LEGO Batman: DC Super Heroes Review

By , on April 29, 2013

LEGO Batman: DC Super Heroes
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • Amazing orchestral score.
  • It's playing the console release of Lego Batman 2 on your iPhone.
  • The controls while not perfect, are well thought out.

CONS

  • Neither of the control schemes is heads above the other, with both requiring some patience on the part of the player.
  • We're unsure how the option to purchase the extra characters through IAP will positively or negatively affect the game.

VERDICT

It's Lego Batman 2 on the iOS. If you love the lego games and want an iOS version, this is a no brainer. For the rest, it's a solid action adventure title with imperfect controls.


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Let this review begin by saying this is a near perfect port of Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes that was released last year on every other platform imaginable. That it finally came to iOS is no real surprise. If you enjoy the Lego games and haven't given this one a go, then you probably don't need to bother with the rest of this review. Everyone else, let's continue on.

The first Lego Batman was a favourite of the series, but mainly focused on the caped crusader and his rogues gallery of villains. This sequel as you might imagine from the title of 'DC Superheroes' has expanded the roster to include not only the Justice League, but a lot of the comic powerhouse's additional roster. These lego games usually have a crazy amount of unlockable characters, and with eighty to acquire, this title is no exception. Funnily enough though, this is where the optional in-app purchasing comes in, allowing you for a fee to unlock any character at any time. The Lego games are big on secrets and unlocking, so this is not needed at all to enjoy the story and the crazy amount of item collection later on, so it's hard to say if this is a positive or negative inclusion at this time.

The villains of Gotham City have teamed up with Lex Luthor to enact a dastardly plan, and it's going to take the combined forces of the DC Universe to stop them. As is usual in these games, most levels have you able to take control of one to three characters whose special talents are required to solve puzzles and make your way to the next room. There are often areas that you cannot get to with your current layout, and thus will have to revisit later with other characters (which is where all the unlocking and collection comes in). There are two control schemes available. The casual controls have you tapping or holding on screen to move, holding plus tapping to jump, and attacking is done automatically once you tap on an enemy. Using bat-a-rangs and grappling hooks require holding down over objects, or tapping on the right area, but everything works relatively well. The other option is an analogue stick and buttons, which give the player more control, but using that, I missed the simplicity of the one touch system. If the casual controls had a better way to move and jump, it would be easy to recommend to stick with that, but seeing that both schemes have their issues, it probably falls down to personal preference.

This was the first Lego game to feature voice acting, and while it's easy to miss the hilarious pantomiming of the characters in previous games, hearing the voices of Joker and Batman add to the experience. This series has never been a visual powerhouse, but the game looks great, and it's always amusing to see everything rendered in lego.

Probably the greatest omission is that of cooperative multiplayer. These games are always great fun to play with a friend, and that is missing here. Aside from that though, this is a great port of a fun game, and an easy recommend to fans of both Batman and Lego. Here's hoping Traveller's Tales will continue to include the iOS in the glut of platforms for all their future releases.

Screenshots

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