LEGO games fly under the radar these days. When the Star Wars series first hit consoles, it seemed like LEGO was all anyone could talk about. But as franchise after franchise has been turned into little plastic blocks, buzz has considerably lessened. Perhaps IGN's original LEGO Batman review said it best...

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IT'S AN OPEN WORLD GOTHAM CITY

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IT HAS VOICE ACTING

IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE THE BEST [INSERT DC HERO NAME] GAME EVER

"By now, Traveller's Tales should have a near-perfect game. It doesn't," reviewer Hilary Goldstein said. "LEGO Batman is good fun, but it's really just the same thing we've seen before."But after playing the E3 build of LEGO Batman 2: For years, we've had these LEGO games with episodic content. There's a hub world where you can mill about with unlocked characters, but the real action happens when you jump into a story segment. In LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes, the hub world is Gotham City -- an open world version of Gotham City.Wayne Tower, Arkham, GCPD -- these are all in Traveller's Gotham and available for you to cruise on over to. There are mini-games here, red bricks and random crimes to stop. Sure, the real game is polishing off the story quests, but you now have an open world to explore and live in as whichever hero you choose.Maybe it's just me ( an admitted DC Comics fanboy ), but I didn't love the first LEGO Batman. I tried to -- I have Kon-El comics framed on my bedroom wall -- but it just didn't click. Why? Well, LEGO Batman was the first LEGO game to tell an original story. In the games before and most of the games since, the LEGO titles just tweaked tales we knew; they've shown us a scene from Indiana Jones and made it funny. So, giving us an original Batman story with no way to ground us, no way to feel connected, wasn't very exciting.LEGO Batman 2's also kicking out an original yarn, but it's using voice acting for the first time. Each and every character will have the ability to tell you what they're doing and why. Why's the Joker stealing Bruce Wayne's man of the year award? Well, because he's crazy and that's what he does, but it's still nice to hear him laugh.Traditionalist don't have to sweat, though. The cutscenes are still packed with nods, pratfalls, and nonsense. LEGO Batman 2 is not trying to be Batman: Arkham City. Two-Face is still just there to shoot up the place and be goofy, but this time you get an audio anchor.

While Rocksteady's recent Batman work stands as a testament to how good DC Comics video games can be, Superman64 and Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters remind us how hard it is to give these characters digital life. LEGO Batman 2 should change that. The roster -- which is entirely playable as you unlock everyone -- includes Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Lex Luthor, Harley Quinn and Killer Croc so far.

IT'S EPIC IN SCALE

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IT'S STILL A LEGO GAME

But of course, the biggest addition is Superman himself. The Man of Steel hasn't had a decent game since -- what? Superman: Shadow of Apokolips on PlayStation 2? The Death and Return of Superman on the Genesis? I've only seen Kal-El in action during the open world segments, but that's all I need to know Traveller's Tales is doing him justice. When he takes off (which he can do any time), the John Williams theme kicks in from the Christopher Reeve movies. When he changes course in the air, he drops one arm to his side and leads with his chest -- the boogie board mechanics Bryan Singer was so excited to incorporate in Superman Returns.Supes is bright, his cape flutters in the wind, he has heat visions, and even he will need to team up with different heroes to solve puzzles in the game.LEGO games have always taken the little characters and put them into big situations, but LEGO Batman 2 really seems to be expanding the scope. Outside of the man of the year awards, Batman and Robin had to scale the convention center, and it only seemed to go up. By the time Magnetic Suit Robin had stomped his way to the top, the camera angle made it seem like the little guy was dozens of stories above a bustling Metropolis staring down on creation.After that, the Dynamic Duo climbed in Robin's helicopter and chased the Joker across Gotham Harbor. With the camera anchored behind the 'copter and on rails, I just had to worry about blasting the Joker's boat and incoming projectiles, but it definitely wasn't the LEGO experience (assemble that, switch suits, punch that) I was expecting. This was fast-paced and exciting. Very nice.And of course, under all these changes is still them game everyone loves. It's still a two-player cooperative adventure with drop-in/drop-out play, there are still goofy suits to slip on like Batman's Sensor Suit with x-ray vision, and the humor of adorable pistol-packing penguins and a dancing Riddler is present.It just has mid-level saves this time.

Greg is the executive editor of IGN PlayStation, cohost of Podcast Beyond and host of Up at Noon . Follow IGN on Twitter , and keep track of Greg's shenanigans on IGN and Twitter . Beyond!