IGN
LEGO Batman is unique from past titles in the building blocks' franchise. The story isn't based off a movie or even a comic-book plot. This is an original tale. That gives Traveller's Tales some latitude, since there's no need to follow a well-known plot. There isn't even a direct tie-in to a particular Batman universe. This isn't Batman of movie fame, the campy TV show or the comics. It's Batman from the toy shelves, which means a sort of hodgepodge of ideas and a myriad of costumes meant to sell extra action figures. It translates well into LEGO, though I wonder if the original four movies wouldn't have made for better source material.

GamesRadar
Indy and Star Wars could do silly, but where in either would you find a man-penguin and cat-lady robbing a natural history museum while riding dino skeletons? Indy rode the occasional bike, but then we guess Batman’s crocodiles, ice-cream vans, military mechs and walruses would seem a tad out of place inside the Well of Souls. His loss. Bouncing bricks here (sign there’s plenty of building to be done) guarantee that fun is about to kick off. GameDaily
Where LEGO Batman excels over previous LEGO games is its variety of missions. The hero missions are cool, complete with exciting vehicle segments (including a fun ride in the Batmobile) and different characters to control. Villains also get their share of the spotlight. Not only do you control The Joker and the Penguin (among others), but they also get their own missions. From stealing an ice cannon to facing off against an impatient Commissioner Gordon, these stages are just as much fun as the heroes'. Don't be surprised if you find yourself growing attached to Joker's antics with his electrified hand buzzer. Finally a Batman game worth playing.

GamePro
The only gripe I had with LEGO Batman is that you really can't play it alone; the A.I. partner isn't particularly helpful and while it does an adequate job of being in the right place when it comes to cooperative puzzles, it spends most of its time just sort of standing around. But the real joy of a LEGO game is heading out with a friend to smash stuff up and grab scads of loot, so it's not that big of a deal.

"There's an expectation now that there would be a LEGO game per year, and we certainly feel that one or two games would be the right amount per year, otherwise there'd be a saturation of LEGO games and they'd lose the charm...We're also conscious that we're making games for young kids. We don't want to take the piss out of the consumer and end up making any old rubbish. We're hoping people feel our games are of a high standard and we want to continue doing that."

Thank goodness I say. Games like Lego Caligula and Lego Schindler's List need to stay in my imagination, for the good of all mankind.

TT not going to "take the piss" out of LEGO-game fans News [Eurogamer]

Happy Meals [McDonalds, via Go Nintendo]

"My understanding is that they will use the engine, the Maya files where the characters come to life, but they'll be creating animated... I think it's a 20-minute cartoon. I'm personally quite intrigued to see how it comes out. Lego, every time they've had a new brand out, they've done some CGI stuff as well, but I think this will be quite different."

This would be a perfect opportunity to bring Adam West back into the Batman fold, as I can't see Batman: The Animated Series lead Kevin Conroy's voice coming out of Lego Batman's little round head.

20-minute Lego Batman cartoon in works [GI.biz]

There have been earlier Java midlet versions of LEGO games - notably Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, but it would be nice to think that theiPhone would get a proper conversion..

The possibilities for manipulating LEGO bricks using multi-touch gestures could make for an interesting twist on the LEGO gameplay. Even if it is just a port of the DS version, though, it should be worth checking out providing the thorny issue of lack of D-Pad is resolved.

Pocketgamer don't mention a source for the news — hence the rumor tag — but as soon as we get more details, you shall be the first to know.

LEGO Batman goes crimefighting onto iPhone [PocketGamer]

Enjoy the new screens of Alfred, along with a shot of Batgirl that snuck in there when we weren't looking.

A tipster sent us the attached SKU query (full size mobile phone pic after the jump) which claims a metallic silver DS drops in less than a month (Sept. 7). Also looks like the PS2 "Family Value Pack" that includes the console, Lego Batman and the Justice League: New Frontiers DVD, for $149, has a street date of Sept 23.

DS Fanboy reported the metallic silver rumor last month saying it would arrive in September, but didn't specify a date.

