Lego Batman

No its not Wednesday yet but I’m already in my pyjama’s so it might as well be.

I expressed my excitement about Lego Batman previously, so I had my preorder in place for last Friday and rushed home from work ready to sit all weekend and play til the end. Alas, it didn’t quite work out that way.

There is no denying that Lego Batman is extremely cute and, in places, very funny, but my overwhelming emotion about the whole experience up until this point is ‘meh’. Lego games are known for their quirkyness and humour and what with all the build up to this game being released (Batman becoming somewhat of a phenomenom in particular this year) but so far I have to confess that my favourite part of this game so far is the cut scenes. I haven’t finished it yet, and I’m waiting for the intuitive use of the wii-mote as promised by many previews, but I’ve found myself a little…bored. And frustrated. I’m a good two thirds of the way into this game and so far I have fallen off of various platforms and been eaten by crocodiles simply because I either can’t see the edge of the area where Batman is standing or because the controls suddenly become super-sensitive whenever you’re in a position to die. I almost think that until I’ve seen these ‘realistic motion; controls later on in the game, Lego Batman is probably better suited to a traditional control pad configuration.

Its not all bad though. As with other Lego games you have a choice of characters with which to play; starting off with Batman and a very goofy Robin and moving on to a strangely sexy square catwoman and hilarious Clay Face. I love this and the range of different moves that can be performed are excellent.

The little touches that are dotted all over the game are very cool too. Batman can punch and kick enemies in a range of different ways, the best of which involves the baddie being thrown into the screen and sliding down through your field of vision. You have a range of different suits which give you helpful powers too which is very cool. And co-op mode is always good. However (and someone please prove me wrong if I am) I found that I could only complete one section of the game by turning on another wii-mote and playing as both characters in order to get Robin to stand on a lever to let Batman through a door. I tried for nearly an hour with one wii-mote but bloody Robin kept bloody following Batman around like a bloody puppy. Twat.

Oh, and sections on water where the controls are looser than my morals? No thanks, no thanks.

So, I will give a final verdict once it is all done, but for now my opinion on Lego Batman is:

Play it, but borrow, don’t buy.