--Batman, Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
Lego Batman 2 is a game with many firsts for its respective subseries and for Lego games as a whole. However, despite it introducing an open world and spoken dialogue via voice acting in the regular console releases, the PS Vita version only gets the voice acting out of these two elements, although it does have the Justice League Mode (which features a set of arena-based battles) that unlocks when the story missions get completed. This is where the Lego Batman games expanded the scope of the story, starting down the path that led to Lego DC Super Villains years later (an excellent game). The Justice League appears at the end prior to a tease of the third game's villain, the alien android Braniac, with its other members like Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Arrow, and Aquaman joining. One can easily see the gameplay mechanics that grew into the elements of Lego Batman 3. However, again, there is no open world in the PS Vita version, so there are some key differences between this and the standard console edition that limit the experience.
Production Values
The cinematics of Lego Batman 3 on the Vita are much clearer and smoother on a graphical level than those of Lego Batman 2, as is made clear by the opening video alone. The videos in particular, as opposed to the gameplay graphics, are some of the worst I have ever seen on the Vita, in fact. Visually, the gameplay itself looks far better than this and resembles what Lego Batman 3 looks like on this handheld Sony platform that was capable of more than a game like Lego Batman 2 might suggest. Voice acting also first became part of the Lego games in this installment as mentioned previously. Since the game is not based off of a movie, the lines and voice acting cannot get pulled from film audio, letting the cast of actors/actresses actually carry the characters. The limited scope of the dialogue even does get to somewhat explore some of the iconic tensions between Batman and Superman across the 15 levels.
Gameplay
The typical trappings of a Lego game are all here, with what was then newer additions like having flying characters, regenerating hearts for the likes of Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, or a character like Superman who is outright impervious to many attacks, simply recoiling without losing any hearts upon coming into contact with everything from the blows of large enemies to environmental dangers (or environmental factors that are otherwise dangerous) like electrified walking spaces. Minikits unlock characters rather than provide individual parts for Lego miniatures, though, and there are several arenas for a Justice League Mode that involves defeating waves of enemies as different members of the Justice League. Some of it is now outdated compared to other Lego games, but Lego Batman 2 is not totally dissimilar to the classic Lego style of gameplay that is now so familiar to many.
Story
Some spoilers are below.
Lex Luthor hopes to become president of the United States, and he breaks Joker out of Arkham Asylum to help him achieve this goal, leading to a mass breakout of villains ranging from Catwoman to Mad Hatter to Mr. Freeze to Poison Ivy. Batman, overwhelmed by these events despite Robin's help, comes to allow Superman and eventually the rest of the Justice League to help him stop Lex and the Joker from destabilizing not just Gotham, but the country as a whole.
Intellectual Content
Predictably, Lego Batman 2 leans away from philosophical depth and complexity while still capturing some of the essence of these classic characters, which of course directly connects with more abstract ideas in the comics and films. The small environments do have some collectibles to find and puzzles to solve, not that any of the former are hidden as well as they are in some other Lego games or that any of the latter rival the more complicated of the puzzles in games like the eventual Lego DC Super Villains. This is a game that can still be enjoyed for its specific artistic merits and for the stepping stone it serves as in the series.
Conclusion
A competent launching point for the directions the franchise went in afterward, Lego Batman 2 helped evolve the series in a direction with more features, more characters, and broader stories. The story of Braniac's assault on Earth and on the Lanterns in Lego Batman 3 of course tells a story that touches upon more aspects of the DC universe and expands the scope even more, but Lego Batman 2's plot points that bring in the Justice League in a natural progression of any prolonged DC video game series. This does not mean that the graphics, mechanics, and storytelling are not sometimes limited or outdated, as in the case of the former two. Playing the game in the present year just makes the contrasts between Lego Batman 2 and its successors all the more blatant.
Content:
1. Violence: The fighting is so non-graphic that to even call it violent at all is almost an overstatement despite minifigures getting broken to pieces.
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