Review: Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

I am a huge fan of Traveler’s Tales and their massive line up of Lego games. The titles are cute, funny and a blast to play. However, when I played the first Lego Batman in 2008, I did not enjoy it; in fact I never even finished it. This time around though, when I played Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, my world was turned upside down.

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is about Batman’s struggle to admit that he needs help. The majority of the plot banks on themes such as maturity, jealousy and friendship. As the fight against Lex Luthor and the Joker becomes harder to bear, Batman snaps to his senses and reluctantly realizes that he must team up with Super Man if he wants to live.

Robin may seem like a side character to the majority that play the game, but to me he is the voice of reason that prevents Batman from getting himself killed. The boy wonder looks up to Batman like a father and is always trying to impress him. Robin’s intense yearning to be liked and understood by Batman is another powerful element that lends its hand to the story.

The way Tt presents Superman in Lego Batman 2 is outstanding. Superman is depicted as a super being that Batman loathes simply because he’s a lesser individual than Superman. This theme of jealousy is used constantly throughout the campaign and it’s funny.  Overall the story of Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is a humorous and deep story that truly touched my heart.

There are 15 levels in the campaign and each one is divided up by a hilarious news story about how Gotham is being bombarded by the Arkham Asylum inmates.

The story itself will last you about 8 to 10 hours, but seeing as this game is open world, you will probably be running around Gotham, trying to collect every brick and extra character that you can. There is a ton of extra content in the game that will keep you engaged for hours on end.

Gameplay wise, Lego Batman 2 is a treat. Beating up bad guys is fun and the puzzle solving is as tricky as ever. To solve the puzzles, the player must use the variety of suits that he or she is given by the level. For example, only Robin can walk through toxic sludge and clean up  chemical messes with his chemical-proof suit. The suits added a twist to the game that I didn’t see coming and made my experience that much better, due to the variety.

Collecting enough Lego pieces to reach superhero status is undeniably addictive. During many of the levels, I would actually stop what I was doing and go out of my way to destroy the environments so I could collect as many Lego pieces as possible. This is definitely one of the key features in Tt’s games that keeps me coming back for more.

Lego Batman 2 is an open world game and therefore there is transportation. Driving the Bat Mobile in this version of Lego Batman is the most satisfying version of any Bat Mobile simulator to date. It was a dream to drive and it felt like the real thing, but in Lego form.

One of the best things to happen to Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is the ability to be Superman. Again Tt nailed it, for this is the best version of Superman that I have ever played. Every other Superman game pales in comparison to the brilliance of this one. Almost every aspect, from the levitating to the laser eyes feels just right.

Tt may have landed those previously mentioned aspects correctly, but there are a few gripes that I have with this game. Boss battles are fun but they are repetitive. All of the “on rails” sections felt the same; I felt as if I was moving in a large circle and shooting the same things over and over. This made the game a little tedious to play.

The AI wasn’t very useful during many points in the game. I know that this is supposed to be a multiplayer experience, but whenever I tried to work with my AI partners, they were mostly unresponsive. At many points when I needed help the most, they weren’t there. Lastly, I felt that the enemy AI was a tiny bit overly aggressive and it led to some frustrating moments.

Flying in the open world segments feels clunky. This isn’t a huge problem but it could definitely use some tweaking in the next iteration of Lego Batman. Also while in the open world, having Alfred constantly remind the player of what he or she can do in the world after 10 hours of gameplay is quite annoying.

Graphically, Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is an average looking game. It’s not an aesthetic work of art; it looks just like a Lego game should. Gotham looks nice with its citizens running frantically through the streets while bad guys are harassing them. Unfortunately it’s nothing that I haven’t seen before and I hope that Tt gives the next version of their game a graphic overhaul of epic proportion.

The sound in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is excellent. All of the lead roles and  supporting cast sound as they should; the sound quality is top notch. Hearing Legos bust into pieces and the clack when they are put together still sounds amazing. Honestly the noises that this game emits give me so much joy.

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is a terrific little title. It fulfilled my Super Hero fantasies while making feel like a kid again. Tt games did an exceptional job with this game. If you are looking for a Batman game that is not dark and gritty, offers a good dose of humor and keeps you on your toes, I highly recommend that you pick this one up.

(8.5/10)