NYCC 2014: Hands On With Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

They say that bigger isn’t always better, but in the case of Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, it certainly feels like it will be.

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I’m not only talking about the upcoming game’s story, though that’s certainly huge. Brainiac has grown tired of shrinking and collecting cities, so he’s out to nab the entire planet. The scope of the threat forces Batman and Robin to reach out not only to the Justice League, but to form an uneasy alliance with Lex Luthor, the Joker and other villains as well. I got a chance to go hands on with the game on the New York Comic Con floor this week, and let me assure you that just flipping through the character selection grid in Free Play mode tells you that the roster of characters is huge.

While the core elements of Lego Batman gameplay remains intact — there’s still plenty of brick-smashing and building — there’s a big change in store for the Dark Knight himself. Batman will still have access to a variety of suits that give him different abilities to solve various puzzles, but no longer will he be forced to dash back and forth between specific locations to access them. Instead, he gets a nifty suit wheel to allow him to use any outfit he’s unlocked up to that point. Four characters (Batman, Robin, Cyborg and the Joker) will be able to transform on the fly in this manner.

Lego Batman 3 also makes increased use of Lego Big Figures for characters like Killer Croc, who’s now a massive and powerful monster, as well as custom figures like Cyborg’s giant suit and Plastic Man’s various transformations. In fact it’s easy to see how popular Plastic Man will be just by seeing him transform into a plane and fly around (the devs say he also will occasionally transform into a toilet to flush enemies while fighting). Even the animations while Plastic Man is standing around idle are impressive, and he’s not the only character to show off the trademark Lego game humor. Cyborg’s stealth suit, for instance, sees him change into a washing machine, because who would expect a washer to be a super hero in disguise? Metal Gear Solid cardboard box, eat your heart out!

The developers from TT Games also had a bonus level to show off based on the 1966 Batman TV show. It’s something they’ve wanted to do in previous games only to run into the dreaded licensing hang-ups. But the Adam West Batman is here in all his glory, complete with West’s voice and appropriate animations (no word on the Batusi, though). He’s aided by a smiling 1966 Robin as they attempt to find and assemble the pieces of the 60s Batmobile, which has been broken up and hidden by the Cesar Romero Joker. West also appears in the game as himself as the character who is in peril and needs to be rescued.

Add that to the space-based gameplay levels we’ve already seen and Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is looking like the biggest, and yes, best game in the series so far, and a real treat for both Batman and general DC fanatics. It’s also not far off, as it launches for almost every gaming console on November 11.

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