Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, designed by TT games is the latest entry into the ‘Lego’ game franchise, more specifically it is a follow up to the previous Lego Batman games, it is also the first Lego Batman entry into the newest console era. The Lego games have a history of being easy and fun to play games that though they are geared to kids, bring in fans of all ages with the many different franchises they use in the series. Does Lego Batman 3 continue the tradition of successful games in the series? Or does the caped crusader fall short? Read on to find out.
The Start menu of the game gives you four options, ‘Play The Game’ ‘Season Pass’, ‘Downloadable Content’, and ‘Web Content’. The first option simply starts the story mode of the game, Season Pass allows users to buy the season pass (what a shocker), and Downloadable Content allows you to purchase the DLC packs individually, Web Content from what I could gather simply takes you to the games webpage via your console browser.

The game starts out with an interesting cinematic in space showing some familiar DC characters doing battle, when they are interrupted by the giant Braniac who appears to be up to his old evil mastermind world destroying schemes again. The game then takes you right into the first level in the sewers where you control Batman and Robin in pursuit of Killer Croc (this level also introduces “TVs Adam West!” for fans of the old Batman live action show) who they chase down through fire, chemical waste, and a lot of water. The games level design is very good just like previous games in the series, the graphics look smooth and the coloring of levels, characters, and objects really add to the games beautiful graphics. While you won’t get an epic life like Call of Duty cinematic that isn’t what this game is about.

The Music of the game is actually not something I intended to be focusing on in this review, but when the title screen played a background song straight from the old 90s Batman The Animated Series cartoon, it automatically warranted a mention from me. The music used in the levels is really well done also because each levels audio track seems to ‘fit’ with the level that it is used in. While the soundtrack clearly wasn’t composed by famed final fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu, it definitely works for the type of game that it is. The sound effects are pretty much in line with what you’ve come to expect from the lego games, but if you are unfamiliar with them they are pretty basic, sometimes when you get hit your characters will make one off comments or simply grunt in agony as they are torn Lego from Lego. Overall the soundtrack is quality for the game that it is being used for.

The character designs are basic but every character used can clearly be identified as they all look like ‘Lego-ized’ versions of their comic book counterparts. Mainstays like Joker, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Superman, and Lex Luthor are all there as other DC characters like Stargirl, Black Adam, and Deathstroke. Many of these characters are hidden and must be unlocked for use but the sheer number of characters ads to the fun factor of the game. The characters all handle pretty much the same but they have different abilities, powers, and skills that give each character their own unique feel, such as Robin and Batman having various different suits and tools they can use to get through levels. Having an assortment of characters to use definitely adds to the over-all fun factor and replay value of the game, to add to this there are already 3 DLC packs available: The 75th Anniversary Pack, The Dark Knight Pack, and The Man of Steel Pack, the first is celebrating 75 years of Batman, the 2nd and 3rd are based on the latest film adaptations of Batman and Superman.

Adding to what was said above, while every character handles pretty similar but has different abilities, the gameplay itself is very smooth, not very glitch (which is a plus given the luck of some other games that I have played recently) and the levels are fun, although going through them multiple times to unlock different things and finish the game can be a little tedious, something that has occurred with the other Lego games as well. Over all they don’t do anything revolutionary with the gameplay this go round but the previous games gameplay has been solid as well so one could argue why fix what isn’t broken?

In conclusion Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is a solid really fun game, though one can definitely say that it should be called Lego Justice League or something similar to that because the game feels much more like a Justice League game than a solo Batman/Batman and Robin game. The game doesn’t mess too much with the formula established by previous Lego games but it definitely is a great early entry into the new console generations.

Gameplay

Graphics

Sound

Overall