LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

Genre: 3D Action-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

LEGO Batman 3 is a family-friendly 3D Action-Platformer released in 2014 on Nintendo 3DS, and then ported to mobile devices in 2015, with a similar but different game bearing the same title released on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U. After years of releasing poor and highly-underwhelming handheld alternatives to their console offerings, LEGO Batman 3 marks a return to releasing pared-down version of the console game… which is an improvement, I guess? What’s more, unlike earlier handheld releases in the franchise, this game doesn’t cut the Open World elements from the console game… because the console game cut the Open World elements first and saved this game the trouble.

For better or worse, that means that LEGO Batman 3 on Nintendo 3DS is one of the closest Nintendo 3DS LEGO games to its console counterpart, with vaguely similar level design, story, goal structure, and so on. However, that’s not to say that nothing has changed here, and there are distinct differences this game made in its transition to handheld devices. The level design is a bit different, there’s more frequent enemy encounters, and the look of some elements has been made more simplistic. However, this is close enough to the console game to be passable.

Of course the visuals aren’t on par with the console game, and in addition to reduced complexity of some elements, the areas are smaller and less detailed, and I would even go as far as to say that this game’s 3D visuals don’t compare with some earlier Nintendo 3DS LEGO games like LEGO The Lord of the Rings or LEGO Star Wars III. Even so, it still looks decent enough, and is bolstered by some of the same great voice acting and music as the console version of the game.

As for the gameplay… well, being a somewhat-faithful port of a mediocre console entry in the Traveller’s Tales LEGO series means that this is also a mediocre entry in the Traveller’s Tales LEGO series, with all the same usual trappings – tediously beating up on everything in your environment, tediously mashing the attack button to fend off mooks that rush you, and decent but middling 3D Platforming. Ho-hum. And of course, because it wouldn’t be a Nintendo 3DS LEGO game without some disappointment, there is of course once again no multiplayer.

Please don’t misunderstand me, after multiple terrible LEGO games on Nintendo 3DS, I’m happy that LEGO Batman 3 is something of a return to form. The only problem is that the form in question on handhelds was always sub-par when compared to the console offerings, and the game this port is derived from is one of the more mediocre and unambitious games in the franchise. I suppose if you just want to play a LEGO game starring Batman, this will suffice, but it’s far from anything truly exciting.

tl;dr – LEGO Batman 3 is yet another game to feature Traveller’s Tales family-friendly LEGO game 3D Action-Platformer formula, and while this is a pretty decent take on the game that was released on consoles, that game was an unambitious and mediocre affair. As a result, so is this game – not bad, but mediocre.

Grade: C

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