Loving LEGO Batman: The Videogame

Even though the incredible LEGO Star Wars saga and equally worthy LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures were serious video games for serious players, they maintained enough levity that kids and casual gamers alike could still giggle their way through the games' more intense levels. But what happens when you bring Batman to the series — can the Dark Knight (especially the Christian Bale version) retain his brooding edge in a world made of block-people and visual punchlines?

The answer, I'm happy to say, is sort of: LEGO Batman: The Videogame's visuals are sufficiently dark and gritty, and the Danny Elfman soundtrack is a great mood-setter, but come on, this is still a LEGO game: Don't expect to see the Joker's magic trick done with minifigures.

Like its predecessors, LEGO Batman offers a ton of cutscene goofiness, and the game's cartoon violence, while intense enough to keep things exciting, is likely no worse than what your kids are already acting out with their own minifigures (at least if they're like my boys): Stuff flies around, minifigs break apart, and the villains (including some lesser-known ones — Clayface and Man-Bat, anyone?) stay on your trail. That is, if you're not being a bad guy yourself.

You begin your journey through Gotham City playing as Batman and Robin, but the heroes only account for half the action in LEGO Batman's 30 levels: The remaining 15 levels find you completing the story as villains — from Joker and Riddler to the aforementioned lesser baddies — in a nice twist on the way LEGO games usually force you embrace your dark side in Free Play mode.

The game's core features, on the other hand, will be pleasantly familiar to anyone familiar with LEGO Star Wars or Indiana Jones. Besides having the new ability to buy vehicles and actually play them (hands down, one of the game's best breaks with formula), you collect studs, including pieces of minikits, as you move through the levels fighting bad guys.

The AI, unfortunately, is a bit weak, so there are times when you're playing alone as one character while your buddy just sort of lags behind you. As an older, more patient gamer, I was mildly put off by what's now an expected element of any LEGO game, but my kids (5 and often got frustrated when playing the game alone, especially during puzzles and other challenges that require two characters to interact. Definitely plug in a second controller for this if you've got one — it makes the game all that much better.

Rated "E10+," LEGO Batman: The Videogame is available for PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PC, Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, with prices starting from $43 for the PC version at GameHead.