The Lego "Whatever" conundrum [Xbox 360]
Video games that don’t take a lot of skill or brainpower to enjoy deserve a place in every collection, and in every console. A couple of my favorites are the Lego Star Wars games.
I played Lego Star Wars, LSW II and LSW: The Complete Collection and I had some mindless fun with every one of them. Blasting Stormtroopers until they explode into a pile of Lego pieces is fun. So is reliving the Star Wars storyline in Lego form.
With those fond memories in mind sights were set on Lego Batman, but the result was disappointment. It also raised the question why is this game disappointing?It’s not that Lego Batman is a bad game, any more than a game fan could consider all the family-focused Lego games, it’s that the fun factor wasn’t there.
Jumping around and putting on suits with different abilities as Batman and Robin just didn’t have the same appeal as lightsabering droids. It’s interesting too, for someone who grew up a Batman fan.
No comics were read, but I watched reruns of the silly cartoonish real-life Batman show, I’ve seen all the movies and even watched Batman: The Animated Series back in the day. I’m no expert, but I can hold my own in a conversation about Batman, Batman characters, or a Batman vs. Superman debate.
I always thought that it was my back knowledge of the Star Wars universe that made the Lego Star Wars games so much fun. Yeah, blasters and lightsabers are a little more fun than a fully controllable batarang and fisticuffs, but there was a greater gap between my levels of enjoyment in respect to the weapon fun factor.
Ultimately, I think it comes down to a combination of factors. The weapons are better — and lend themselves to better play in the Lego world — the story is better and the characters are better in Star Wars. Maybe the bigger issue is that I know the Star Wars series storyline much better, so I can anticipate and almost enjoy what’s next before it gets there.
I’m also a fan of the Indiana Jones movies, and for all the reasons I’ve listed above, will give the Lego Indiana Jones game a shot. Again, the weapons are not as enjoyable, but storyline anticipation may keep me involved through the end of that game. I have no desire to play Lego Rock Band and think it sounds like an insanely bad idea, but I’ll hold final judgement until some details come out.
Lego anything is no way to tell a new story, but it’s a great way to replay a story, and mostly for that reason Lego Batman was a catch-and-release. I only made it through three levels and have absolutely no desire to go back to it.
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