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PAX 08: Hands-On Lego Batman
The Dark Knight Goes Lego
by Sarah
One of the more adorable games I played this weekend at PAX was definitely Lego Batman. While this game’s release date is only a few weeks away, I couldn’t resist a chance to get my hands on the next in the super fun Lego series. Like Lego Indiana Jones before it, you will still need to be a fan of the source material and/or Legos in order to appreciate this game at all, but if you don’t like Batman or Legos, there’s probably something wrong with you.
I played Lego Batman with another convention-goer, which was ideal because the Lego games are always more fun with a friend. I played in two separate levels, one as a villain (Riddler, opposite Mr. Freeze), and also as Robin to my partner’s Batman. One of the more interesting aspects of Lego Batman is that the villains have special powers in addition to the typical Lego melee attacks. Freeze could freeze people, stopping them in their tracks before breaking them apart, while the Riddler could take control of the minds of others, forcing them to do his bidding. Batman and Robin balance this out by acquiring character-specific different suits that come with special abilities, like walking vertically up and metal surface, or floating over the gap between two buildings.
As far as the gameplay goes, I must report that there didn’t seem to be any significant changes in the core gameplay when compared to previous Lego games. As always, if you or your partner wanders too far off the screen, one of you is going to combust into a cavalcade of Legos. That being said, as a huge Batman fan, it was awesome to see some of the environments from the animated series lovingly recreated in Lego form. Lego Batman is a lot of fun, and something I will continue to enjoy in the future.
An alarming problem was that the game completely glitched out two times during loading screens, going to black and freezing completely. The attendee assured me that this was an old demo, and that the final version of the game was glitch-free and ready to go. We’ll find out for sure when the game ships on September 23 for every system ever (360, PS2, PS3, DS, PSP, and PC if you want to get technical).
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Comments
game is going to be mega fun.. really enjoyed lego indiana jones.. i sure hope it was just an old demo
Bummer that they didn't change much gameplay wise. Maybe the fact that it's a new story (as opposed to being based off of films that we've all seen millions of times) so it should have a bit of freshness.
The only change I would have liked to see was to make it possible for the two players to go more than a few feet apart without one of them dying automatically. Still, you pretty much know what you're getting with a Lego game at this point, and maybe if it ain't broke, they shouldn't fix it. I am looking forward to this a lot, I just hope it doesn't ship glitchy.
I wonder if they will ever try to take these games to 4 player or an online co-op(unless this has already been a feature)
Good point, Voyou, even local 4-player would have been nice, but I have a feeling things would get a little too hectic on-screen.
true, 4 player would mean they would have to design puzzles and worlds to fit 2 player, but also be able to fit 4 player, which would probably increase the production time and cost.
And things would be very hectic, especially with the 2 players not being able to get too far away from one another, which would suck even more with 4 players.. oh god i cant even imagine..
ok i take it back :) 2 player is fine but please give me online co-op for the 2 players if this is not an option now
"cavalcade of legos" is an awesome name for a band :)
i'm going to have batman fever for a while...
cant wait to play a good game with nightwing in it!!!