During our coverage of the 2014 San Diego Comic Con, we were invited to check out Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. We arrived early for our meeting and were put into the game right away as I was handed a Dual Shock 4 controller and told that there will be over 150 playable characters in the game including Adam West who will be providing a voice for his likeness as well.
As anyone who has ever played any of the Lego games knows, players assume the role of a character and can shift on the fly to other characters when special needs and abilities are called for.
I started off in the Bat Cave and moved through many of the newer characters such as Krypto, Billy Batson, Killer Croc, and others. A simple tap of a key allowed characters to transform such as a phone booth appearing for Clark Kent and a bolt for Batson to transform into their more widely know alter egos.
Flying was fun and being able to circle objects allowed for some great free play moments. Of course smashing everything in sight and building things was also great fun.
Once we got the bat rocket launched, the game moved to a more arcade style similar to the PS 4 game Resogun where I flew around a space station that the Joker and The Legion of Doom have taken over. Blasting enemies, guiding rockets on target, and other games allowed me entry into the station after a protracted battle.
Once in the station, I used various heroes to accomplish tasks. Batman was switched to various suits to allow him to shoot rockets, fly, and other tasks, while Cyborg used a suit with a cutting beam to overload a core. On cue I switched to The Flash who used his speed on a treadmill to power a generator which allowed me to access a new area.
One segment has me moving along the side of a station with Cyborg using a magnetic option suit to pull objects, then a rocket suit t blast targets.
I was told that the characters aside from their abilities would have suits that can be changed to allow more functions so part of the fun is knowing or learning which characters and suits work best in each situation.
The game was fast and fun with solid graphics and sound. Anyone who has enjoyed the DC Universe of characters will love having over 150 options and discovering their various abilities is great fun.
The game is due this Fall for all major platforms and I am looking forward to seeing the final product as this game was a very nice surprise.
Photos By Genevieve Mc Bride
