LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

Genre: 3D Action-Platformer

Players: 1, StreetPass Supported

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Review:

LEGO Batman 2 is a family-friendly 3D Action-Platformer released in 2012 on the PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, and Wii, with different but similar versions also released on Nintendo DS and on Nintendo 3DS in 2012. As this game’s title implies, this game expands on the concept of the first LEGO Batman game by telling an original story that includes Lego characters from the greater DC universe, such as Superman, Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and various others. However, while the console versions of the game go a step farther to bring the Traveller’s Tales LEGO games into an Open-World, the Nintendo 3DS version drops this interesting if flawed element and instead presents something more mundane and typical of the earlier games.

As with the console versions of the game, this is the first Traveller’s Tales LEGO game to feature voice acting, and while it’s overall quite good, it’s also a bit of a strange combination of new and old elements. You have Clancy Brown reprising his role as Lex Luthor from the DC Animated Universe, and Batman being voiced by Troy Baker (who would go on to reprise the role in Batman: Arkham Origins), but many of the other characters here are voiced by veteran voice actors who haven’t portrayed these characters previously, with greats like Cam Clarke, Rob Paulsen, Townsend Coleman, Steve Blum, and Nolan North all voicing tongue-in-cheek takes on various characters in the DC pantheon. And just to make this more of an eclectic mix, the game’s soundtrack makes distinctive use of the Tim Burton Batman film score and the Christopher Reeves Superman films’ score.

Graphically, LEGO Batman 2 on Nintendo 3DS of course pales compared to its console counterpart, and also next to some earlier LEGO games on the Nintendo 3DS as well. There are a few places with nice shadows here, but otherwise this is a fairly bland-looking 3D game compared to all other recent Traveller’s Tales LEGO games on any platform

When it comes to the gameplay, LEGO Batman 2 has players not only swapping between various characters to solve puzzles with different abilities, but also having characters swap outfits. This is done at designated points where a specific outfit is featured, making it clear that you need this specific power set to solve a nearby puzzle or challenge. It’s a decent way to inject variety into the gameplay, which remains at its core the same sort of simple but entertaining 3D Action-Platformer gameplay Traveller’s Tales LEGO games are known for.

And without the Open-World elements of the Console version… this game is left a fairly linear, simple experience by comparison. What’s worse, the Nintendo 3DS version of the game once again fails to include multiplayer, despite all the cutbacks made to the console version. There are a few other issues here too. Combat is simple and fails to be at all entertaining, and is made even worse in this version due to spotty hit detection.

In the end, I think that anyone who played the console versions of LEGO Batman 2 and hoping for a comparable experience on Nintendo 3DS is sure to be sorely disappointed. Dropping the Open-World elements and yet again ditching multiplayer for the handheld version makes this a pale imitation of the console game, which itself wasn’t without its faults but at least it was trying to do something new and interesting. By comparison, the handheld version of LEGO Batman 2 is, at best, passable.

tl;dr – LEGO Batman 2 on Nintendo 3DS is yet another game to feature Traveller’s Tales family-friendly LEGO game formula, but it lacks much of the ambition of its console counterpart, lacking that game’s Open-World elements, and once again losing the multiplayer in this version. It’s still enjoyable, but it’s woefully underwhelming considering its source material.

Grade: C

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