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one-hour game review

What it's about: Batman and the DC Comics heroes get sucked into a villainous plot hatched by Lex Luthor and other bad guys. All in a world made of Lego.

Why we should care: British developer Traveller's Tales is really proficient at making these Lego games. This is its 17 entry for consoles in nine years.

Genre: Platformer.

What happens in the first hour: A brief intro video shows Batman busting some crooks. Danny Elfman's score from the 1989 Tim Burton-directed movie plays in the background, hinting at the retro vibe.

The scene shifts to outer space, where the leaders of the yellow, purple, red, blue and orange Lanterns are fighting. They've been brought together by Superman villain Brainiac, who is cooking up a plan for world domination.

Back down into the sewers we go, where we find the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder tracking Killer Croc.

My heart breaks as Batman speaks and it's not Arrested Development's Will Arnett doing the voice. After his hilarious turn as the Dark Knight in The Lego Movie earlier this year, it's hard to accept anyone else. Even long-time Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy wouldn't seem as right.

The action begins and the Dynamic Duo find themselves in a sewer filled with toxic waste. And, of course, Lego blocks. In case you don't know the drill by now – punch, kick and blast items to shake loose bricks, then use them to build new items that can clear obstacles.

Each character has his or her own powers, with special suits for Batman and Robin unique to this particular series of Lego game. Robin, for instance, dons his hazard suit to cross some toxic sludge and vacuum up pieces, which he then inserts into a machine that constructs useful tools.

But lo, there's something new here – a spinning Bat logo greets us amid all the other Lego. What happens if we punch it?

Oh lord, it's Bat-Mite! A help screen pops up and he tells us, in the most grating voice imaginable, that he's here to provide hints along the way. The imp-like Bat-Mite, if you're not familiar with him, is one of those forgotten DC characters whose sole reason for being was to annoy.

The help function is welcome, but this may very well be the worst possible way of implementing it. Bat-Mite really should have stayed forgotten.

Nevertheless, we continue our trek through the sewers with Batman picking up a sensor suit along the way, which gives him invisibility and Spidey-Sense-like abilities.

That leads me to wonder whether this game will be dominated by Superman, like the previous Lego Batman was. In that game, the big blue boy scout had super strength, could fly and shoot lasers from his eyes, which made most of the other characters useless. I guess we'll find out later.

Minutes later, we come across an amazing discovery – it's television's Adam West in peril. And in a stroke of retro genius, he's being circled by a shark. He obviously forgot his Bat Shark Repellent at home.

Regular Lego gamers will recognize this as the usual "character in peril" feature. Traveller's Tales used Stan Lee in the Marvel heroes game last year, so West's inclusion here is extraordinarily clever.

The first mission ends without further incident and we're thrust into trying to escape the Batcave. This time our playable characters are Robin and… Alfred? I know, crazy, right?

But don't underestimate Bruce Wayne's butler: he can whack you with his serving tray, or use it as a shield to walk over fires. Captain America has nothing on him.

We fight a giant boss monster made up of bats, which looks strangely familiar. Oh yes, it's basically Sandman from last year's Marvel game. You have to give Traveller's Tales credit: the developers have done a good job of disguising last year's superhero game as this year's superhero game.

Highlights: Batman gets a space suit that lets him fly and shoot lasers, which puts him on par – at least in this game – with Superman.

Lowlights: A feeling of been there done that. Understandable, after so many of these games. Too bad about Will Arnett.

Time-suck Factor: Main storylines in Lego games generally take only a handful of hours, but going back to find all the red and gold bricks, minikits and other collectibles in Free Play mode requires a big commitment.

Worth more than an hour? Against all conventional wisdom, these Lego games continue to be fun, even though there's been so many of them. Traveller's Tales' obvious reverence of the source material it deals with – and the light-hearted humour contained therein – keeps this one from feeling stale.

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