Fair warning kids: this review is not appropriate for younger readers. You think it'd be obvious from the my use of the word fuck in the first line.
Games are supposed to be fun right? Despite them being licensed and licensed games being almost universally terrible since the NES days, Lego has put a stranglehold on the market.
And for good reason.
If you've never played one of these games, I want you to stop right now. Go to the store and buy one of these for 10 bucks. Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman, Indiana Jones, hell even Lord of the Rings I don't care. If you're not amazed that somehow Lego not only incorporated their brand into a core gameplay mechanic, but also combined their brand with some of the most loved franchises of all times, without it being butchered, then go ahead and return it. One of the most baffling things to me is they gave the games all the heart and personality of the source material, with no voice acting. Visual gags and facial expressions tell the story, and the Lego games have become almost "cult" hits amongst gamers. I'm not saying cult as in unknown (each one has massive ad campaigns) Something a "hardcore" gamer would usually dismiss and might even dismiss in public, but will spend hours trying to 100% the game when alone.
I'm one of those people. I played Lego Star Wars (Original Trilogy) at a Gamestop in college and I was sold from that day on. Except I'm not quiet about my love of the lego genre. I tell everyone who hasnt played them to do so.
So when a couple weeks ago Microsoft was trying to compete with Steam's Summer sale (and also trying to win back loyalty from the XBONE debacle), Lego Batman 2 was thrown up for a 1 day price of 10 dollars. As is my usual modus operandi, I clicked the buy button. I had seen the commercial and like enough DC heroes nowadays with my new 52 progress to give this one a go.
So I give this one a look, and its more of the same, even though the game having "real" cutscenes with lego characters is odd. I also personally would've wanted them to spring for the animated series cast, but hey what do I know? At first its another great entry in the lego franchise with batman, robin, puzzles, and millions of studs to collect and things to unlock. Then we get to a free roaming section.
Yup thats right folks, the Lego games decided Batman and Robin needed a GTA element. There's no real tutorial to this map or even a need to explore as a purple stud trail leads you between missions.
Hm. I can forgive this maybe...lets keep going!
Hey I get to play as Batman, Robin, AND SUPERMAN! Sweet! Superman flies, has ice breath, laser eyes, and..is invincible. Wait what? Why would I ever use another character if Superman can't be hit? Sure his flying is taken away for a bit in the latter part of the game, but he still does everything else, and still can't be killed by henchmen. The only way to die as Supes is to fall in a hole you can't get out of in time. Hm.
So we finish the main storyline (getting to use heroes not named Batman, Robin, or Superman for a grand total of a level and a boss fight) and then start to look at the collectibles. Have fun exploring the city to find 250 gold blocks, 20 red bricks, and 50 citizens in Peril. Jesus fucking Christ. Ok. Let's do this.
Life got easier when I realized I could fly to each blip on the map with Superman or Green Lantern..As I'm flying through the city to my next stupid mini game to play in the carnival to receive another Gold Brick, the music changes from Elfman's classic Batman theme to something just as recognizable. Oh Fuck yes. Its the Superman theme song. Despite everything being made of lego and the controls handling like a drunk blue whale, there's something immersive and exhilarating about flying around as Superman with that theme music.
The first 50 times.
My biggest complaint about Lego Batman 2 isnt the collectibles, or the voice acting (it actually turned out not bad as they got the personality right most of the time, although they sacrificed Batmans dourness for the sake of a Madonna joke), but the repetitiveness. I dont mind there being 250 blocks to get. But dont make me play the same carnival game 5 times. That's just overkill. I dont mind farming for the minikits and such because there's variety to acquiring them, but I dont need to do a new race for each vehicle I find.
Another issue is the effort was put into Batman, Robin, and Superman while every other character feels tacked on. Robin is revealed to be Dick Grayson, yet you can download Nightwing for just a low added fee! *sigh* Look people, i don't mind having Dick be Robin, but with so many characters, why not make the DLC someone unique thats not already in the game twice? (You can run around as alter ego Dick Grayson or Robin, although I have no idea why you'd run around without powers in this game.)
Final verdict here? Lego Batman 2 is good, but it suffers from trying to get too big too fast. The free roaming aspect didnt work, and ended up causing a repetitiveness that wasn't in the most of the other Lego games, and it affects it massively. If you're a diehard Lego or Batman fan, its worth a look (the story actually was pretty decent, comic book fare), but around 50% of collecting finished in you'll say "what the fuck am i doing?" and go play something else
Hate when I get completionist on a game thats annoying me
-Oz
No comments:
Post a Comment