Continuing the tradition of adapting known franchises such as LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures , this game takes on the LEGO Batman universe. The basic concept is the same, with characters and objects built up using LEGO blocks, but here shown against surroundings drawn in a regular fashion. Most of the environments are side-scrolling with a fixed camera perspective, but in 3D with quite some depth.
The game's story is not based on a certain movie or comic, but on the franchise as a whole with a new narrative. The animations and sequences are rather quirky and share nothing with the darker atmosphere of the contemporary Batman movies. A cast of villains has escaped from Arkham Asylum and now roam through Gotham City wreaking havoc. In the game, players control Batman and his sidekick Robin to take on all enemies with typical brawler gameplay. Gameplay involves exploring environments using a number of gadgets such as the batarang and the grappling hook, and players can switch between the two characters at any time. Both characters have unique powers they can access by changing their suits. Batman can glide through the air or plant bombs, while Robin has a technology suit that allows him to walk on metal surfaces in any direction.
Both characters operate out of the Batcave, which acts as a central hub to store trophies and access missions. Many of the missions have small puzzle elements with buttons or passages that need to be cleared. Objects and characters explode into smaller LEGO blocks, and at certain sections, the hero must build structures with blocks to create new objects.
After completing a mission in the story mode, it becomes available in a separate free play mode. In the second part of the game, players take control of the different villains, each with their own powers and section of the game that always ends at the moment they are confronted by Batman and Robin. The characters collect coins, objects, and hearts, even though they can die, they immediately respawn.
Multiplayer options vary between platforms, with home console and Windows versions allowing drop-in/drop-out co-op, while the PSP release does not contain any multiplayer option.
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