Does Traveller's Tales have what it takes to mine Batman for both mini-fig fun and a decent story? Do they even need to, or does the mechanic alone keep the LEGO franchise afloat? Hit the jump to read up on the game's good, bad and ugly.

Loved
A Motley Cast: Because you essentially play through the same plot twice, from the perspective of the good and the bad, the developers had plenty of opportunity to introduce a lot of playable characters. While the good sticks you with Batman and Robin's, albeit in a wide variety of tech suits, the bad gives you a chance to play a wide spectrum of villains, each with diabolically funny weapons. From the Joker's shocking handshake to Mr. Freeze's ice maker, I've never had so much fun being bad.

Intricate Backdrops: While LEGO fanatics might bemoan the lack of realism, Batman fans certainly won't. The developers have done a lot to open up the setting for this latest title, including plenty of rooftop battles, looming high rises and large architecture.

Oodles of Lego Gadgets: The game is already packed with tons of weapons for the bad guys, but you also get a number of tech suits for the dynamic duo, a garage of bat and bad guy vehicles and even a robot and plant you can ride around on.

Original Story: Unlike Traveller's Tales' previous LEGO games, this one comes with an original plot. Sure, the idea of all the bad guys breaking out of Arkham Asylum isn't exactly fresh, but not knowing what's coming next is a bit refreshing for the LEGO franchise.

Still Lots of Fun: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman, they all have their selling points, but really it's the overarching LEGO franchise that makes these games so much fun to play. While Traveller's Tales has tweaked the formula a bit with each iteration, they know better than to mess with a good thing.

Hated
An Issue of Perspective: I love the LEGO games, absolutely love playing through them all with my son. But I'm really getting tired of that camera angle. You know, the one that makes running across a platform, jumping, climbing at times, a frustrating exercise in guess work?

Bit of a Cake Walk: More than previous games, beating this latest LEGO game seems more like an inevitability than the product of gameplay. The bosses in particular are quite easy.

Convoluted Progression: I like the idea behind essentially playing through the game's story twice, once as Batman and Robin and again as an assortment of villains. I also like that they way it's presented you get a completely different take on the experiences, almost a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead take. What I don't like is being confused about how far along I am and whether I've actually wrapped everything up. This time around I think gamers need a bit more hand holding.

Bugs, Still, Really?: I put up with falling through scenery, getting trapped in areas and glitchy cut scenes for all of the LEGO Star Wars games. I got slightly more annoyed when they showed up in Indiana Jones, but Batman? It's starting to feel like Traveller's Tales is content with their fun, though flawed engine. To be clear, gamers aren't. At least throw in a way to suicide out of a bad situation and reappear somewhere other than the same exact spot.

I'm a self-confessed LEGO The Video Game fanboy. I've loved all of the titles (at least on console) that have come out with those three words framing the IP of the day on the box cover. I'd probably buy LEGO Finnegan's Wake The Video Game if it came out. Strike that, I'd definitely buy LEGO Finnegan's Wake The Video Game if it came out. And while I think that the formula works on most levels, I don't think it gives a developer license to not take a step back and look at what does need to be improved. I'm willing to put up with the problems inherent in the current games, but that's not going to last.

Despite it's few flaws, LEGO Batman The Video Game is a blast to play, a return to the sense of fun and discovery that first ignited the success of the LEGO games in Star Wars. The character models are lovingly detailed, their mini-fig ass-kickings adorable to watch. If you liked any of the previous iterations of LEGO games than this is probably worth picking up.

LEGO Batman The Video Game, developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, was released on Sept. 23 for the DS, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360. Retails for $30 to $50. Played through all three episodes as hero and all but the last half of the least level of the third episode as a villain. Explored the Batcave and Arkham Asylum on Xbox 360.

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I shouldn't have to go on from there, but I will.

LEGO Batman: The Videogame looks like it will be delivering the sort of over-the-top addictive LEGO fun of both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones games, but with even more memorable and equipment-laden playable characters than both games combined.

"Over the decades there have been lots of stories about Batman, this is a distillation," said Traveller's Tale's Jonathan Smith. "It is our original telling of Gotham City in chaos."

