LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Wii Review

LEGO games are cute, funny and easy to jump into, but they've also been around since 2005. Whenever someone wandered by my desk and spied me playing LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, he or she would undoubtedly say "Yup, it's another LEGO game" before wandering off. Trouble is, LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes isn't just another LEGO game. It does away with hard-to-judge platforming, its puzzles make sense, and it adds a couple of big things that are sure to become staples for the LEGO franchise moving forward.

The changes come with growing pains, but there's no denying that LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is a great video game.

The Wii Effect

Yes, that's the PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360 video review up there. Most of that applies to the Wii version of LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes as the game packs the same content as the HD twins. It just isn't HD because it's on the Wii. While a bummer -- there's a lot of pop-in and flat visuals -- it's impressive that the Wii has the same story, characters and content. So, if you have no other choice, the LEGO Batman 2 on the Wii will fit the superhero bill.

Like the previous game, LEGO Batman 2 spins an original yarn, but this time it's engaging and really interesting. Lex Luthor is running for president, teaming with the Joker and using kryptonite to stuff the ballot box. With foulness afoot, Batman, Robin, Superman and eventually the entire Justice League step in to stop the plot.

This plays out via traditional LEGO game controls. You jump, punch and switch between characters with button presses. The Wiimote allows you to precisely aim batarangs and grappling hooks, but the lack of a second stick means you can only center the camera behind you and not control it. A friend on the couch can drop in and out for co-op in a jiff. The game's as simple to understand as ever, but adds new suits for Batman and Robin along with powers for specific characters. Black Canary has her sonic blast, Cyborg is magnetized, and Wonder Woman can lasso hard to reach handles.

“ That's what LEGO games are all about -- exploring and collecting -- and LEGO Batman does that better than any iteration that's come before.

It's a focused story that's entertaining from start to finish, and part of that is thanks to voice acting. For the first time in LEGO history, LEGO Batman 2 packs a full voice cast to tell its tale. While the silent LEGO games have always been funny, LEGO Batman 2 is able to move beyond shrugs and grins. Robin fanboying out over Superman, Vicki Vale's newscasts, and Lex trying to convince Joker that killing Batman is a good idea -- these are brilliant moments we would've lost without the excellent actors. Among these actors is Superman: The Animated Series' Clancy Brown reprising his role as Lex Luthor. Fresh voices are used for most of the other characters, but the new takes are welcome.

Of course, the story is just a tiny sliver of any LEGO game. You'll run through the 15-chapter story of LEGO Batman 2 in about nine hours (probably a lot less if you don't methodically smash everything like I did and get distracted by side stuff), but then you'll replay levels for more studs (in-game currency) and to find collectables such as mini-kit parts.

That's what LEGO games are all about -- exploring and collecting -- and LEGO Batman does that better than any iteration that's come before. See, LEGO Batman 2 has another first for the series: an open world. While LEGO games always have a HUB world, they're usually a bit limited. LEGO Batman 2 gives you all of Gotham City to explore. Arkham Asylum, Ace Chemicals, GCPD -- it's an entire town and it's packed with stuff to collect, save and explore.

Hit the gas, Dark Knight. (PS3 Version)

Red bricks are tucked around corners and unlock cheats, new characters appear on rooftops, and bosses are around to fight and add to your playable roster. There are vehicles to purchase and then drive, people to save and so many studs to collect. Still, it's the Gold Bricks that stand out.

There are 250 Golden Bricks. While you'll get them for completing objectives in story missions, the majority are hidden around Gotham and only accessible via certain characters. Plenty of times I'd be flying around as Superman (the John Williams theme plays any time Kal-El is airborne), spot a Gold Brick, and have to work my way from the goal to the beginning of the challenge so that Robin in his acrobat suit or Batman in his electricity suit could go through the Mousetrap-like obstacle course to unlock the brick the appropriate way. The Gold Bricks are these little challenges inside the greater world that keep you on your toes and have you trying out the more than 50-character roster that includes the Flash, Hush, Martian Manhunter and more.

Of course, bringing in all of this new stuff creates a few new – albeit minor -- problems. Zooming around this open world as Flash or Superman, I'd land at objectives and have to wait for the computer terminal I needed to pop in. While the map will show you where bosses and unlockables are, you can't zoom in to really orient where you should be looking so there's a lot of moving a few feet, pausing and reevaluating. The game saves when you nab a Gold Brick, but for some crazy reason, you can't move while it autosaves.

