Critical Reception: TT Games' Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

This week's edition of Critical Reception examines online reaction to Warner Bros' and TT Games' action-adventure sequel Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, which currently earns a score of 80 out of 100 at Metacritic.com. IGN's Greg Miller scores Lego Batman 2 at 8.5 out of 10, describing it as "the greatest Superman game of all time." "Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes isn't just another LEGO game," he asserts. "It does away with hard-to-judge platforming, its puzzles make sense, and it adds a couple of big things that are sure to become staples for the LEGO franchise moving forward." Voice acting is another major addition. "It's a focused story that's entertaining from start to finish, and part of that is thanks to voice acting," Miller writes. "While the silent LEGO games have always been funny, Lego Batman 2 is able to move beyond shrugs and grins. Robin fanboying out over Superman, Vicki Vale's newscasts, and Lex trying to convince Joker that killing Batman is a good idea -- these are brilliant moments we would've lost without the excellent actors." "Lego Batman 2 has another first for the series: an open world," Miller continues. "While LEGO games always have a HUB world, they're usually a bit limited. Lego Batman 2 gives you all of Gotham City to explore. Arkham Asylum, Ace Chemicals, GCPD -- it's an entire town and it's packed with stuff to collect, save and explore." "I polished off the story in about nine hours, but I spent the next 11 chasing down bricks and characters -- and I'm still not done," Miller says. "The open world stuff could use some tweaks, but the little stumbles don't stop Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes from being a great game." Clint Demeritt at Games Radar gives Lego Batman 2 an 8 out of 10. "The sequel is chock full of blocky fun and sports some new features we haven't seen in a LEGO game," he begins. "One such important new addition is voices. [...] The voice acting is top notch and adds plenty of genuinely funny, kid-friendly humor. It really captures the feel of a Saturday morning cartoon." "Another big addition to the LEGO series is the implementation of an open sandbox Gotham City that's rife with Arkham Asylum escapees," Demeritt continues. "If you are looking to play the game past its initial story (which is rather short), you'll be spending a lot of your time zip-lining through the Gotham skyline. There are tons of puzzles to solve, rewarding players with collectible golden bricks." AI co-op suffers from its own quirks, however. "The AI is a serviceable companion, but not always the sharpest option," Demeritt warns. "There are moments when you'll switch back to a character you think is in tow, to find out they're a few puzzles behind. "And no, a real human partner won't solve all your sidekicking woes. The usual aggravation (for some, mischievous joy) associated with walloping your partner and costing them some bolts is still part of the experience. Also, the diagonally split-screen camera -- introduced in LEGO Indiana Jones 2 -- still creates some havoc as sometimes, it will throw off one partner's projectile targeting." "Lego Batman 2's greatest strength is not only in how it balances its difficulty and length, but also in how the sandbox world will give you way more playtime and challenges to solve afterwards," Demeritt praises. "If you are looking to share a good gaming experience with a younger gamer, or want to indoctrinate your children in the ways of Batman, this game will be perfect. If you are a longtime Bat-o-phile looking for a deep gaming experience, Lego Batman 2 has enough collectibles to keep you busy nearly as long as Arkham City." Official Xbox Magazine's Chuck Osborn rates Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes at 6 out of 10, warning that its subtitle may lead to disappointment for some. "Sure, the DC superheroes eventually join the party in this action-adventure game based on the DC line of Lego toys," he explains, "but not until the end of the story campaign, and just long enough to tease a future, probably better game." In addition: "Batman's extended rogue's gallery of villains is mostly ignored, given quick cameos, or dispatched early on like The Riddler, Two-Face, and Harley Quinn are during the first level. Most of the game is spent in confrontation or pursuit of Luthor and Joker, including an extended, multi-level battle with a giant Joker robot that goes on far too long." "Despite a few fresh ideas, Lego Batman 2 is, creatively, the weakest game in the Lego franchise," Osborn continues. "Compared to previous Lego games, [...] the story campaign has little of the spectacular wit, charm, and creative level design that have become the franchise's trademarks." Superman's presence also changes the game's dynamic for the worse, Osborn claims. "In an action game where a big part of gameplay is breaking stuff," he notes, "poor Batman and Robin are easily overshadowed by the invulnerable Superman, who has super-strength, heat vision, freeze breath, and (when not weakened by kryptonite) the ability to fly unfettered around environments, while the Dynamic Duo must don special costumes (like a Power Suit and Magnetic Suit) to keep up." "If Lego Batman 2 is a test run for a Lego DC Super Heroes game in the future, it'll hopefully serve as a guide for what needs improvement (the flying controls for characters like Superman are unintuitive and touchy) and what should be avoided (it's okay to tease, but not insult, your heroes)," Osborn concludes. "If so, that should be the Lego game you buy -- and not rent like this one."