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.
we’ve had lego batman on the ds since it’s come out and also have all the lego francise (starwars and indiana jones) on both ds and wii… not for me can’t stand the annoying games! My bro, the owner of the games, loves it… no its not starwars but it still seems to please him and he still seems to be able to twig whats going on… far better than I! The point we have to remember with these games is that they are intended for children and they work really well as such….however, they do work much better on the ds than the wii….
oh on a quick batman/robin note, whilst in one player you have to go to robin and switch to playing him so batman follows you around instead and then you do the stuff and then decided if you want to be the cape crusader again…. according to the 4year old boys…. hope that helped Blakeborough!!
xxx
I do like the LEGO series of games, its always ncie when a company injects some comedy into the world of gaming which can take itself far to seriously.
I just think that they need to do something new with the franchise now. Also the Lego games are always so short that I don’t feel as though they are worth the £40 or so.
yes but blackett they’re not meant for you they are meant for children!!!! if they were too long children would get really really upset and bored. They need to keep them short and sweet!!
Oh and I can assure you they are well worth the money when your babysitting and need a couple of hours to do something important, like say bake a cake or do your make-up, and the kiddy winkys are still up! It keeps them instanty amused
Downside…. when being asked if you go out drinking with luke and darth vadar or when the wire of the hoover is being hung down the stairs so they can be indiana jones or… well you get the point
Oh and blackett do not start pretending you are any of the characters uuntil you have finsihed all your vegetables!!!
I know its for children but I dont think that that is a valid excuse for an inflated price tag, children get tax free clothing, they should get tax free games too.
I always eat my vegetables!
yeah but if we suggetsed tax free games then they’d say that computer games create obesity in kids (this is not my opinion btw) and therefore they should inflate the price so that is discourages the computer for play and instead promotes playing active games…hopefully outside (that is unless you live on drug dealer, murderer, joy rider street) … ummm or its raining
well then I say they make Wii fit free….or force children to power their consoles and television sets by running in a hamster wheel type contraption.
‘yes but blackett they’re not meant for you they are meant for children!!!! if they were too long children would get really really upset and bored. They need to keep them short and sweet!!’
It’s hardly necessary that they complete the game in one sitting. Children are quite capable of making use of autosave functions. Just ask Mario fans of a certain age.
yes but lego is for young players say 3 or 4+ and whilst they can save they don’t always remember in fine detail exactly what they’ve done and where they’ve been…. in fact I have questioned a series of 4 year olds and they tell me they wouldn’t want it longer and they thinks “its just good enough”
Furthermore, as someone who lives with children and works with children, they find a game far more gratifying and enjoyable if it isn’t too long and they can complete it a few times!!
They may be capable of doing something but I think that we should think about that games are meant for fun and enjoyment not testing capability…. they are tested enough at school!!!
Fair point. From an adult perspective though, the Lego games were clearly lazily hashed together, by a development team safe in the knowledge that the brands involved would carry them to best-seller status. They play like shit. Traveller’s Tales were doing better work over a decade ago, on machines a fraction of the power, for a fraction of the budget. See Sonic 3D for the Mega Drive.