Fair warning, this is not a full screen shot, so if you work at a Best Buy and want to nitpick what's not shown on the screen.

Rumor: USA to be Awarded Silver [DS Fanboy]

This video is 15 minutes long. I'm pissed there's no sound, because I love the Lego speak in the cutscenes, and God only knows what they're "saying" in that opening. It looks like a delightful game, with tons of LOL potential.

LEGO Batman: The Videogame E3 2008 Gameplay Trailer (HD) [GamersHell]

Rather than masquerade a single video as an entire post, here are some highlights of what's available from other sites in the way of movies and screens:

• Above is the new trailer for Lego Batman. We picked it up from Gamers Hell. It's got Poison Ivy building some evil-looking plant mini-kits, and Bruce Wayne kicking ass with a briefcase.

• Some more screens from Tomb Raider: Underworld. (Also Gamers Hell)

• Also the World Exclusive Debut Trailer for Blitz: The League II. It's at Gametrailers, because everything over there is a world exclusive.

There I am chatting with him about the upcoming Lego: Batman game and suggesting that a Lego: Transformers game would be fun. He asks me, essentially, for an on-the-spot verbal pitch. As chronicled on my Multiplayer blog, I say

I said, you’d take advantage of the wide cast of Transformers characters and put them in the format started by “Lego: Star Wars.” There are plenty of Transformers for gamers to control and swap, certainly more characters in the pantheon than there were for “Lego: Indiana Jones.”

I said TT coul have all sorts of fun letting the characters transform to get through the levels. You have the existing good mix of character and vehicle stuff in the Lego games, so there’s a blueprint there.

“Sounds like you just want a good Transformers game,” Smith replied

I tried more. He didn't bite. Where did I go wrong? Bad concept?

How I Failed To Successfully Pitch ‘Lego: Transformers - The Game’ [MTV Multiplayer blog] [Pic]

Warner Bros. has just hooked us up with some screens showing off the newest characters revealed for the upcoming LEGO Batman: Nightwing, Bane and Clayface.

If you're like me and know next-to-no Batman lore, you wouldn't have learned until right this second that Nightwing is who Robin became when he struck out on his own. Former actor Clayface is now a shape-shifting bad guy, and prison escapee Bane resists damage and has super strength.

Thankfully, bios and screens follow the jump, which will probably explain all of the things I couldn't tell you.

NIGHTWING
REAL NAME: Dick Grayson
OCCUPATION: Police Officer
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Blüdhaven
EYES: Blue
HAIR: Black

After his circus aerialist parents were murdered by criminals, young Dick Grayson was adopted by Bruce Wayne, becoming his ward...and his partner in the war against crime as Batman's sidekick, Robin. Years later, Robin struck out on his own as Nightwing and now lives in the corruption ridden city of Blüdhaven where by day he serves as a member of that city's police department...and patrols its streets by night as Nightwing.

Attributes:
• Expert in most known forms of martial arts
• Trained in all aspects of criminology
• Trained gymnast
• Trained in stealth and espionage techniques
• Expert escape artist

Powers and Abilities:
In LEGO Batman: The Videogame, Nightwing is a bonus character, he can also utilize all of Robin’s technology suits.

BANE
REAL NAME: Unknown
OCCUPATION: Professional criminal
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Gotham City
EYES: Unknown
HAIR: Unknown

Born a prisoner for crimes committed by his father, the child who would become Bane survived cruel solitary confinement in a Santa Prisca prison. During his long lonely years, he developed incredible powers of concentration, and, once released into the prison population, studied every book he could get his hands on. After nearly four decades of imprisonment, he was chosen for a military experiment with the drug Venom, which greatly enhanced his strength. Escaping, he sought out Batman to prove himself to the world by destroying the greatest specimen of mankind. Bane broke Batman, but the Dark Knight went on to recover and defeat Bane.

Attributes:
• Master strategist
• Enhanced stamina
• Enhanced strength
• Superior hand-to-hand combatant

Powers and Abilities:
In LEGO Batman: The Videogame, Bane has the ability to pass through toxic gases unharmed as well as super strength, which allows him to carry and throw huge objects.

