Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (for PC)
Lego Batman 3 Beyond Gotham Review
Traveller’s Tales’s Lego video games have captured the creativity and whimsy of Lego building blocks for nearly a decade. The latest game in the series, Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham ($29.99), marries the simple fun of past Lego games with playful storytelling that draws from decades of Batman and DC Comics history. The result is a pleasantly rich experience, despite some repetitive gameplay. I reviewed the PC version, but Beyond Gotham is also available on PlayStation 4,Xbox One, last-generation consoles, and heldhelds.
Lego Does DC
Lego Batman 3 is like the other Lego titles that have come before it. You take control of the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder and use their puzzle-solving special abilities to explore the game world. Along the way, you tear apart Lego structures and debris, build quirky Lego constructions, and find as many collectibles and currency studs as possible.
The story follows a grumpy Batman and overly cheery greenhorn Robin as they team up with the Justice League and various Lantern Corps members to take down the maniacal, planet-collecting Brainiac. The plot unfolds across 16 mission-based chapters, each of which takes place in a unique stage or environment. Missions generally cycle among characters as the story progresses, which keeps the experience fresh and interesting.
As in previous games, Lego Batman 3 lets you switch among your party of superheroes at the touch of a button. The many heroes and villains in the game each have unique powers that are crucial to solving puzzles or defeating certain bosses. Solving one problem may require the use of Superman or Martian Manhunter’s laser vision, while another may demand Cyborg’s technical know-how.
Some characters can swap their suits, giving them new abilities and puzzle-solving techniques. For example, Batman’s power suit lets him destroy otherwise unbreakable silver Lego objects. Suit switching was an important mechanic in previous games and is made more streamlined in Lego Batman 3 because you can switch suits on the fly rather than having to backtrack to a changing station.
Story missions are somewhat inflexible in that you cannot choose which characters to take with you on a mission. The narrative cycles through heroes as the story demands, limiting how effectively you can explore. However, once a mission is complete, it’s available in free-play mode, which lets you return to the stage with your preferred characters. Any secrets and goodies you’ve passed up during the story mission are up for grabs in free play mode, and there are a lot of secrets strewn about the game. In addition to free-play mode, you can also unlock several Lantern worlds later in the game, which let you to fool around, explore, and enjoy mini-games at your leisure.
Story missions are also peppered with alternate gameplay sections to keep the experience interesting despite the linearity. The space shooter sections and Tron-like VR missions are good fun, and smashing up miniature versions of Paris and London makes for a refreshing twist on the classic Lego gameplay.
Add to this an utterly ridiculous roster of playable characters, and you have enough variety and replay value to tide you over for hours at a time. I took a liking to Batman’s butler Alfred very early on, especially the way he channels his inner Captain America and beats bricks and lackeys alike with his serving tray. Players can unlock well over a hundred DC Comics characters to experiment and explore with by journey’s end, including Ace the Bat-Hound, classic Justice League members such as Hawkgirl and Shazam, and oddballs like Polka-Dot Man.
The PC version of Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham supports all your standard resolution settings, which range from 800 by 600 to 1920 by 1,080 pixels. But the beauty of the game comes from its simplicity and style: Lego games almost always look great because, quite simply, they’re based on Legos.
lego batman 3 beyond gotham review
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