocks at them. Unlike the beams you might find on other characters, his lasers move around like the Flash as they chain from one target to the next. Watch him closely and you might see him perform a trick by juggling a few of his goons in the air.
6. Detective Chimp: Even though others like Commissioner Gorden and his fancy megaphone can use a magnifying glass to track down leads, this character also likes to use it to investigate the quality brand banana before he eats it. It takes a strong will to use bananas as weapons, or one completely insane like The Joker.
7. Frankenstein: Contrary to many of the larger folk, this undead beast likes to use all his weapons in his attacks. He strikes with his fist, his gun, and a giant blade to which he electrifies for a second blow. All that moving around must make him tired as you can see him catching some Z's while standing up on occasion.
8. Grail: Being the daughter of Darkseid means she benefits from using those awesome homing lasers of his. She also has some nifty teleportation abilities using boom tube technology. Though, the one thing you should be afraid of is how she swings that sword of hers around the place. It's so big that you'll hear it scraping against the concrete wherever she goes.
9. Lobo: Who ever since a tyrannical mercenary couldn't be charming? He diversifies his attacks between his gun, hook, and chain. But what sets him apart is how he rides his bed bud dolphin around the city. He cares about him so much that he spray paints his image over posters when he is bored.
10. PolkaDot Man: Unlocking this character may either have been a mistake or the greatest thing in the world. This character will not sit still, not stop smiling, and never stop surprising you with his abilities. He flings his arms while running so effortlessly and shakes his bum while flying around on that circular platform of his. He flails so joyously when shooting his dots at people and falling mercilessly from high heights. It is as if he trusts his giant shield of polka dots will protect him at any given moment.
11. Silver Banshee: This ghost of a figure goes to some extremes in haunting her victims. No doubt her screams will be heard from every avenue. She will fade completely away before attacking her enemies from the front, side, or above. If you see the white rings she leaves behind before she teleports, it would be a good time to run. Not only is she capable of flying but holds enough strength to pick up chunks off the ground. If you do see her, make sure to take a good look at how the decal ripples across on her body.
12. Stepphenwolf: Here comes another character large in stature that is fascinating to watch in action. He picks up enemies on the top of his axe and then quickly slices them to bits. If that isn't entertaining enough, he can engulf his axe in flame or shoot it directly at his foes.
13. Talon: Very similar to Klarion and his cat, we have another character who is accompanied by an ever-flying owl. The loving duo will share the spoils as they rotate out strikes on their foes. The loyal bird will sometimes twirl ahead like a drill. Be careful not to be grabbed by the bird's talons. You'll find yourself dangling higher and higher in the air before it rips you to shreds off-screen. William Cobb fully trusts his bird when tossed into the ground or carefully held while gliding through the air.

The Team: While there are numerous characters who all share the same mechanics, there are some very exclusive ones whose mechanics are needed to complete certain puzzles. For a list of those members, I have added a new category:

1. The Drones: Very similar to previous games in the series, there are characters who can summon pets to get to those hard-to-reach places. One such puzzle won't even accept those who are shrunken down in size. However, things get even weirder when even the pets have their own element. The Penguin calls out an explosive penguin. The Joker has the ability to summon chattering teeth that will destroy silver bricks or a flying plane if you have the DLC version. The Batman sends out a replica of the Batwing (original or movie version depending on the character chosen) that will detonate glass. Catwoman has a pet cat that unlike Lego: Incredibles allows you to jump around. The Clock King, that has a clock for a face that continuously spins around the hours, builds a cute little alarm clock. Toy Man, the one that throws action figures like The Collector in Lego Super Heroes 2 and explosive teddy bears, has a cymbal-clapping monkey (that continues to clash even when not moving). Eugene Choi from the Shazam DLC Bundle is able to send out an actual drone equipped with a working flashlight.
2. The Lanterns: It is a bit strange to see these guys will less abilities than in the previous game, but they are still needed to create unusual shapes to open up new areas. All have the ability to pull out their lanterns to light up rooms and generate shields for protection. Several Green Lanterns perform the same kind of actions regardless if they are John Stewart, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, or the Lego Movie 2 version - they create an anvil when performing a ground smash or push outward with a giant fist. Power Ring, being the scared villain that he is, will not pass up the chance to spray paint over posters or form a giant green mini-gun over his head. B'dg is unique in the sense that he is a squirrel that has to carry his ring on the edge of his tail to perform some actions. That doesn't stop his love for acorns as you'll see him dig up random ones from the ground, throw the occasional one at enemies, or create one giant one to roll around on. His red ring cat counterpart DexStarr similarly can't get over chasing mice. Due to both their sizes, they are unable to properly grab enemies. Atrocious summons one giant red bull while performing his ground smash. Since the villains can't make do without Sinestro, he can use his yellow ring to strike enemies with a sword, hammer, and shield. His auxiliary ability is still having spiders crawl over his enemies or simply have one giant one smash into the ground. Star Sapphire wields the violet ring to create a barrage of hearts in all of her attacks. For some twisted way of fate, Mera and Aqualad (from Young Justice) are two characters from DLC Bundles who also can use Lantern spots.
3. The Speedsters: Contrary to what was possible in previous games, those who could technically move really fast like Superman are not able to "enter the Speed Force" when using a treadmill. These are exclusive to Flash, Wally West, Kid Flash, Johnny Quick, and Reverse-Flash. There are quite a bit more who are introduced through the DLC bundles: The Flash (TV version), The Flash (Movie Version), Kid Flash (from Young Justice), Zoom, and Darla in her Shazam form. All of these characters essentially have the same move set with a different dash of paint. Johnny Quick, being from Earth-3, doesn't stray from painting his face over posters either. They can carry enemies in their own personal hurricane and strike them several times in multiple directions. They have the ability to break glass but it's a bit messy with how you also need to throw lightning at the same time.
4. Mirror Portals: For the vast majority of the game, you'll think Mirror Master is the only person who can link portals through mirrors with the help of his Scottish accent. Surprisingly, there are a few others I unlocked very late in the game that can perform the same action. Doctor Fate and Enchantress (who also has the ability to use Chlorokinesis) are capable of accomplishing the task at hand. Klarion is a mischievous boy who adores his pet cat Teekl at every opportunity. The cat will always be at his side, whether attacking his foes or swimming through water. The boy is also capable of performing a wide-range of magical powers with the help of that staff of his. The main one I want to highlight is Raven for her ability to wield a giant black hand in combat (or while sitting idly by) is pretty awesome. She hovers above the ground, tucking her feet closely inside her cloth, and only reveals herself when attacking enemies. Her beam consists of either a waving purple or a touch of black lightning. Her teleportation prowess allows her to pass by vents and a giant hammer can be formed for the mini-game puzzle. She is also one of the rare specimens that can use a lantern spot.

Summary

Review: Tt Games did it again by making you the main character of the story. You can customize him or her to your liking and adjust almost anything at any time in their profile page. While you won't be present in every single level, you'll still be charged with finding a laundry list of different villains to combat the evil super heroes that came from the parallel universe. Although the brunt of the story will have you traveling through sections of Gotham and Metropolis, there will be a whole third act reflecting on what the heroes were up to all this time - regardless of your decision at the climax. Both cities were brilliantly designed with a functional train, subsections of each franchise to explore, scavenger hunt for items, and plenty of side missions to keep you entertained. Vehicles have been improved with workable features like an ejector seat and laughing gas. The combat can feel a little sluggish or weird at times but definitely an improvement over some changes made in games over the years. While it might take you some time to adjust to the unique premise, this game is definitely recommended in my book.

 

3-17-2023