

You might wonder what ground is left for TT Games to cover with its popular LEGO Batman series, considering the second instalment's 70-strong roster reads like a who's who of DC Comics.

Well, LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham quite literally takes the franchise above and beyond, switching the action to deep space and giving fans the chance to explore the furthest reaches of the DC Universe.

With blocky incarnations of everything from the Lantern Corp homeworlds to the Justice League Watchtower to smash your way around, this promises to be Batman's biggest LEGO outing to date.



The game picks up immediately after the events of LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, with the evil alien mastermind Brainiac wreaking havoc across the universe after gaining possession of the Lantern Corp's Power Rings.

The level we tackled saw Batman and Robin boarding rocket ship to propel them to the Justice League Watchtower and liberate the orbital headquarters from Legion of Doom occupation.

This stage was divided into several very different segments, showcasing the variety on offer in LEGO Batman 3, and the new twists TT Games has applied to the smash and build formula established in previous instalments.

We started out in the Batcave, guiding the Dynamic Duo around various hazards towards the Bat Rocket, which was our ticket to the cosmos.

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While LEGO Batman 3 barely deviates from the family-friendly blueprint that has won over so many in the past, the developer has shaken up some aspects.

Suit swapping appears to play a bigger role, and TT Games has overhauled the radial menu system used to switch between them, allowing players to change garb in a split second.

We got a chance to play around with a few outfits from both Batman and Robin's wardrobes, giving us a feel for the numerous powers and abilities players will have at their fingertips.

For instance, the Dark Knight can break certain objects when decked in his Power Suit, see through walls with the Sensor Suit, and shatter glass using his Sonar Suit.



The Boy Wonder can hoover up nearby items using the Attract Suit, light up dark areas in his Illumination Suit, and spawn a mechanical mini Robin that can be controlled remotely when garbed in the Techno Suit.

The outfits on offer give LEGO Batman 3 more of a high-tech feel than its predecessors, in keeping with its intergalactic theme, and the powers that come with them create all kinds of possibilities where the puzzle aspects are concerned.

We felt like we were switching to a new character every time we changed costumes, and given that there will be more than 150 playable heroes and villains in the final game, the amount of content on offer looks promising.

After Batman and Robin blasted off into space, the game took on an entirely different form, morphing into a side-scrolling space shooter in the vein of Resogun.



In this segment, the Joker transforms the Watchtower into a giant anti-Batman weapon, and we had to take out its weak spots with missile power-ups before squaring off against a screen-filling boss.

It was a short-lived sequence, but we can see these being a welcome diversion, given that variety is what the LEGO franchise needs right now.

And speaking of variety, the next thing we knew, the game switched back to the traditional perspective and had us scaling the hull of the Watchtower with the Flash and Cyborg by our side, and a horde of villains descending upon our team.

The kind of fun-filled, chaotic combat we have become accustomed to from the LEGO games ensued against the deep-space backdrop, and there was more enjoyment to be had wielding Cyborg and Flash's special abilities.



Cyborg is particularly entertaining, as his skillset enables players to transform into a Big Fig and throw his weight around, while his stealth suit turns him into a washing machine with a laser attached - a barmy inclusion that is typical of the LEGO ethos.

Combat on the whole won't provide too many surprises for those well versed in the LEGO series, but LEGO Batman 3 includes a bonus stage that TT Games has been keen to show off, and with good reason.

Among the title's end-game content is a bonus level based on the 1960s Batman television series, complete with Bam! and Kapow! effects during combat and voiceover work from Adam West himself.

From our perspective, this might just be the best thing TT Games has ever rendered in LEGO, and we suspect we won't be the only ones in a hurry to complete the core game.

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LEGO Batman 3 doesn't appear to be a radical departure from its predecessors, despite taking the action away from Gotham City, but with a character roster exceeding 150 and an entire universe to explore, it looks certain to surpass them in scope and scale.

There will also be more than a few surprises in store, from unique mini-games to the nostalgia-laden bonus level, so expect the finished article to reach blockbuster proportions.

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond will be released for PC, PS4, PS3, Vita, 3DS, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, and iOS devices later this year

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