CLAYFACE
REAL NAME: Basil Karlo
OCCUPATION: Former Actor, Professional Criminal
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Mobile
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Black

Initially an actor in horror films, Karlo went mad when he learned a classic film of his was to be remade. He donned the mask of the film’s villain, Clayface, and killed several of the remake’s cast and crew before being stopped by Batman and Robin. Later, Karlo joined a collection of villains who subsequently used the name Clayface in an alliance that came to be known as the Mud Pack. While that group was defeated, Karlo tricked his allies, injecting himself with the essences of several of them, becoming a superhuman imbued with the abilities to change shape, melt others into protoplasm with a touch, and mimic the powers of heroes or villains he copies.

Attributes:
• Clayface can alter his physical form, adopting the appearance of anyone or anything.
• If those whose appearance he adopts have super powers, he copies those as well.
• His touch can reduce an enemy to proptoplasm.

Powers and Abilities:
In LEGO Batman: The Videogame, Clayface has the ability of super jump allowing him to jump to heights unattainable by other characters and even make his body elastic to reach higher characters. Clayface also has the ability of super strength, enabling him to pick up super strength objects and smash super strength walls.

Perhaps your appearance in Lego Batman will finally help me finally move on. While you do lose some of the tragic villain mystique you've built up with the whole frozen wife storyline, you might manage to make it up in sheer Lego adorability. Fingers crossed!

5. Lego Digital Designer

Not so much a game as it was the updating of Lego to the digital age, allowing you to use your Mac or PC online to create your own Lego design and then order the blocks online, bringing your virtual creation to life. For those of us who can't afford the millions of Lego bricks it would take to build their own Lego home, this is as good as it gets.

4. Lego Racers (PC)

Number four would have to be sublime mixture of racing and building that was Lego Racers. While some reviewers thought it rather average, for me it was a lovely combination of two of my favorite pastimes, allowing me to build my own car and driver and then run them through a rather impressive series of tracks. Simple, sure, but I was pretty simple back in 1999 too.

3. Lego Chess (PC)

Oh sure, it's pretty much just Battlechess with Legos, but I'm a big fan of any game that mixes my deep love of strategic thinking with the torturing of tiny Lego beings.

2. Lego Island (PC)

The closest you're ever likely to get to my dream game, Grand Theft Lego, Lego Island was an open-ended PC game that allowed you to customize an entire island to your liking and explore using any number of vehicles you found or created to explore what your inventive mind had wrought. While it didn't let you stab prostitutes, you could always imagine it...Lego is all about using your imagination.

1. Lego Star Wars: The Video Game

You knew this was coming, didn't you? I wouldn't be the geek I am today if not for both Lego and Star Wars, so the combination of the two is almost like merging my parents together into one amazing, half-dead parental unit, which while creepy really is the essence of the Lego brand. Putting things together using your imagination. I choose the first game because it was the success of it that led not only to the sequel and repack, but Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, and - if I had my way - Grand Theft Lego.

A short list you might not all agree with, but that's the beauty of lists now, isn't it? Honestly the franchise has had a rather rocky start in the video games industry, but with Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, and the upcoming MMO Lego Universe on the way, things are looking brighter every day for those little clickable building blocks. Happy 50th, Lego!

I want to see the in-game action in LEGO Batman: The Videogame as much as the next guy, so this slow media drip isn't helping quell the shakes induced by a combination of three of my younger nerd pursuits mashed into one product. This all-too-brief teaser for the Traveller's Tales is more cruel than satisfying and I want to share my pain with you.

Teaser trailers for games seem to be getting shorter and shorter. Take, for example, the Lego Batman trailer just posted on Yahoo. It features 15 second of what looks to be CGI footage of Lego Batman and that's about it. Still, if the game is half as fun as Lego Star Wars I'm sure it will be a good time. Will we get to see Lego Robin as well? To see the trailer you'll have to click through to Yahoo, as it looks like they don't have a way to embed video with their less-than-stellar video player.

Lego Batman Teaser Trailer [Yahoo]