Again, developer Traveller's Tales has nailed the gameplay issues that have plagued the franchise for years, but now, the designers have to take some notes on how modern open worlds work. (Although Red Bricks do eventually label unlockables on the screen.)



Source : ign[dot]com

Shigeru Miyamoto Talks the Competition at E3

One of the big themes at this year’s E3 expo was connectivity. Microsoft has gone with an ‘all-in’ approach it's calling SmartGlass – aka great material for Trey Parker and Matt Stone – while Sony is pushing Vita connectivity across titles like PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and LittleBigPlanet 2. With the Wii U's dual screens thrown into the mix, it’s an unusually heated race for Nintendo, a company used to running on an entirely different track paved with balance boards and wrist straps.

One would assume Shigeru Miyamoto would veto discussions around Nintendo’s competition. It had been a tough couple of days by the time we interviewed the legendary creator of Super Mario Bros. et al; Nintendo’s press conference failed to ignite thanks to a peculiarly dry presentation and a dearth of surprises, and online commentary had not been kind. This E3 was not the time for controversy.

But, under the fluorescent lights, against a pounding dubstep soundtrack, Mr. Miyamoto sits up and gives us a big smile.

“In the past when we’ve introduced stuff like motion control or touch screen control with the Nintendo DS, it typically would take a few years for other companies bring them into their own offerings,” he says. “The fact that one year out when we first introduced the concept of Wii U, we’re already seeing other companies trying to move in that same direction, suggests there’s a tremendous amount of possibility in what we’ve shown so far.”

It’s a heartening – if idealistic – take. But Mr. Miyamoto also believes that Nintendo is in a much stronger position to offer dual experiences than its competitors.

“We have a long history of creating these kinds of experiences," he says. "Even going back as far as our early experiments long ago between the portable gaming machines and the home console.”

Mr. Miyamoto believes that these days, our living room ecosystems are far more accommodating.

“The challenges we experienced at that time – not everyone had that complete ecosystem and hardware environment, so we couldn’t have those experiences be made available to our entire user base.”

Whereas with the Wii U, the experience can be had straight out of the box.

“It has the definitive advantage (because) it’s coupled with our experience with creating unique gameplay for this very specific type of ecosystem.”

Mr. Miyamoto is cautious with his wording on the subject of other company’s software efforts – “everyone has their own unique ideas” – but does voice his concerns over the medium’s violent landscape.

“Sometimes I get worried about the continued reliance on making games that are so centered around guns, and that there are so many of these games," he says. "I have a hard time imagining – particularly for young generations of gamers – how they sit down and play and interact with that.”

Mr. Miyamoto says Nintendo is still focused on provide a safe environment for kids, particularly in an online space. The company is currently preparing community management systems for the Miiverse, building on the lessons they learned around moderating user-generated content for Flipnote Studio on the DSi.

“Previous forms of media, like books, made it easy for parents to know and understand what they’re buying for their children. With the transition into digital mediums it becomes more difficult for parents to have a full grasp of what’s going on. From a game developer’s standpoint it’s important to take that into account.”

As the dubstep loops around again, we ask how Mr. Miyamoto feels about being ‘Mr. Nintendo’ at an expo with such an aggressively competitive culture at its core.

“It’s something that’s tough for me to objectively look at, and I think to me, what’s most important, is that I don’t betray the trust that people have in me. At a show like this, it’s my job to show we’re all having fun. People come to E3 and they want to talk about competition and who won the show, and all these companies combating one another.

"But what we’re meant to be doing is bringing fun to the world. So rather than focusing on competition, I feel it’s my job to go up on stage and show how I can bring fun to the world by having fun myself.”



Source : ign[dot]com

Watch Dogs Movie Already in the Works?

Hot on the heels of Ubisoft's E3 unveil of jaw-dropping game footage from forthcoming action-adventure Watch Dogs comes news that a movie might be in the pipeline.

That’s because the game-maker registered a series of domain names last week that include WatchDogsmovie.com, WatchDogsthemovie.com, Watch-Dogsmovie.com, Watch-Dogsthemovie.com.

Fusible.com spotted the multiple registrations, but it’s quite normal for a developer to ear-mark potential movie domains early in a game’s gestation, so file this one under speculation for now.

But the game certainly lends itself to celluloid treatment, with the story set in a near future when our lives are controlled by machines, and revolving around anti-hero Aiden Pierce, who can hack into anything at any time.

Whatever the case, Watch Dogs isn't set to hit shelves until 2013, so don't expect a movie version anytime before that.



Source : ign[dot]com