So i finished yet another LEGO video game. okay, i'm 99% done another LEGO video game (I only have one more level and one last character to get before I finish). So let's talk about that.
LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes came out in 2012 for all platforms. As per usual, the version for handheld systems most likely is different from the console and computer versions. I have the versions for 360 and the Wii, but the former is the one i'm currently playing. This game has the distinction of being the first LEGO game to have full voice acting and an open world hub.
The story goes as follows. Lex Luthor is in town for an award ceremony for Man of the Year, the other nominee of which is Bruce Wayne. Bruce wins, but the Joker crashes the ceremony and starts wreaking havoc along with the Riddler, Harley Quinn, and Two-Face. Batman takes care of everything and all of the villains are thrown into Arkham Asylum, but later they're broken out by Lex. He's made a device that can break black objects (these are special and normally indestructible in-universe) and he offers to let the Joker use it to destroy Batman's stuff if he helps him in his presidential campaign. Chaos ensues and Batman is forced (though he had plenty of time to ask) to team up with Superman, and later the rest of the Justice League, for help.
Okay so this game... it's not bad. I don't think it's bad at all, really, but there was something about it that grated on my nerves sometimes. I think that part of it is that it was the first open world, so it has a lot of mechanics that are similar to something like LEGO Marvel Superheroes, but they aren't nearly as streamlined. It is very clearly a step between something like that and earlier games like Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean. As a result it comes off as being more difficult than either of those games. Personally, the game also dragged at times; I literally did not know when this thing was supposed to end, even though it has fifteen levels like Marvel Superheroes. I feel like I would have enjoyed this game a lot more if I had played it before I'd played Marvel Superheroes honestly, because whenever i ran into one of these things I had that in the back of my mind.
That being said, this game also lacks female characters. In the main game the only playable girl is Wonder Woman, and she doesn't even show up until the penultimate level, along with the rest of the Justice League barring Supes. Vicki Vale is featured in the bumpers between the levels doing news reports (which were funny and cute), and Catwoman and Poison Ivy show up as enemies early in the game that you don't even really fight. Harley does get a boss battle at the least. Out of the 50 playable characters there are only 11 girls, The number bumps up to 17 out of 60 if you include DLC only characters. That's sad, even if you consider the fact that the ratio of girls to boys is larger than something with more characters like Marvel Superheroes. There are a ton of great women in DC comics, so where are they all? This keeps happening and it's not cool.
A few final dislikes: the fact that you can't unlock Supergirl until you've beaten the game completely is horse hockey. The flying vehicles are hard to drive, which is something that bothers me about most of these. There are only 3 playable PoC in this game and they are all men and two of them are villains (dlc gives you three more, with two of them being women, thankfully).
Okay, so good things now. This game is GORGEOUS. It pulls most of its inspiration from Tim Burton's Batman films, and that was a good move. I enjoyed exploring the hub (also EVERYTHING IS HUGE it does become offputting sometimes but I'm okay with it). It also uses Danny Elfman's score, which really helped the mood along. I'm actually a fan of how interchangeable some of the characters are (for example, Superman and General Zod and Supergirl all have the same movesets). It allows you to change up who you do in free play without sacrificing important stuff you need, which was something I wanted once I decided to only play as villains at one point. At the same time I like how a lot of characters had a unique thing that others couldn't do (at least not without help). The John Williams Superman theme plays when Superman flies and that's super cute. Also Harley Quinn is the cutest character, period.
Overall I still recommend that you play this, despite my many problems with it. I did end up having more fun than not.
(i rarely do this, but if you're wondering, my next LEGO review is most likely going to be PotC. Harry otter will come along some time too, but it won't be for a while.)
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