Review: 'Batman' is fun LEGO title

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BY AIMEE GREEN / Lincoln Journal Star

“The Dark Knight” was one of the summer’s top movies, so it’s no surprise that the next “LEGO” video game is “Batman.”

Unrelated to the movie, “LEGO Batman” pulls from Batman’s extensive comic book history, using well-known characters such as Catwoman, The Joker, The Riddler and The Penguin, and lesser-known characters (except to comic fans) such as Killer Croc and Clayface.

“LEGO Batman” has the same core gameplay as the previous “LEGO Indiana Jones” and “LEGO Star Wars” games: The characters and environments break apart into smaller blocks when attacked.

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Tightwires have been added to the gameplay in "LEGO Batman." (Warner Bros.)

Because this game is not based on a movie, however, the storyline is original. The villains have broken out of Arkham Asylum, and Batman and Robin travel around Gotham City to stop their evildoings.

As with all the LEGO games, one of the goals is to collect as many LEGO “studs” (the game’s currency) as you can. In addition, other collectibles are hidden throughout levels. Collecting everything unlocks more characters and other special features.

Once a level has been finished, it becomes available for freeplay, in which players can switch between characters at will. Each character has his or her own special abilities, and freeplay is the only way to collect everything.

Batman and Robin each have five suits they can wear. For example, Batman has a gliding suit, a sonic suit that allows him to break glass and a demolition suit for using bombs.

The villains are even more varied. Some can walk uninjured through toxic goo. Others are super-strong. Poison Ivy can poison enemies, and Mr. Freeze can, well, freeze them.

The villains are really the best part of the game. After you’ve played through a story chapter using Batman and Robin, you then can play through a parallel story from the villains’ viewpoint. It’s a fantastic way to extend gameplay.

Unfortunately, “LEGO Batman” seems to be riddled with glitches. Most of them are minor and are easy enough to ignore, but others are game-breaking. During my first boss battle with Man-Bat, he disappeared when I almost had him defeated. I had to restart the entire level. No game should ship with a glitch that bad.

While I liked it, I didn’t enjoy “LEGO Batman” as much as previous LEGO games. I think part of the reason is because it wasn’t based on a movie. Without any spoofs of classic scenes to anticipate, my attachment to the story was greatly diminished.

Overall, though, “LEGO Batman” is fun, even if the formula is starting to get a little stale. If you’ve enjoyed the LEGO games, you’ll probably enjoy “LEGO Batman.”

However, “LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga” remains the best in the series.

The “Super Mario Bros.” games are classic examples of great platforming games, but most new games no longer use that style.

“Wario Land: Shake It!” is an homage to old-school, side-scrolling games, and it works well.

Instead of Mario, the star of the game is the dastardly Wario, who is more than willing to help others if it means he gets some gold. So when he receives a globe and telescope that can transport him to another dimension, he agrees to help free captive residents from the Shake King. If he can defeat the five bosses of the world and the Shake King, he will win the Bottomless Coin Sack, which spews neverending gold.

“Wario Land” is set up like older games, with a map, multiple stages per continent and a boss battle at the end of each.

The game is played by holding the Wii remote sideways. The directional buttons make Wario move, and the ‘2’ button makes him jump. In addition, he has other talents, mostly the shake. Shaking the remote makes Wario do a damaging ground attack. If he’s holding a gold bag, he can shake the coins out of it. If he shakes an enemy, he gets garlic, which restores his health.

There are also vehicles, which are controlled by tilting the Wii remote. This doesn’t work as well, and I often wished I could just use the directional pad to control them.

The stages are well designed and done in a colorful, hand-drawn style, though it’s strangely not in widescreen.

The main game is short, but “Wario Land” has a lot of replayability. Each stage has a set of goals to meet, which most players won’t get on the first runthrough, and hidden treasure chests to find.

The Wii seems to work best when the gameplay is simple, and “Wario Land” is evidence of that. Fans of the original Nintendo will appreciate this throwback to the era, and newcomers will find “Wario Land” easy to understand.

With truly good Wii games a bit rare right now, buying “Wario Land” is a no-brainer.

Reach Aimee Green at 473-7326 or Aimee.Green@lee.net.