Toonzone participated in a demo of the upcoming LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham during the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC2014). The game will be available on PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OSX.
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham finds our favorite pointy-eared hero joining forces with other super heroes in the DC Universe to stop Brainiac from destroying Earth, the place where we keep all our stuff. A representative from the development team took us through some of the ways they’ve built upon the foundation of the first two LEGO Batman games. In addition to the obvious inclusion of Batman, Robin and the Joker, characters such the Flash, Green Lantern, Killer Croc, Arkillo, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Cyborg, Bat-Mite, Plastic Man, Billy Batson/Shazam, Krypto, Bat-Cow, Batman of Planet X, Clark Kent, Hawkman and Solomon Grundy will be available. Grundy plays a part in the main plot and will be playable during some missions. Wonder Woman is also in the game. A different version of her appears that is tied to events that take place during the game’s story. The game will also find heroes and villains teaming up together in order to complete missions.
So, far the game has 150 playable characters, though the final playable number may be higher. According to their representative, they haven’t settled on a final total yet. I am officially lobbying for Arm-Fall-Off-Boy and Matter-Eater Lad.
During the demo, we were taken through the third level. The League of Doom has taken over the Justice League Watchtower. Batman and Robin take the Bat Rocket into space in hopes of reclaiming the tower. Once in space, the rocket splits apart and Batman takes control of the Bat Pod. This is a vehicle level reminiscent of the old arcade space shooters. The Joker has turned the Watchtower against Batman and you must take out the turrets with missile power ups and then defeat a much larger boss. According to the developer, players may come back to this level in free play and use different characters to play through it.
The next level took place on the exterior of the Watchtower. Cyborg fought his way through some baddies and the rep took us through some of the options in his suits. He’ll be able to turn into a Big Fig. His stealth suit transforms him into a washing machine that shoots lasers from its eye. Neat. It should be noted that they have upgraded the suit swapping wheel, allowing players to switch character suits at any time.
Players will unlock a 1960s Batman level upon completion of the game. Batman will, of course, be voiced by Adam West. The entire 1960s cast will be playable. The music will be themed appropriately. Bam! and Pow! stings will appear onscreen during fights. I know you’re worried about this, so I want to put your mind at ease. Yes, Batman’s idle animation includes the Batusi.
Because the game is still in development, they don’t have hours of possible gameplay clocked yet and potential DLC plans are still being put together. More info to come on that as it becomes available.
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is due out on systems later in 2014. A behind-the-scenes trailer on the voice cast is available here. For more information on the game, visit the official website.
