Games: Lego Batman
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na…
BATMAN!!
Man, I love Batman. Pretty much all Batman stuff is awesome, right? Well, the less said about “Batman & Robin” (with Mr Freeze) and the awful Halle Berry “Catwoman” films, the better.
But even Adam West’s camp crusader was charming. The modern Christian Bale incarnation is awesome, but the cheesey films with Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer will always hold a special place in my heart.
And I think this is one of the main reasons Lego Batman won me over so much – it’s a cheese fest! You get to play a whole host of characters, including the adorable Harley Quinn and the infamous “Mr Freeze”. Look out for the cringe-worthy Man-bat and Killer Moth, too. And of course, you get to be the Caped Crusader himself, or, if you’re so inclined, his bumbling sidekick, Robin.
Every character has their pros and cons – my personal favourite is to play Poison Ivy, but the Joker is good fun too.
I got VERY sucked into the Batman world – lots of things to smash up (in order to collect “studs”, “mini-kit” and Power Blocks, which all unlock extra goodies in the game) and plenty of little puzzles to solve.
Certain parts of the game are off-limits the first time you play through, but once you have unlocked “free play” in a chapter, you can switch between characters at your leisure, therefore making previously unobtainable goodies accessible (e.g. if something was too high up for Batman to get, then use Poison Ivy – she can double-jump).
The game is not without its faults – lots of things to fall off, which gets frustrating rather than just challenging, and I got “stuck” several times. Also, the two-player mode is not perfect – when you go in opposite directions, you can only go so far, because the game does not go split screen. So be prepared to argue about who is in charge – but then, I suppose that’s why they call it co-op.
All in all, a fine romp. Ben and his sister tell me that it’s the lest fun of the Lego games, which bodes well for the others – because I love it.
