The “Break it Down” Blog

Summary [8 out of 10]

Over 30 levels of Lego fun.  Play 15 of them as Batman/Robin and another 15 as the Villains. Play through the story of an Arkham Asylum escape and the ensuing crime spree.  Find and unlock all of Batman’s suits and vehicles and use them to protect Gotham as the Dark Knight.

Introduction

I have played all of the Lego games released for the Xbox 360 so far and enjoyed them thoroughly.  This is the first Lego game that has levels specific to the bad guys and those levels are really well done. Compared to the past Lego games this one seems to have more levels but the levels feel a little shorter than I remember in the past games. If you were a little disappointed in Lego Indiana Jones after the great fun of the Lego Star Wars games I would recommend trying Lego Batman.  It is a fun adventure game with funny plots and lots of replay value.

The Good

• Cooperative play is great, either with a kid or another adult.
• Lots of really funny moments in the game.  The first time you kiss someone as Poison Ivy or Cat Woman.  The first time you ride a villains vehicle and chomp enemies to pieces. Plus a lot more I’ll leave for you to find.
• Playing as a villain is a lot of fun.  All the villains have interesting unique attacks that just never get old.  Doing the back-breaker as Bane or shocking people as The Joker is hilarious from start to finish.

The Bad

• Long load times are lame.  Find a way to get players into the game quickly.
• The Bat Cave layout is poorly done making you run around 3 minutes to get to half of the areas.
• A few of the Batman/Robin suits (heat resistant for example) are not that useful.
• A couple times I got stuck and had to really look around to figure out how to move on. For a kids game it can be surprisingly challenging.

Conclusions [8 out of 10]

Whether you’re looking to play Lego Batman alone or with someone else it is a playful adventure game.  With all of the different characters, vehicles, levels, and upgrades there is a lot of game to play. The Batman levels were fun, but the Villain levels really shine.  They really balance the comedy of the game with the over-the-top stereotypical evil villain schemes.  There are a few minor annoyances, but overall the game is great.  If you’re a completionist getting 100% and all 1000 achievement points will take you a bit of work, but with so many fun characters to play I never found it getting old or repetative.