PC
PlayStation 3
Nintendo Wii
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Product Features

Genre
Adventure
Publisher
Warner Bros. Interactive
Release Date
June 22, 2012
Available Platforms
PC, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii

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LEGO Batman 2 DC Super Heroes

Batman and Robin return in LEGO Batman 2 DC Super Heroes, the highly-anticipated sequel to the best-selling LEGO videogame of all time, which to date has sold more than 11 million units worldwide. This time the Dynamic Duo join forces with other famous DC super heroes including Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern to stop the notorious villains Lex Luthor and The Joker from destroying Gotham City. Batman fans of all ages will enjoy a new and original story filled with classic LEGO videogame action and humor as players fight to put the bad guys back behind bars. Explore all of Gotham City in the Batmobile, Batwing and more Use all-new abilities including flight, heat vision and super breath For the first time, LEGO has a voice! Talking minifigures enhance an all-new original storyline...

  • Dave Wallace June 24, 2012 PS3
    ****

    Remember when you were a kid, and superheroes didn't need to be 'dark' and 'gritty' for you to enjoy them? When just seeing a colourful battle between super-powered men in capes and evil villains in outrageous costumes was all a story needed? If you can remember - and feel nostalgia for - those days, then the Lego Batman franchise might be for you.

    In 2008, the first Lego Batman game took the world of the Dark Knight and brought it to life in the form of Danish-miniature-building-blocks. As ridiculous as that might sound, it was a masterstroke. All of the classic Batman trappings were there: Robin, Gotham City, the Batmobile, the Batcave, Alfred, the Joker, and a whole host of bat-villains. It even managed to pull off an original story for the Batman franchise, which is no mean feat given that the Lego videogames have been mostly based off existing stories (like those of the Star Wars, Indiana Jones or Harry Potter movies). And all this was achieved without deviating from the colourful, simple fun of seeing the caped crusader and his sidekick run around dark alleys, knocking enemies' heads together, without a thought for darkness and grittiness.

    It was a hugely fun game that got the acclaim it deserved. With Lego Batman 2, however, developers 'Traveller's Tales' have made quite a few changes to the winning formula - although luckily, all of them enhance it rather than detract from it.

    First and foremost, the game boasts a much wider cast of characters than its predecessors. The subtitle "DC Super Heroes" isn't just a hint that the game incorporates the wider DC universe - it's also an indicator that a whole host of different DC heroes are available as playable characters. (If you don't know your DC from your Marvel, DC's stable includes the likes of Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern - and of course, the daddy of them all, Superman.)

    These characters amount to a lot more than just costume changes, as all their individual powers are all available for you to utilise in your quest to defeat the bad guys. So you get the Flash's super-speed; Green Lantern's ability to make glowing green constructs of anything he can imagine; and Superman's ability to fly. The game would be worth buying for this final option alone: how could you possibly resist flying a Lego version of the Man of Steel over Gotham as the classic John Williams 'Superman' theme blares out of your PS3 (to complement the classic Danny Elfman 'Batman' theme which is also included, naturally). And switching characters is actually pretty intuitive and easy, despite the huge number of choices: an easily-accessible menu pops up, you select your chosen character from a menu of mugshots, and they replace whichever hero you're playing as at the moment. It's as simple as that.

    As well as a much wider cast of characters (which also incorporates many different DC villains, like Lex Luthor), Traveller's Tales have also expanded the scope of Lego Batman's world by setting up this sequel as a more free-roaming affair, which lets you wander all over Gotham City. This brings players the open-world appeal of more adult-oriented games like Batman: Arkham City, allowing them to simply stroll around exploring Gotham at their leisure (and getting into the odd scuffle or two), rather than being constrained by more linear mission-based levels.

    The game also make a couple of cosmetic, rather than fundamental, changes to the Lego Batman formula. Most notably, this is the first Lego game to include spoken dialogue (the previous Lego games had characters communicate through gestures or noises, but never full speech). Initially, this feels a little bit weird and ill-fitting, but the dialogue matches the action well enough and the vocal cast is decent enough that you get used to it pretty quickly. It also allows for far more complexity in the storylines, enabling the characters to convey ideas far more quickly than in the charades-style fashion of the first game.

    Essentially, with Lego Batman 2, Traveller's Tales have taken the Lego Batman formula, and expanded on everything that made the original such fun to play. Even more impressively, they've managed to do it without sacrificing the simplicity of gameplay or the gentle learning curve that makes these games suitable for all ages of player, making it one of those rare releases that can be enjoyed by both adults and their kids at the same time. I've been waiting for this game with baited breath ever since it was announced - and having finally got my hands on it, it definitely doesn't disappoint.