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ESRB: 
Platform: Nintendo DS
Category: Action
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Graphics 8.5 |
Sound 7 |
Gameplay 7 |
Tilt 7.5 ||
Overall 7.5
Author: Trevor H
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Developer - Traveller's Tales
Publisher - Warner Bros. Interactive
Features:
Genre: Action
Players: 1
I still remember the days when I was a kid building Lego demolition derby vehicles with my friend We would spend hours building the most indestructible tank-like vehicle we could then each of us would line them up at either end of the hallway and launch our weapons of mass destruction towards one another. We would watch as our abominations would literally smash into pieces. Those were the days and it amazes me to think how far Lego has come since I was a youngster. Lego has branched out into so many different areas. They have a Legoland amusement park, lots of Lego superheroes, licensed merchandising and of course Lego video games. In the past couple of years Lego fans and gamers alike have had the opportunity to play games such as Lego Indiana Jones and the mega-hit Lego Star Wars. Now joining these two games on is the Dark Knight himself in Lego Batman. Considering I have yet to play a Lego game on the Nintendo DS, I was very curious to see how to see how the game plays out and how it compares to its big brothers on the next generation consoles. Let's find out shall we.
Graphics
When it comes to the visuals in Lego Batman for the Nintendo DS, many will be pleased. The characters look great as the game appears to push the hardware capabilities of the DS. It is a clean looking game and definitely one of the better looking games on Nintendo’s handheld. Granted, it barely holds a candle to its next-gen big brothers (e.g. PS3 or Xbox 360), but for a DS game it looks pretty darn good.
Overall, the games characters and the Gotham City environments look great. They are certainly the strong point for the game and many Batman fans will be pleased with the DS version of Batman, Robin, The Joker, The Riddler, Poison Ivy, The Penguin, and all the other characters found in the game. All are cute looking replicas of their comic book counterparts and are easily recognizable, even on the DS’s small screen. The Gotham City environments are also decent looking and certainly do the job. Again, they are nowhere near as large or as pretty as the next-gen versions of the game; however there is still plenty of eye candy and lots of areas to explore in the games cities.
The opening introduction with Batman standing atop a Gotham City building is slick looking. Unfortunately that is about it in terms of any in-game cut-scenes. Instead Lego Batman for the DS features storyboard sequences using comic book style art stills. Typically you get them before and after a mission. With the stylus pen you can quickly click past the sequences, however they can seemingly take forever to scroll through. Sorry, folks in story mode you cannot skip through all the stills with one click of a button. Don’t get me wrong, they look great but they certainly did not hold my interest and I felt they somewhat cheapened the game. This may very well be a DS hardware issue nevertheless I could have done without them all together. That being said, comic book fans should be happy with this approach.
Sound
The audio in Lego Batman is decent but nothing spectacular. On the positive side, the soundtrack is solid with the music sounding very much like the tunes from the older Batman movies from the 1980’s and 1990’s. The music certainly created the perfect comic book Batman feel to the game and is enjoyable to listen to. On the downside, there is no voice acting. This is not uncommon for DS games, however a simple little “Lets go Robin” or some other cheesy Batman or Robin quote would have been appreciated. Adding some simple voice over dialogue would have been helpful in the game and would have kept the entertainment value up a bit as well. Part of Batman and Robin’s appeal is the banter between the two of them. Sadly, there is none of that in Lego Batman for the DS. The other in-game sound effects are about what you would expect from a Lego game from the building of objects to collecting Lego studs. Overall the audio does the job, just don’t expect anything groundbreaking.
Gameplay
In Lego Batman for the DS, all the criminals of Arkham Asylum have escaped and are set to wreak havoc on the streets of Gotham City. It is up to Batman and Robin to use all their dynamic skills to foil the cunning plans of those villains. That is essentially where the game takes off and I can’t help but think many hard core Batman fans will be disappointed. Case in point, Lego Batman follows none of the previous movies or comics. In all likelihood, this was done intentionally to allow for the introduction of all the Batman characters into one game as well as to allow some creative flair for Traveller’s Tales. Granted, do kids really care about the game staying true to any of the comics? Clearly, Lego Batman was aimed for kids and they will love it. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to have a ‘hodge podge’ storyline but I never found myself caring for characters. Additionally, following the storyline had no bearing on the outcome of the game.
If you are familiar with any of the next-generation console Lego games then Lego Batman for the DS will be very familiar to you. For the most part, the DS version follows the same style of gameplay and formula as other Lego games do. If you are not familiar with the games, then it is simple. Traveller’s Tales have taken Gotham City, Batman and Robin, and all the dynamic duos friends and villains, and have ‘Legoized’ them. You go through each level beating up baddies while searching for collectible items. You will play both the story mode, and the free play mode, in your effort to finish the game at 100%.
On the plus side, Lego Batman does feature 30 levels as the story is split up into two story lines; one from the Hero’s perspective and one from the Villain’s perspective. As you play through the three episodes of the Hero campaign, each being composed of five levels, the opposing Villain campaign will unlock. The Villain’s stories also consist of three episodes, five chapters in each. So there is a lot of bang for your buck here.
Lego Batman for the DS offers two modes of play (Story and Free Play mode). In story mode, you follow the game's storyline and play each mission in sequential order as Batman and Robin. All the missions in the story mode essentially follow the same formula: beat up some baddies, solve some puzzles, have a big boss fight and repeat. To mix things up the game also features some vehicle missions which I actually found quite enjoyable as it provides gamers with some variety. In free play mode you can select from any characters you have unlocked and are free to battle through the missions featured in the story mode. It is a nice little addition for those who just want to pick-up and play the game without scrolling through all those comic book stills. Also, it allows you to go back to a specific level and access areas you could not reach with Batman and Robin, which leads me to my next positive point; you are not stuck with Batman and Robin in free play. Free play lets you have eight characters but only two are on-screen at any given time. In order to control the other characters, you have to switch to them by using the control pad or touch screen.
I should also mention that as you progress through the games missions, you collect Lego studs which look like silver and gold coins. You collect these studs by building Lego structures, defeating enemies, solving puzzles and destroying virtually any object you come across. It can be quite satisfying. When you have collected enough studs, you can purchase unlocked characters or in-game extras such as stud multipliers and various cheats.
The controls in Lego Batman are very simple. Controlling your character is done mainly with the directional pad and buttons while the touch screen does provide some minor control functions (e.g. activating bombs). It certainly does not feel as smooth as using the analog sticks on a controller, however it’s about the best layout considering the limitations of the DS. Nevertheless, it does feel a tad awkward and mature gamers may really dislike using the directional pad altogether.
On a closing note, I have admit I loved seeing all those Lego characters in the game and Lego Batman features a large roster of playable and unlockable characters. In addition to some of the obvious ones like the dynamic duo themselves, Lego Batman features characters such as Alfred Pennyworth, The Joker, Catwoman, Two-Face, The Penguin, The Riddler, and many more. It is truly one of the great aspects of the game and worth mentioning at this stage as many will likely purchase the game for the characters alone.
Conclusion
Fans of Lego games and the Dark Knight alike will likely enjoy Lego Batman for the DS as it is an enjoyable game for those on the go. The visuals are solid, the musical score creates the perfect atmosphere for the caped crusader, and the gameplay offers up a tremendous amount of replay value and variety. Lego Batman for the DS is far from a perfect game but it does offer up enough quality and content to make this game a recommended purchase for DS owners.
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