While the game will have you playing as a "stern Batman" and "try too hard Boy Wonder", Smith said you will also be able to play as a number of villains including the Joker and the Penguin. The game will include a 15 level campaign divided between the heroes and villains.

The game's central hub will be the the Batcave and yes, Alfred will be an unlockable playable minifig.

Sitting down with the game, I found it fairly easy to drop into. The main difference between LEGO Batman: The Videogame and past LEGO games is the batarang mechanic. To use Batman's nifty weapon you tap the X button and then move a bat symbol around the screen to target things, multiple things if you want. It may sound a bit clunky, but it works really well and the added step of targeting prevents you from overusing the batarang.

I played through quite a hefty chunk of a level with Batman and Robin, battling across some of Gotham's rooftops with the dynamic duo felt very familiar, but in a good way. The batarang was most useful when targeting items or distant foes. Which is probably for the best. The few puzzles I ran into were about as challenging as those found in the Star Wars and Indiie games, so not very.

To get Batman or Robin to change outfits you have to find a suit swapper, something typically that has to be built with loose LEGO pieces. Once you step on it you switch to a predetermined suit. I got a chance to check out a mag suit which allowed Robin to slowly walk his way up metal walls and such. Batman's glide suit was way cooler, letting him float gently across the sky. While I didn't get to test drive them, I'm told that there will be a number of vehicles in the game as well including the Batmobile, Batboat and Batwing.

After playing around with the Batman and Robin level for a bit I jumped into a level that had me playing as The Joker and disturbingly sexy minifig Harley Quinn.

In these levels I had a lot more puzzles to deal with while taking on a seemingly endless stream of Gotham cops. While The Joker can take people down with old school punching, he can also give them a hearty buzzer handshake. Grabbing onto an enemy with The Joker makes the little minifig light up, briefly showing a faded minifig skeleton as the character vibrates until it falls apart. That minifig dismemberment is right up there with Chewbacca's arm-ripping attack.

While I didn't have time to play as the Penguin, I was told his attack involved exploding penguins.

I suspect that LEGO Batman The Videogame is going to resonate with gamers as much as LEGO Star Wars did, both because of the excellent design and the abundance of memorable characters.

The game will feature 18 levels, with three different stories and six levels per a story. Each level will include two-player, drop-in/out coop play (off and online). The story centers around a break-out from Arkham Asylum and the Batcave will be the hub of the game.

Other interesting tidbits include:

Each story is playable from either the Hero or Villain point of view. (For example, in the aforementioned levels, you could also play as Catwoman trying to steal the diamond or as Batman trying to rescue Commissioner Gordon.)

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There will be strictly vehicular levels in the game, although Doyle declined to say what they would be. (The press release states that the Batmobile, Batwing and Batboat will be available.)

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As for the DS version: "It's not a port, it's completely done separately. It's done at Traveller's Tales by the same team that did the 'Saga' DS version, and they're a really, really good team. It's kind of the same but different, and there's a lot of touch screen in there." He declined to say anything about the PSP version.

Hit up the link for the full write-up and lots more details.

'LEGO Batman' Features Better Camera, Original Story And Villains' Point Of View [MTV Multiplayer]

Check out the trailer to the upcoming game. Complete with mock-serious voiceover guy, a tight-rope waddling Penguin and Vicki Vale. Actually I have no idea if Vicki Vale is in it - those LEGOs all look the same to me - but couldn't pass on her very lovely image.

Hit the jump & check it out.

Warner Bros Interactive just sent us out a swarm of new screens for LEGO Batman: The Video Game which include mini-figs of some of Batman's greatest foes and dig Robin's hair... groovy.

About LEGO Batman: The Videogame: The Caped Crusader's toughest enemies, and Gotham City's most fiendish criminal minds, have escaped Arkham Asylum and are now running loose in Gotham City! It's up to the famed Dynamic Duo to bring Gotham back from the brink of chaos using everything at their disposal, including classic vehicles and bat gadgets, as well as a slew of all-new surprises.

As much as I'm anticipating this game, I can't help but wonder if the lack of a single iconic storyline is going to hurt this particular LEGO game.