Andy Naylor reviews Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham…
If you’re not under the age of 12, LEGO games have been pretty hit and miss, at least critically, financially they are some huge money gathering juggernaut that shows no sign of stopping any time soon. LEGO Star Wars was a complete success on every level. It appealed to the kids, allowed the adults to reminisce and did something very new and unique to the platform genre.
Fast forward 9 years since LEGO Star Wars’ debut and there have now been nearly 20 LEGO games that follow a similar model. The games have evolved somewhat, all be it on a minimal level – gone is the silent movie treatment to the cut-scenes, voices have now incorporated into the narrative – but basically the same game is created with a different story and different art. It’s a very cynical model, no different from your sports franchise games really, but at least they have shown significant development in the past decade.
So what is new for LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham? Truthfully, not a lot. If you’ve played LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, you know precisely what to expect, at least game play wise. The collection of LEGO money within the levels is still disturbingly addictive, you can still meander through the levels with no great urgency and explore nooks and crannies, and the same slapstick humour is present throughout – which still appeals to the kids and adults alike, they are very well done and always amusing. The beauty of LEGO Batman, unlike something like the terribly dull LEGO Indiana Jones, is the pre-existing universe is wide open and the developers are not stuck along one linear path where the gamer already knows the ending. Traveller’s Tales have an established universe and wealth of previous stories to draw upon to create their own unique tale, while bringing a multitude of characters together in an engaging story, and they have done this ever so well. At no point does the story become laboured or uninteresting, the more you progress then the more you want to know what happens next. The story is arguably the strongest aspect of LEGO Batman 3, excluding the need to collect LEGO money.
However, the gameplay takes away from the narrative simply by the manner of its chaotic nature. More and more seems to be packed into the levels (an argument could be made that this is a positive, it’d be wrong but it could be made) that soon the story takes a back seat to smashing things up, switching characters, switching character’s suits than following the story’s journey. In some of the vehicle levels there’s so much going on that it’s possible to lose sight of your craft amongst the objects crammed onto the screen. In LEGO Star Wars, levels where completed by switching between 2 or 3 characters and using that characters unique skill set in order to complete a goal. Now, in LEGO Batman 3, not only is the gamer switching between several characters in order to complete puzzles, but they are then switching between, up to, 8 different suits for that character. Some levels it is possible to be required to stop, change characters, then change suits repeatedly, the whole process is far to stop start to gather any gameplay enjoyment in the long-term, it often feels like a chore.
Despite all that, the LEGO games are still good fun to play and the 2 player option and the family wide nature of their content allows parent and child to enjoy videos games together in a way that isn’t possible in many games released these days. There is a clear love for the DC Universe throughout the game, the addition of “Adam West in peril” is a particular highlight, combining his 1960s cheesy Batman persona with his downright weird Family Guy character is a masterstroke. But, there’s just too much going on all the time for it to be enjoyable for long periods of time.
Pros:
Adam West
Narrative
Humour
Cons:
Too Busy
Too many character suits
Batmite – far too irritating
Rating: 7/10
Reviewed on PS4
Andy Naylor – Follow me on Twitter.
Originally published November 15, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
